FLORIDIAN FAMILY IGNORES WEIRD NOISES IN THE ATTIC THINKING IT TO BE RATS ONLY TO DISCOVER THE TRUTH LATER

 

Imagine that you had just finished your work, the weekend is knocking on the doors and you are all in your pajamas binge-watching your favorite T.V show and then there is this massive thump on the attic what would you do? Would you follow the noise or would you choose to ignore it? Many of the people would go after the noise to find out who is it but some would ignore like the protagonist of the story without having an idea that he would be stunned afterward.

A Usual Night

Bob and Linda van der Herchen had just sat down after the dinner and were watching Television and simultaneously catching up with their kids. It was the routine that they used to follow religiously every Saturday and Sunday night. And this Saturday too, they were having the same discussion when they heard the loud thump. But this time it was too loud to be ignored.

Assumptions

Bob never thought it was more than a mice or a rat and hence he never investigated the attic and today too he was in no mood to do so even when his kids and wife frowned at him. Due to the peak season, he didn’t get any chance to enjoy a peaceful weekend with his family. And when he finally managed a holiday from his busy schedule, he didn’t want to ruin the opportunity just because of some harmless creature living in the attic.

Bob, The Bee Rescuer

Bob owned a company named Bob van der Herchen Bee Removal & Rescue company, which aimed at harmlessly removing bees from people’s houses for the last many years. So he was confident enough that these were just the bees or rats and he wasn’t one of those people who distraught someone’s peace especially the bees because they weren’t paying rents. And it had been years and he had not seen any sign of damage or gnawing by rats or mice. Hence he thought of leaving the poor creatures undisturbed. But what if, whatever he was thinking was wrong and the creatures weren’t just mice or rats?

Finding Ways

After finishing the dinner when Linda went in to do dishes, Adam their son, was mischievous and curious to find out about the noise in the attic. So he sneaked into his room to find ways to see what was there in the attic. He took a big stick and climbed on the bed and started inserting the stick in between the old slat to see if he could find something. But he didn’t have much expectation as he thought the rat or mice might run away as soon as they would feel the stick. Would he be able to find the infiltrator?

Rats, really?

While he was doing so, his stick suddenly got stuck and he was unable to move it around. He thought he might have got hold of the filthy creature that was roaming around and as he called out his parents the stick broke into half. When the parent ran to his room he was holding the broken stick in his hand and his face turned pale yellow because he was stunned by what had happened.

Curiosity

All the family members were now staring at the ceiling trying to figure out what it might be. Linda and Adam’s curiosity was constantly increasing while Bob was calm and tried to simmer his wife and son down too. But after this incident, it had become difficult for both of them to calm their selves because now they were apprehensive there might be more than rats or mice in the attic. Would they be able to find out?

Solving The Mystery

Linda was determined to find out about the intruder in their attic as it had been more than a couple of years, so when both the men left the house after breakfast she sat down to scrutinize the ways to do so. She then thought of bringing a spray or medicine to remove the pest that has been eating out their house from the attic. Would she be able to remove the mucky creature?

Solutions

She ran to the medical store in order to bring the medicine and as it was a Monday morning she didn’t find much crowd at the store. She ran back to the house with the medicine in her hand. As soon as she entered the house she placed a ladder to the attic and started to sprinkle the medicine from the tiny openings in the old slat. Would it help to kill the pest?

Observing The Noise

The whole day she tried to observe the noise from the attic while she finished her household chores. For the entire day, there wasn’t any noise from the attic and she thought she had finally got ridden of the creature. She was too excited to tell her son and husband that it had become difficult for her to wait. Was her assumption right? Had she really won the battle against the filthy creature?

Victory?

As both the men stepped into the house, she excitedly told the news to them. Adam was happy because he could finally sleep peacefully in his room otherwise he was afraid that one day the creature would eat him raw in his sleep. He hugged his mother tightly. Bob praised her for showing the courage as he already knew how much she creeps out by the bare name of the creatures and always suggested him to change his career.

That Night

After doing his work, Adam wrapped up his things and went to sleep peacefully. It was after years Adam was sleeping well tucked in his cozy bed as his thoughts did not wonder what might be there in the attic. It was around midnight when something from the attic fell on his place disrupting his sleep. He could not open his eyes as he was afraid of what it might be and screamed at the top of his voice.

Havoc

The parents were in the other room and ran as they heard the scream to see what had happened. As they entered the room, they found him at the corner of the bed. Bob carefully bent over the bed to look out for the object and held it in his bare hands. Linda kept a hand on her mouth at the sight because it was the same medicine she had put in the attic this morning. Was the creature still lurking in the attic?

