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I have had enough of the wildlife around our house lately. Apparently I had been living in my own little bubble as I had thoroughly enjoyed watching the birds, the deer and bunnies munch away in my backyard. For the most part, it has been a Disney-like experience as I would sit on my back deck because the wildlife, with the exception of the occasional wayward fly, wasp or suspicious looking spider, have always followed the rules: they stayed on the outside.
Things changed when my daughter caught a mouse that was scurrying around in my dining room. Even at that, I knew it was bound to happen that an unfortunate mouse may someday find itself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I soon learned though that there’s never just “one” mouse. Mice have families and our little mouse was no exception. He and the rest of his rodent Brady Bunch had made themselves at home somewhere behind the walls of my kitchen.
Gracie, the brave child who captured a mouse barehanded, opened the kitchen drawer the other day and backed away quickly while calling frantically for me. By the look on her face I figured another mouse or evidence of a mouse was in there. When she then screamed the word “SNAKE!” all visions of Disney wildlife quickly left my head. There, slithering around in my utensil drawer was a rather large snake. Ok, it may not have really been large but I’m resorting to my girly rights here where I can, without hesitation, claim that anything crawling, flying, jumping or slithering INSIDE my house is HUGE.
I told Gracie to run out to the garage and get her daddy. Within seconds, my husband appeared, wearing a heavy winter coat, gloves, work boots and a terrified look on his face. Despite the heavy apparel, it was obvious that my husband was a snake novice. The snake must’ve known it as well because he continued to move around the drawer without any concern for the three humans who were staring bug-eyed at him.
The snake must’ve gotten bored being the center of attention because he then slid behind the drawer. Now the little bugger was somewhere behind my kitchen cabinets. I informed my husband that we had two options: he could start tearing the kitchen apart or we could just move… immediately. He knew I was serious.
I took the children and spent the day (and most of the evening) away from the house. My husband and some members of his construction crew tended to the kitchen.
We never found the snake but all possible entrances have been thoroughly sealed and all appropriate mice removal devices (humane ones – I’m still a softie at heart) have been installed.
Even so, it will probably be a while before I stop opening the kitchen drawers without using a pair of grill tongs.
