Help - I've got a snake in the ceiling!

[stickylies]

i had birds and cats sofar :-)

[kannot]

We live within 100 meters of very heavy jungle and sometimes get rats in our attic. We have a couple of live traps and catch one or two a month.

We dispose of them as rats should be.

Yes "good eating" ?

[Thongkorn]

I think this is how the Exorcist started.

[fxe1200]

I love my snakes. They either sit inside the Giant Orchid or right underneath the huge sunscreen on the back terrace. We respect each other, and when they enter the house, I do not mind, but the kids do. My relationship to a cobra would be probably a little different.

[AjarnNorth]

A recent problem I had at my place in Chonburi. Took a couple hours for me to get him (or her) canned for relocation. Would not let go of rafters and had to be iced down.

[smileydude]

I had a monitor lizard that went up a pipe shaft from under my house to my ceiling.

You could tell by the hissing and claw dragging sounds.

No way in hell was I going to go up and drag it out. I got whipped on the arm by a 5 foot specimen's tail once and it stings.

Like other posters said. Leave it alone. If it can find a way in it'll find a way out.

Edited February 19, 2014 by smileydude

[Beetlejuice]

Why not just leave it there? It probably wont hurt anything and when it's ready it will leave.

Yes, that`s to best way to deal with the problem.

We frequently have visitors in our attic. Squirrels, rats, mice, birds, the odd pussy (furry kind), snakes and the giant gecko lizards. They do no harm at all and eventually move on and disappear.

My advice is, unless you get a snake in your trousers or ants in your pants, than get used to it, this is Thailand and ignore.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Beetlejuice

[wolf5370]

Don't know where you live, but in CM at Airport Plaza, there is one of those little 69 baht shops. They sell these little packets of animal deterrents - they are for rats, cats and snakes (different type for each). I use the cat version to keep the cats off my couch(we have 3 cats) - they only smell to us if you stick your nose o them (smells kind of like burnt food) - put two under my sette and cats stay off. They work for a radius of about 1m. If you can find them near you, you could try the snake version, break it into bits (its like a large hard chocolate disk about 1 inch radius) and place them at intervals in the suspended ceiling should get rid of them naturally then

[DannyDakota]

Many thanks for all the suggestions guys, I will definitely be using some of them.

A quick update as I have been out most of the day.

When I came back I saw a couple of centimetres of tail hanging out from the back of the air con in the room.

It wasn't enough to get a good grip and the owner pulled it inside the air con unit.

However, it did pop his head out of the side of the unit a couple of minutes later and it is a tree snake (the same as fxe1200 posted).

But he pulled his head in again when I went for him and then 10 minutes later I could hear him moving around above the ceiling again.

Tomorrow I will take down the downlights, possibly spray something noxious into the ceiling space to give the fella some encouragement, and hope that he will drop down through the holes.

[iancnx]

usually a snake in the ceiling is either a tree snake or python as these types can climb(in Australia at least), if it is the same here then they are not poisonous and would have gone in there looking for food(tree snakes love ginka's). Once all the ginka are eaten it should leave providing it can still fit through its access hole.

Usually? Maybe. But I can promise you venomous snakes in N Thailand can and will climb, so apparently different to down under.

[chuckd]

We live within 100 meters of very heavy jungle and sometimes get rats in our attic. We have a couple of live traps and catch one or two a month.

We dispose of them as rats should be.

Like this?

Nope. We leave them in the traps and see how long they can keep the trap afloat in the pond.

None of them have passed the test yet.

[NeverSure]

Like this?

Nope. We leave them in the traps and see how long they can keep the trap afloat in the pond.

None of them have passed the test yet.

Yes, they taste so much better after being marinated in a pond.

[Carl64]

I have rats in my enclosed ceiling . Wish it was a snake because it would be a lot quieter. Rats will eat electrical wiring and fittings where snakes will just move over them.

A snake will move slowly in your roof (unless it's catching prey). Rats are fast and noisy.

[Carl64]

usually a snake in the ceiling is either a tree snake or python as these types can climb(in Australia at least), if it is the same here then they are not poisonous and would have gone in there looking for food(tree snakes love ginka's). Once all the ginka are eaten it should leave providing it can still fit through its access hole.

That's the thing I love about Australia, you don't have to look in the trees for poisonous snakes when you are in the bush. I have come face to face with a green tree viper in Chiang Mai. I spotted it about 1 meter in front of my face. Another step and I would have copped a bite in the face. Such a beautiful snake but really nasty venom and you cant treat a face bite with the traditional constrictive bandage first aid.

[tim armstrong]

My Thai snakes liked mothballs. Think it might be old momma sans tale. My money is on rats.

The mothball tip was from a tv forum. I tried it in the garden and it seems to work. Although we used to have skinks there as well - the larger fat variety, and I'm told they keep snakes away too. Being an Oz farm boy originally, try as I may I still don't like snakes.

[almodeller]

call in the US marines apparently they have been trained to kill and drink cobras blood

[thailiketoo]

call in the US marines apparently they have been trained to kill and drink cobras blood

The term you are looking for is, "recon by fire." Tell a Marine and that will take care of it.

[mmh8]

We live within 100 meters of very heavy jungle and sometimes get rats in our attic. We have a couple of live traps and catch one or two a month.

We dispose of them as rats should be.

Like this?

this sort of thing really upsets me, I bet you got those from your attic, I have to pay 20 baht per rat

[A1Str8]

I am gonna have a look for 20k.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[rjcampbe]

I called the Bangkok snake catcher named Sompop. I googled Bangkok snake catcher and found his name.

He came to my place and caught the viper in our house in a matter of minutes. He just takes donations... I think I paid him 300 baht or something.

He is absolutely fearless. I was screaming like a girl... I hate snakes.

[DannyDakota]

I am two days snake free - I hope.

After a lot of different failed attempts to remove the snake (or snakes as it turned out) we had to cut open the ceiling and get the guys from the local snake farm to prise them out.

Two young ones had already dropped out and the guys got what we assume is the mother (in the photo) and the last young one from behind the air con unit on the wall.

The ceiling has been quiet for two days now - long may it continue.

[thailiketoo]

I am two days snake free - I hope.

After a lot of different failed attempts to remove the snake (or snakes as it turned out) we had to cut open the ceiling and get the guys from the local snake farm to prise them out.

Two young ones had already dropped out and the guys got what we assume is the mother (in the photo) and the last young one from behind the air con unit on the wall.

The ceiling has been quiet for two days now - long may it continue.

Cool. So what kind of snake was it?

[Loles]

If it is noisy Amigo, impossible you have snake. The snake moves in full silent. This must to be rats, just buy in tesco or bigc rat glue plate trap, and you will see within 3 days. Don't forget to fasten the trap cause the rat when jumping in the glue takes away the trap and you can't reach (my personal experience) it to put out it.