Idaho ‘Snake House’ Infested With Hundreds of Stinky Garter Serpents
- Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:05pm by
Billy Hallowell
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REXBURG, Idaho (AP) — The five-bedroom house sits on pastoral acreage in the rural Idaho countryside. At a price less than $180,000, it seemed a steal.
But a bargain it wasn’t. Ben and Amber Sessions soon realized the dream home they’d purchased for their growing family in 2009 was infested with hundreds upon hundreds of garter snakes.
The ground surrounding the home appeared to move at times, it was so thick with snakes.
Throngs of snakes crawled beneath the home’s siding. At night, the young couple said they would lie awake and listen to slithering inside the walls.
“It was like living in one of those horror movies,” said Ben Sessions, 31.
The family would frequently eat out because their well water carried the foul smelling musk that the snakes release as a warning to predators.
Each day, before his pregnant wife and two small boys got out of bed, Sessions said he would do a “morning sweep” through the house to make sure none of the snakes had made it inside. That didn’t always work. One day, he heard his wife scream from the laundry room, where she had almost stepped on a snake. He rushed into the room to find that she’d jumped onto a counter.
“I was terrified she was going to miscarry,” he said.
They invited family as witnesses and snapped pictures.
At the height of the infestation, Sessions said he killed 42 snakes in one day before he decided he couldn’t do it anymore. He had waged war against the snakes and “they won.”
He and his wife had little recourse, though, when they decided to flee the home.
They had signed a document that noted the snake infestation. They said they had been assured by their real estate agent that the snakes were was just a story invented by the previous owners to leave their mortgage behind.
But the so-called Idaho snake house was no myth, according to the Sessionses, their neighbors, and the videos and photographs taken by them and past residents of the house. The couple said it seemed like almost everyone else in this tiny southeastern Idaho college town knew about it.
“I felt bad,” said Dustin Chambers, a neighbor. “By the time we knew someone had bought it, they were already moving in. It was too late.”
All of Rexburg, Chambers said, pretty much knows the property as the “snake house.”
The Sessionses filed for bankruptcy. The house was foreclosed. They left in December 2009, the day after their daughter was born and just three months after moving in.
“We’re not going to pay for house full of snakes,” Ben Sessions said.
His wife, Amber, 27, said she felt like their family was starting to fall apart.
“It was just so stressful,” she said. “It felt like we were living in Satan’s lair, that’s the only way to really explain it.”
Several months ago, the house briefly went back on the market.
Now owned by JP Morgan Chase, it was listed at $114,900 in December 2010, according to Zillow.com, a real estate data firm. The price was reduced to $109,200 in early January, which was more than $60,000 below its estimated value. Then, Discovery Channel‘s Animal Planet featured the Sessionses’ story in its “Infested” series. Watch the episode below:
The listing was removed and the home has stayed off the market while Chase decides what to do with it.
A Rexburg real estate company that was hired to sell the house referred all questions to a Chase spokeswoman in Seattle.
Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot did not return repeated phone calls from The Associated Press. But she did tell a business columnist for Dow Jones Newswires that the bank had contracted to have the snakes at the home trapped and released elsewhere.
Ben Sessions said that he has been diagnosed with snake-related post-traumatic stress disorder and that the house should be condemned.
“It’s not right to continue to sell this home,” Sessions said. He and his wife said they still have nightmares and haven’t recovered financially.
The home was most likely built on a winter snake sanctuary, likely a snake den or hibernaculum, where snakes gather in large numbers to hibernate for the winter, said Rob Cavallaro, a wildlife biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
In the spring and summer the snakes fan out across the wilds of southeastern Idaho, but as the days get shorter and cooler, the snakes return to the den in order to ball up for heat and to be accessible to each other for spring breeding.
Cavallaro has heard only of one other eastern Idaho home that was likely located on a snake den. There was also a bridge-widening project where workers ran into a hibernaculum, he said.
“It is an important site for the snakes,” Cavallaro said. “Every now and then we build on them and it becomes a conflict.”
Neal and Denise Ard previously lived in the home, and in 2006 they invited the local news station to come and film the buckets of snakes they had collected on the property. The video, which has 2.4 million views on YouTube, was taken before the Ards abandoned the home.
In March 2007, the Ards sued the couple who had sold them the home for $189,900 and the real estate agent who negotiated the sale, according to court documents. The complaint was dismissed a year later.
There have been some people who have looked at the house since the Sessionses moved out, neighbor Chambers said. One day, when a real estate agent was showing the property, a farmer who lives down the road stopped by to warn them, he said.
“Now, if anybody sees anybody, they kind of will let them know,” Chambers said. “Just so that somebody else doesn’t get caught in the same trap.”
