Imagine walking out of your bedroom in the middle of the night and finding snakes crawling on your kitchen floor or hiding in your closet. Some would find it amusing, most would find it terrifying! That was the exact situation that occurred at a rural home around Clay Center, KS. The homeowner knew they needed help with snake removal and contacted American Pest Management, Inc.
“Upon arrival at the home, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into,” said Jacie Sullivan, Certified Technician, “I listened to the homeowner and knew I was going into the crawl space.”
When squeezing into the crawl space opening and slithering into the less than 2ft tall crawl space cavity Ms. Sullivan knew there was something astonishing waiting for her. “The first thing I noticed was the smell.” When snakes are nice and cozy in their aquarium or natural habitat they have a neutral odor, but when afraid or stressed they emit a musky odor from their cloacal scent gland. “The odor was horrible and only got worse as I started collecting the snakes.”
The next thing noticed from the crawl space was the movement of a large mass in the corner of the crawl space. “I started my expedition into the crawl space and noticed the group of snakes cuddled together in the corner,” Sullivan continued, “I was actually relieved as most of them were in one spot. There were a few in all corners of the crawl space, but most were in one area.” Snakes are mostly solitary, but will group together for a number of reasons, brumation (or hibernation) or “breeding balls”. “As I collected the snakes, I was surprised as I found 4 different types of snakes, luckily none were venomous.”
American Pest Management, Inc. snake expert and owner of CTH Reptiles, Chandler Hatfield confirmed, “That was a nice haul of snakes, the yellow belly racers are a lot of fun, also included were some eastern rat snakes, blue racers and prairie king-snakes.” 
The snake removal created quite the excitement. “The homeowner was really concerned for me and kept checking on me. I was using my snake tongs and grabbing them with my gloved hands. It got to the point that every time I caught one I would announce, Got Another! It was very gratifying.”
The snakes will be released on a client’s farm. “We have several contacts that actually don’t mind snakes or other wildlife on their property. When you release a snake back into the wild always release them away from paved roads as they will be attracted to roads for warmth,” said Hatfield.
Jacie is now the superhero of her #APMFamily earning kudos from her pest management counterparts and the homeowner. “Jacie was amazing. Great service, professional and polite. You truly have a gem in her,” said Gina Brisby, Clay Center homeowner.
