# What do you do when you find a small but dangerous animal in your house? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153 "2009-02-02T21:27:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/1 "2009-02-02T21:27:26Z")
I’ve always wondered this. If it’s something tiny but deadly like a scorpion, are you supposed to just smash it yourself? Will they laugh at you for calling Animal Control? What about black widows? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/2 "2009-02-02T21:32:07Z")
When I lived in Phoenix, we smashed the black widows, no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/3 "2009-02-02T21:40:07Z")
Professional exterminators will, of course, be happy to take your business. An example would the the _[Verminators](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verminators_(TV_Series))_. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/4 "2009-02-02T21:40:19Z")
I’ve found snakes in my basement before. Well, actually, Mr. Athena found snakes in the basement before. He ran screaming up the stairs “There’s a SNAKE! In the STORAGE ROOM! What do we DO?!?” I went downstairs, captured said snake in a tupperware container, and put it outside. It came back a few days later. I did the same thing, only this time I took it farther from the house. Haven’t seen it since. I don’t think it was deadly, but it was pretty small, and snakes do bite. And scorpions aren’t deadly either, but the OP mentions them, so I figger my snake counts. ---
**Author:** ![stucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@stucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/5 "2009-02-03T07:59:43Z")
Athena, you got bigger balls than your old man. Bless you. I live in the Missouri Ozarks, we don’t see many scorpions but when I was 16 I found one in a friends kitchen, I caught it in a glass jar and we took it to biology class to show everyone. Got in good with the teacher for that. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/6 "2009-02-03T08:31:10Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What about black widows? I can’t say much about the other creatures you name, but black widows should be _way_ down on your list of worries and concerns. You are not prey, and you are not anything the spider can conceive of as an enemy. The spider has no interest in you. If it is aware of you _at all_, it just wants to stay out of the way of your big, dark shape and the disruptive air currents that you cause. You don’t really need to move or relocate a blackwidow, as it will do you no harm and it eats things that you don’t want around your home. However, if you really feel the need, it’s the easiest thing in the world to gently trap the spider in a glass, trying your best not to make this a traumatic event for the animal, and to grant it freedom outside your home in a suitable environment where it can get on with its life. Please, read **Lynne Kelly** ’s superb book on spiders when it is published (soon). It will diminish many of your fears and concerns, and it may lead to fewer spiders being needlessly disturbed and evicted. Plus, it’s just a great, well-written and enjoyable book (I am lucky enough to have an advance copy). ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/7 "2009-02-03T12:02:07Z")
A year or two ago, I discovered a small, brightly colored snake on the floor just in front of the altar of my church. While I was wondering how to trap it, another adult went behind the altar, came back with a vessel of some type, trapped and released it to the brush outside. Next day, the snake was back, same place. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/8 "2009-02-03T12:42:40Z")
Seriously, nothing _that_ dangerous or deadly is likely to be found **in your house**. That being said, venomous snakes sometimes like to wander into homes in rural Australia and unwary folks have to confront a Joey Blake in their bathtub or curled around the roof-rafters. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/9 "2009-02-03T13:37:32Z")
> [@stucky](#): > > Athena, you got bigger balls than your old man. Bless you. When it comes to snakes, yes. I spent many happy childhood hours catching snakes in the grass. [House centipedes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata), on the other hand, bring us both to our knees. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/10 "2009-02-03T14:55:02Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > … are you supposed to just smash it yourself? Will they laugh at you for calling Animal Control? If it’s something a homeowner can easily deal with unaided it would be somewhat irresponsible for Animal Control to get involved: “Hey Fred: another call from 32 Jefferson St. - go sweep those earthworms off her driveway like you did last week.” Scorpions are reasonably easy to smash, say, with a broom. Often easier is to immobilize them in a towel or rag and move them outside. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/11 "2009-02-03T15:04:47Z")
