Alice Springs Woman’s Close Encounter with Snake: How to Prevent Snake Invasions
Having to wake up to the sound of a potentially venomous snake is one of the worst case scenarios people can think of when they are in the comforts of their home. But that's what happened to a woman from Alice Springs who woke up from the rustling sound of the snake in her bed room. With snakes freely slithering inside homes, what can people do to prevent their invasion?
The woman from Alice woke up and found a meter-long western brown snake on her floor, reported ABC News. Snake catcher Nadia Rosen said that snakes usually get into people's homes because it's just following the scent trails other critters like mice and lizards in. But what could people do to virtually snake-proof their homes to prevent another incident like this?
Snakes make themselves at home because of the need to eat or the need to look for a place to hide, but proper housekeeping and inspecting for any possible openings is all a person needs to prevent the snakes from getting in, according to United States Geological Survey.
To stop anyone from quoting anything from the movie "Snakes on a Plane," start by eliminating tiny spaces, cracks, and holes that snakes might use to get into the house. More specifically, openings that might be around the foundations, walls, and the roof as the creepy crawlies can pass through openings as small as a quarter of an inch.
Since snakes are looking for cool places, literally not figuratively, it's advised to remove all the cool areas where snakes might go and hide; places like under large rocks. Because looking for food is on top of their to-do list, another good thing to remember is to control the pest problem or population inside the house by cleaning up, spraying for bugs and leaving rat traps.
Snake repelling products can also be used around the house. These powders and liquids claim that they can fend off snakes, however, according to eHow.com these repellants only work on a few types of snakes. And when the snake problem is on the yard, and not inside the house, a snake fence that is tightly coiled with very small openings should be considered. But remember: a snake fence should be dug six-inches deep into the ground.
And after all of these measures and a snake still does appear in a person's home, do what the woman did from Alice - get away from it quickly and call a professional to handle the problem, because who knows, the snake just might be venomous.