Jessica Perry says her Mercer County house snake nest began after she and her husband moved into a Salvisa home and found dozens of rat snakes inside and around it. The problem kept growing, and she said she found another six-foot snake in the basement just days before speaking out.
“the first few weeks in the home seemed perfect,” Perry said. That changed fast after the family spotted a snake and then found two adults and several juveniles in the basement during the first week that followed.
Salvisa home on Zillow
Perry said she found the property on Zillow and made an offer the same day. In the months that followed, she said the family kept running into dozens more rat snakes across the property.
A contractor later tore down the porch and found snake sheds leading into the foundation, along with multiple eggs in what appeared to be a den that had existed for several years. Perry said an exterminator placed traps in the basement and around the home's exterior, and the family sealed openings after cleaning out the affected area.
Perry and the basement repair
Perry said the family had already spent a couple thousand dollars trying to deal with the problem, and a contractor told her that replacing part of the basement could run between $4,000 and $5,000. Kentucky homeowner guidance recommends checking a home's foundation for cracks or gaps a quarter-inch or larger, which matches the kind of openings the family said it tried to seal.
She also said a neighbor recalled snakes in the home's basement as a child, and that the former owner reportedly called it “the snake house.” Perry said the previous owner never disclosed any snake infestation before the sale.
The family wants to keep living in the Salvisa home and get the snakes under control, but the account points to a problem that may have been present long before they moved in.