I remember when I was about 10 or so we once had a feral / wild cat that climbed into our house through an open window and went absolutely nuts. Have you even seen cartoons of the Tasmanian Devil? Dad was away, mum was freakin’ and my older borther is a bit of a wimp about such things so it fell to me to catch it a wadded up towel - damn thing bit my thumb through the towel - it hurt like hell, drew blood and left a nice big hole. And then I still had to go back into the room and catch it. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/12 "2009-02-03T16:00:32Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I’ve found snakes in my basement before. > > Well, actually, Mr. Athena found snakes in the basement before. He ran screaming up the stairs “There’s a SNAKE! In the STORAGE ROOM! What do we DO?!?” > > I don’t think it was deadly, but it was pretty small, and snakes do bite. And scorpions aren’t deadly either, but the OP mentions them, so I figger my snake counts. > [@BarnOwl](#): > > A year or two ago, I discovered a small, brightly colored snake on the floor just in front of the altar of my church. > > While I was wondering how to trap it, another adult went behind the altar, came back with a vessel of some type, trapped and released it to the brush outside. When I was a kid a snake got into my friend’s house, and it became my pet. It was a beautiful California king snake. It bit me a few times when I did something that annoyed it, but it didn’t even break the skin–it just kind of tickled. > [@kambuckta](#): > > Seriously, nothing _that_ dangerous or deadly is likely to be found **in your house**. That being said, venomous snakes sometimes like to wander into homes in rural Australia and unwary folks have to confront a Joey Blake in their bathtub or curled around the roof-rafters. > > 😃 Well, of course. Australia’s snakes are a nasty bunch. In North America, there are few you need to worry about. Scorpions and black widow spiders might endanger an infant’s life, but not likely an adult’s. ---
**Author:** ![Wogglebug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@Wogglebug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wogglebug)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/13 "2009-02-03T16:11:15Z")
Um. Don’t all spiders, except a very few models, have poisonous bites? I’m in a relatively bug safe part of the world, but even so, a woman I know had a good part of her thumb muscle destroyed by a brown/recluse spider. And if you have an allergic reaction to…anything…or are immune-compromised…wouldn’t all kinds of things be threats? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/14 "2009-02-03T16:16:04Z")
> [@Wogglebug](#): > > Um. Don’t all spiders, except a very few models, have poisonous bites? > > I’m in a relatively bug safe part of the world, but even so, a woman I know had a good part of her thumb muscle destroyed by a brown/recluse spider. > > And if you have an allergic reaction to…anything…or are immune-compromised…wouldn’t all kinds of things be threats? Just because something is poisonous doesn’t mean it’s going hurt you. Hell, I pay good money to drink poison fairly often. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/15 "2009-02-03T18:22:38Z")
When I was visiting my sister in New Mexico a couple years ago we were startled by a rattlesnake while re-entering the house. The local authorities had no problem dispatching a special team to capture the critter and take it back out to the desert where it belongs. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/16 "2009-02-03T19:03:16Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > When I was visiting my sister in New Mexico a couple years ago we were startled by a rattlesnake while re-entering the house. The local authorities had no problem dispatching a special team to capture the critter and take it back out to the desert where it belongs. I used to work at an explosives testing range which was mostly on the back side of a desert mountain. I’d see a few snakes a year, they were never aggressive. Some of the guys would kill them with a shovel, but there was one guy who used to capture and relocate. The only time one really freaked me out was when I opened an ordinance bunker one morning. The snake was coiled up on the concrete, in the sun, trying to warm up. I saw it, but thought it was a ceramic decoration. Scared the crap out of me when it turned its head and flicked its tongue! So, to answer the OP, I’d probably just take care of it myself. Unless it was a bat. That wouldn’t be cool. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/17 "2009-02-03T20:05:34Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > If it’s something a homeowner can easily deal with unaided it would be somewhat irresponsible for Animal Control to get involved: “Hey Fred: another call from 32 Jefferson St. - go sweep those earthworms off her driveway like you did last week.” > > Scorpions are reasonably easy to smash, say, with a broom. Often easier is to immobilize them in a towel or rag and move them outside. I know all these things aren’t that awful. It’s just…I don’t even like touching roaches. I usually just spray them and wait for someone else to dispose of the bodies. Can you spray a scorpion to death with insect juice? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/18 "2009-02-03T20:14:02Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > And scorpions aren’t deadly either, Not so much in the U.S., but like snakes in Australia, they can be an issue elsewhere. In the U.S. ( largely Arizona in this case ), [this critter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_bark_scorpion) is only rarely deadly, but well worth respecting. I’ve known people that were nailed by them and the pain can be pretty intense. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/19 "2009-02-03T20:23:25Z")
Well, what a lot of people do is to call the police. Not the best answer, perhaps, but that’s who a lot of people think of first. In my town, the cops will respond to wildlife calls and will shoot skunks, snakes, rats and possums upon request or at least chase them outside. I can’t imagine anyone but the very elderly calling about a spider. Scorpions do live around here but they are rarely seen. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153/20 "2009-02-03T20:32:20Z")
Jeez, doesn’t anybody own a shotgun? Sure, it’s a bit hard on the flooring, but with snakeshot you can deal with just about anything insectoid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-when-you-find-a-small-but-dangerous-animal-in-your-house/484153.md?page=2)