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Comments (69)
Thatstinks
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 2:39amTo get out of California and pelosi I am in Chase, give me a call!
Report Post »islandlady
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 2:22amMongoose will feast on those snakes. There are no legal snakes in Hawaii.
Report Post »Orwell_Was_An_Optimist
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 2:04amSome of you are truly over-simplifying the problem.
A hibernaculum of the type they are talking about can hold hundreds of thousands of snakes. Large marshy areas, like near where this house is built, will have them. Until you see one opened up and behold the numbers, you can have little appreciation of what this family was up against.
It was not JUST dealing with a few dozen, or even a few hundred snakes.
Report Post »Cold War Vet
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 1:36amReminds me of liberals in the US Senate and the mainstream media…
Report Post »bleedthemedia
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 1:22amWith the house being 60k below market value, the buyer could use the savings to relocate it.
Report Post »GET THIS MUDDA FORKIN HOUSE AWAY FROM THESE MUDDA FORKIN SNAKES!!!!
PurrrpleMtnMajesty
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 12:30amAnybody know where you can sell snakemeat?
Report Post »Just might pay for itself!
Da Kingfish
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:47pmIf they are black green and yellow, the are poisonous liberal forked tongued teat suckers, beware!
Report Post »Wabbitseason
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:41pmGas ‘em! Do they like gas?
“Ooooh….snakes… *whimper*…”
Report Post »pecosval
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:36pmmaybe a mongoose or a ferret can help???
Report Post »americangriffin
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:20pmI actually live in Rexburg and this house has been kept a secret to where it is exactly located. It leaves everybody guessing when you’re trying to buy a house here in Rexburg. I think I should rally a group of farmers together with pitchforks and torches and burn the sucker down. death to the monster house.
Report Post »Churk
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:45pmI understanding having a home and fighting the good fight against semi-common occurrences but my butt would have been running away, not crawling in the crawl space. No no no no, no.
I can’t imagine facing this situation.
Report Post »a true texan
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:27pmI saw this last year on a T.v> series called Infested. This poor family went thru hell the snakes have a den under ground beneath the house. They are in the walls, drains, the cars…everywhere and they smell nasty. These poor people had to walk away from the house and leave it to foreclosure after they found the house had been foreclosed 2 other times for the same reason.
Report Post »cranberry
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:25pmYea, guess who was on that land first? Let’s just wipe them out because we need the land for a house. Really shortsighted. Just like the Elephants in Africa, they walked through homes because they’ve been using that path forever. Let’s use our human brains for something besides destruction.
Report Post »TheDebtWeAllPay
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 11:31am@cranberry well put
Report Post »commonsenseguy
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:24pmjust ship them back to the white house were they will be right at home,with all the other snakes.
Report Post »20th Century Wolverine
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:09pmWhy does this make me think of Washington D.C.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 3:21pmLol!
Report Post »DaveOregon
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:04pmBurning down the house only stops human habitation- as the snakes go underground for the winter. They should declare the land as a sanctuary – because if you destroy the den – the snakes will move to adjoing property and start the same thing. Leave them alone – not the neighbors fault.
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:03pmTurn it into a tourist trap reptile farm and deep fried snake kabob stand or the new Idaho PETA headquarters
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:55pmCheers!
Report Post »chips1
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:26pmJust another Weinner story. Unsuspecting victims.
Report Post »JUSTANOTHEROPINION
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:55pmSomebody should seek an injunction against the sale of this home without a full disclosure of the snake infestation.
Report Post »Isitoveryet..
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 12:47pmThere was full disclosure these morons singed a waver knowing full well, that is why they got the damn house and land so cheap at $180K.
Report Post »Dont-hate-on-me-2
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:23pmDont burn the house down to burn the snakes, lol these snakes are harmless. If they were obamer snakes and congressnakes then i would burn it. just send a crew in too dismantle the house and let it be part of nature again, besides snake is good eatin.
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:33pmBushs’s fault.
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:14pm“Blame Bush!”*
*Trademark of Hussein Holdings, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Soros Int’l.
Report Post »Truth Wins Every Time
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:22pmBurn it down!
Report Post »NSWPP
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:21pmYup, time to run out all the snakes and take our house back.
Know-whutta-mean, Verne?
Report Post »HOOFHEARTED
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:16pmThere are three kinds of snakes I hate! Live snakes,dead snakes,and a stick thet looks like a snake!!!
Report Post »A few years back, I found tiny little green grass snake and I brought it into the house..My wife just screamed,”get that snake out of the house!!” My daughter thought the snake was cute.
Exrepublisheep
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:32pmFunny!
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:14pmWow, talk about failure to disclose.
