AUGUSTA, Ga. — A Georgia family had a real-life nightmare in their home.
Eighteen snakes, including baby snakes, were found in the bedroom of a family living in Augusta.
Trish Wilcher shared pictures of the slithering surprises in a public post on her Facebook page over the weekend.
“Look at all the baby snakes in my bedroom... I am freaked out,” she wrote.
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At first, Wilcher said she counted nine snakes in total. But then she started finding more and more.
Wilcher said she even found the “momma” snake... under her bed.
She and her family turned her bedroom “upside down” looking for any and all snakes. In total, they found 17 babies and the “momma” snake.
A trapper came to the home on Monday and was able to safely remove the snakes.
“I need a cardiologist after this,” Wilcher wrote.
Wilcher said she believes the snakes got inside her home because some land was cleared near her house and it became the home spot for the litter.
While many people fear snakes, wildlife experts say snakes are very important to ecosystems.
Channel 2 Action News spoke to Samantha Kennett, a wildlife technician, who said you shouldn’t try to harm snakes because most are beneficial and help with rodent control.
“You’ll see a lot of nonvenomous native snakes (in Georgia),” Kennett said. “You’ll see a variety of Georgia native snakes.”
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Kennett said you really want to see eastern king snakes in your yard because they eat more venomous snakes like copperheads.
“They’re very important as far as rodent control, (and) they eat copperheads, which is a great benefit and they just maintain a quality, balanced ecosystem,” Kennett said.
Despite the benefits of some snakes, Kennett said you should be on the lookout for the six types of venomous snakes in Georgia, including the copperhead.
“In metro Atlanta, you are only going to see the Copperhead for the most part (when it comes to venomous snakes),” Kennett said. "
Kennett said there are ways to protect yourself from them.
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“Wear closed-toe shoes and pants, is a good rule of thumb,” Kennett said. “And you can just sweep them out of your house if you see them in your house.”
Kennett also said you can remove brush or log piles that could attract mice or other small animals snakes prey on in your yard.
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