My 90-year-old dad had a snake in the front hallway of his house a few weeks ago. He saw the tail go under a piece of furniture, but he couldn't get to it so he just went to bed! (I would have been up all night!) Well, around 1:00 a.m. he heard a noise. So he got up and turned on the light. He could see the snake in his room, under a table. The only "weapon" he could find readily was a crutch that had been returned to him from a friend the day before. So he took the crutch and poked at the snake for a while, until it came out from under the table enough that he could grab it. Oh, don't worry....it was just a chicken snake, a BIG chicken snake. He carried it outside and decided to measure it.........57 inches! I'd never heard of one growing that big before. Needless to say, that snake won't be getting in his house any more.
I can just picture my dad, 90 years old, in his underwear, 1:00 a.m., swinging a crutch at a snake. So glad the neighbors can't see into his windows!