Snake in house!

[Paige207]

Hi All,

We are fairly new to hosting and had a weird issue tonight. Our property is located in a more rural area of San Diego. I always let the guests know that since it’s rural there is potential for wildlife spottings (snakes, coyotes etc.) and to always be vigilant. Our guests tonight texted me at 9pm stating there was a baby rattlesnake in the house. I have never in my entire life living in San Diego have seen a snake INSIDE any of my homes. Long story short I called the fire department they removed it within 30 minutes of the guests contacting me (turns out it was a baby Gardner snake). I refunded them a night as well. 

My questions.. do I now need to make signs on the doors that say “please keep the doors closed to keep critters out”??? I feel like most of this is common sense but clearly not? There is no way a snake got in the house in any other avenue than through an open door. 

Does a one night refund seem fair? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Paige207 A one night refund sounds excessive to me

[Kia272]

@Paige207  I sympathize with your situation, but I'm  disturbed that you called the fire department to deal with this. It's not their job to do that, although they likely would not and could not say that directly to you. 

A one night refund sounds excessive as well. 

First responders need to be staged and ready to respond to true emergencies. Calls like this take them away from the station and can delay a response to a true emergency. 

I would have the number of a "wildlife" removal service on hand. Call them ahead of time to find out what they charge and what their response time is. That would be more appropriate to handling a situation like this. 

I'm sure the likelihood of this happening again is pretty small, but being prepared will help. 

And yes- I'd caution guests to keep the doors closed.  

[Paige207]

Hi Kia,

Disturbed feels like a strong word here. The firefighters in our area advertise snake removal if all other avenues fall short. Animal control was not available that late at night to handle this and since my number 1 priority is safety I called the fire department. They thanked me because the reality is it takes them 5 minutes to handle this instead of having to take someone to the hospital for a snake bite in the middle of a pandemic and take up a much needed bed for someone who really needs it. I don’t know if you meant to come off the way you did in your comment however, I am asking for advice on my questions below only. All circumstances are different and how our area does it is 100% dependent on the amount of bites that have happened due to untrained handling over the years.

[Anonymous]

@Paige207  The most important thing is that you were able to bring the situation to a swift resolution. If the guests were good sports about it, I wouldn't even bother with a refund - maybe a bottle of wine to calm their nerves, and a little Wilderness Badge as a memento of what their friends will likely find the only amusing anecdote of their vacation. But I'd still ask them candidly if they're still happy to continue their stay, and offer to advance the checkout date and refund the unused nights if they're too, er, rattled.

Signage on your doors is one approach you can take for prevention's sake, but guests tend to get more out of face-to-face communication at check-in than signs and labels everywhere.

[Paige207]

Andrew,

Loved those puns 🙂 I appreciate the advice it was certainly a first for us and I myself was a bit “rattled”!!

[Colleen253]

@Paige207 A one night refund is warranted when you mess up and cause major inconvenience for a guest, not for something that you warn guests about and have little control over. That’s not to say you shouldn’t do something to calm the waters, but a small token gesture is all that’s needed. Being a great host is about taking care of guests, which is what you did by coming to their rescue. 

Yes, you need to post a sign. Common sense is surprisingly uncommon.  It’s not always just a lack of common sense though, as some folks may not be used to dealing with an issue that is common in your area, depending on where they come from. When people are on vacation their brains are on vacation mode, as well. 

[Paige207]

Best line ever “common sense is surprisingly uncommon” thanks for the advice 🙂

[Brian2036]

@Paige207 

The most likely reason for any snake to be in a house is someone brought it in.

If there are children involved, past or present, they would be the most likely culprits.

Our cats also like to bring small ones in to play with.

 I suppose these people are going to be telling everyone about how they got a refund out of this and how they can do it too.

Sigh.

Snake in the house? If it’s anything but a Spitting Cobra or a Black Mamba, all you need is a broom and an open door to convince it to leave.

[Paige207]

Brian I totally agree. No part of the house is accessible like that besides a door! Also being a country gal myself I would have handled it the way you described but we can’t all be as cool as us I suppose! 😎

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  No, something doesn't have to bring a snake in the house- they can slither in quite easily on their own. I speak from experience. And while I have broomed snakes out before, it's not particularly easy, I certainly wouldn't be trying to do that with a venomous snake, which the OP's was.

@Paige207  As others have advised please do not throw refunds at guests for things like this. Offering a refund is appropriate if you are responsible for something, or a necessary appliance went on the blink, etc. Hosts jumping to refund an entire night for a momentary hiccup sets a bad precedent and leads guests to assume they should be given refunds for any little inconvenience or unexpected happening.

Aside from the refund, I think you handled this well, and it's true, many people have no common sense. If you check guests in yourself, just mention it when you are checking them in, to keep doors closed unless they want to be sharing indoor space with local wildlife. I do much the same with my guests, cautioning them to shake out their shoes and clothes before putting them on, as there are scorpions here.

If you don't check them in personally, make a graphically eye-catching sign (pictures of local critters, to which you can now add rattlers) for the inside of the front door.

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 

It wasn’t a venomous snake. It was a garter snake.

I used to live in the desert in a house built on a slab with a terra cotta floor and once a black snake came in to hide, molt, or maybe just to cool off, but given the extraordinary number of sidewinders and diamond backs out there, it was negligible.

They can squeeze through a very small hole or crack, but they don’t have much reason to do so unless there is something to eat in there.

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  "

It wasn’t a venomous snake. It was a garter snake."

Ah, missed that part. It was the guests who said it was  a baby rattler, got it. So they are clueless, but if they thought it was a rattler, they wouldn't be inclined to try to broom  it out.

I have zero problem with insects, but snakes creep me out. If I didn't live alone, I'd get someone else to deal with them, but I do, so I've had to stifle a scream and remove them.

Went to brush my teeth one night and found a baby boa stretched out behind the faucet. Had a couple other incidents. Have spotted a few coral snakes outside, and those are deadly. (And I do know the difference between a king snake and a coral- there are both in this area)

I was out the day neighbors told me there was a boa stretched out across the road that was so huge they couldn't see the head nor the tail.

[Mark116]

@Paige207  If you didn't already give them the refund, I wouldn't do it.  As you say, the snake could only have come in through the door.  If you're in close enough proximity to drop off some kind of gift basket/bottle of wine with a humorous note, I would think that is fine.  And yes, probably add some language about being careful with doors and windows to ensure no wildlife enters.

I'm was always amazed when we were still greeting people in person how totally clueless so many people were about leaving all the doors open when they first entered the house....all we have in Jersey are moths, flies, and all kinds of other bugs to fly in, no snakes, but same principle.   

[Brian2036]

@Paige207 

This sort of thing makes me look forward to the Zombie Apocalypse with great anticipation.

Guest: “There are zombies in the swimming pool!”

Host: “Did you leave the gate open?”

Guest: “Just for a few hours…”

Host: “There are loaded shotguns next to both doors and another one upstairs.”

Guest: “But I’m afraid of guns!”

Host: “Well, they only want to eat your brain. You probably won’t even notice it’s missing.”