Oh that‘s right ’Chase’…owed by former JP Morgan.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:46pmThat is what I was thinking…. how did they get away with this?
Report Post »Mastermagi
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:06amThe previous owners did disclose the information, and these people signed a disclosure form stating they knew of the snakes.
Report Post »Isitoveryet..
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 12:44pmThese morons had to sign a waver because they and everyone eles with in 70 miles( it has been on local news since late 2007 two years befor they bought the house) knew that the snakes were in the house. They were told that the only way to get rid of them was to level the house and build a new one, and these Morons thought they knew better and could make a few $$ by buying the house so cheap.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:08pmWait until the dead of winter and burn the house down. The only good snake is a dead snake.
Report Post »Mike_Dugas
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:18pmThe only good snake is a dead snake? You’re a moron. Clueless to say the least.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:19pmThat was my thought also .. I don’t “do” snakes .. I would not have stayed in that house for 30 seconds.
Report Post »RightWrite
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:25pmAll those slithering Democrats living in your house — now that’s scary!!!!
Report Post »LetUsReason
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:27pmHa! Interesting. Just relocate them all. When you find another, relocate it. Eventually there won’t be anymore, right? Am I over-simplifying this?
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:30pmWhy do I have the funny feeling that PETA will be involved soon???
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:47pmHire Riki-Tiki-Tavi!
He’ll clear it up in no time!
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:50pmBring in Samuel L Jackson
Report Post »He knows what to do
LibsSuk
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:51pmI’m guessing mikedugas is an atheist lib moron
Report Post »bullcrapbuster
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:35pmJust kill the pests.Snakes like to die.
Report Post »PrfctlyFrank
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:41pmPeacocks!! Peacocks will eat the crap out of those things and give you a spectacular show at the same time.. Thats what you need there.. Fence it off and pen up a bunch of Peacocks… Environmentally safe and affordable..
Report Post »PrfctlyFrank
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:43pmOr Secretary Birds.. You could release the Secretary Birds in there and sell tickets.. Those things go around just stompin and thumpin the crud outta those snakes, and disposing of the corpse at the same time.. Hey… This could be a moneymaker.. Nuthin funnier than a Secretary Bird goin to work..
Report Post »SlimnRanger
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 10:54pmTha was my thought as well ,burn it down,although i know garter snakes are harmless,you can hurt yourself trying to get away from them,I had seen this already on the Discovery channel,mercy me thats enough to give a tough man nightmares
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:09pmLooked like a white house meeting to me
Report Post »BlazingPatriot
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:14pmSo this is where Obama gets his snake oil …aka, obamacare
On the more serious side,
Report Post »You can bet for sure there isn’t a rodent or bug in or anywhere near that house!
grape jelly
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:19pmI hate all three types of snakes, live snakes, dead snakes, and sticks that look like snakes. The only good snake is a dead snake.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on June 15, 2011 at 11:21pmSnakes are snakes and Serpents are some people.
Report Post »UlyssesP
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 12:05amBetcha they didn’t have a rat problem.
Report Post »Dale
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 12:28amLetUsReason
Report Post »Ha! Interesting. Just relocate them all. When you find another, relocate it. Eventually there won’t be anymore, right? Am I over-simplifying this?
————–
Obviously a job for ICE.
GONESURFING
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 12:39amWhat a mess, can’t live with snakes, gotta get rid of em. No snakes where I live thank God, except the political kind, and we got to get rid of em.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 1:17amBox them and send them to BO!
Report Post »seljo1701
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 8:01amGarter snakes eat mainly slugs and insects such as pill bugs (rolly-polly’s). If they are in the house, there may be a problem with these in the house. An exterminator would be a good idea. These snakes have to eat something; get rid of the food, get rid of the snakes. Where is the critical thinking, a.k.a. common sense people?
Report Post »tersky
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 9:21amIf this is where all the garter snakes in the area congregate for winter, you can’t kill them without risking a wider and more serious problem with rodents and other nasties the garter snakes eat. If you relocate them, they will only return next season. I see only two choices: Either condemn the property, or sell it cheap to someone who loves snakes. As snakes go, garter snakes are certainly not only innocuous, but beneficial.
Really, would you rather have a snake infestation on this one property, or a mouse infestation on every property for miles around?
Report Post »TheDebtWeAllPay
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 11:12ammaybe someone that does not like you should do the same see how you like it
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 3:10pmHEY MIKE DUGAS….
Bite me.! I will think and say what I please.
Report Post »Hickory
Posted on June 16, 2011 at 3:47pmWe have two kinds of snakes around here. One is the ones I have killed and the other is the ones I will kill. You can call me what you want but these snakes kill our birds and small animals. Sooo, I keep them thinned out. I just put away a copper head that was enjoying our pool.
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