The Next Morning

The family sat on the breakfast table still stunned because of the incident that happened last night. Even Bob had started to worry about the creature in the attic. Now he too doubted that something else was there in the attic and not just some rat or lizard. And the creature might be harmful to the family especially Linda as she used to be alone in the house most of the time.

Making Plans

As soon as Bob and Adam stepped into the house they all sat on the dinner table to make plans to see what was there in the attic. Adam suggested putting a camera on the stick and then shoving it up so that it could take the picture of the infiltrator that was dreading them. Would they be able to find out the reason for their sleepless nights?

Clicking Picture

According to the plan, they sneaked a camera from the little opening in the old slats and tried to picture it. After a while when they had randomly clicked a lot of photos they tried to put down their camera. Now they were relieved to some extent that they will catch the culprit. Was it that easy to do so?

Proofs

When they tried to scrutinize the pictures, it was disappointing for them as the photos were not clear and all they could see were some blurred images. They even couldn’t make out what it was but the blurred pictures were enough to tell that it was not just rats or mice. The skin that was captured in the camera seemed to be more like that of a lizard than some mischievous mice. What was it then?

Scratching Their Heads

The pictures had put the family in dilemma now,they knew it wasn’t something they can just leave in the attic and had to do something about it. When they were done scratching their head they thought they need to consult the animal rescuers as it was the only choice they seemed to have. Bob jotted down certain animal trapper’s numbers as the dawn broke.

Animal Rescuers

As Bob himself had a company it wasn’t difficult to search for help and was able to reach the rescuers from his contacts. One of them was his friend so he came running down the street to help his friend. Bob had already warned them about the creature so they had all the equipment ready if there arises any problem.

Mission Creature

The team came there right on time but they were afraid to go inside when Bob shared the photo of the creature. Their doubts began to materialize and they knew it wasn’t even a lizard terrorizing the family but something more awful was lurking in the attic that they had no idea about which could possibly be a threat to their lives.

Reality Of The Photo

The photo that they had shown was actually of a snake that was lurking in the attic for quite some time. This information was enough to send a chill down their spine especially Adam because it was his room under the attic. The snake had a diamond design on his skin. One of the officers warned them“That’s a big old boy right there; that guy will kill you.”

Theories

“Probably over the last couple of years, my wife said she heard sounds in the attic. My son said he heard sounds in the attic,” he explained. “I didn’t think much of it. I thought maybe it was rats.”And now the mystery of the noise was revealed and rather was a dreadful discovery. But Bob made sure that the snake was coaxed without it getting hurt in any way.

Hide And Seek

After finding out the culprit the next task in front of them was to pull the serpent out. The team started the rescue mission with a lot of care and protection so that the reptile didn’t hurt the team members or itself. They tried putting the equipment with which they could catch the snake. Bob even called his nephew who was an expert in snake trapping. Would they be able to catch the culprit?

Failed Attempts

They tried their every bit to catch the notorious snake but every time they thought they were near the creature it would sneak to the other end of the attic making it more difficult to catch it. After they had tried whatever they could they gave up and promised to come the following day with a more planned scheme. That night was the sleepless night for the family because they were now aware that they were living with a snake!

The Following Day

As promised by the team they did come on the next day too but again it was difficult for the team to catch the snake. Even they were unable to know what type of snake was it and how did it go in the attic in the first place. They had already failed twice while trying to catch it. Would they be able to find how to pull out the snake or the family had to think of some other way to get out of this terrific position?

Seeking Help

When the animal rescuers were done with all they could do and gave up, the family had to seek some other source of help before the snake came down and started to make each one them it’s prey. Linda, without wasting any more time, posted the whole story on Facebook to seek some help from her followers. Would she be able to succeed in her plan or would this attempt go in vain like the others?

A Ray Of Hope

The Facebook post that Linda had written caught the eye of one of her friends and she contacted Linda as soon as she read the post. The friend told Linda about one of her friends who was an expert with exotic animals and had a particular interest in snakes. Linda’s eyes shone with hope and she took the number of the man readily.

Calling Him Up

Linda, without wasting any more time called Mark Lampart, the man who her friend had suggested. Luckily he was in the town and agreed to help the terrified family. Mark Lampart was known daredevil and his girlfriend too took part in his adventures every time and had always supported him. And this was another good opportunity for both of them.

Mission Starts

Soon they reached their house and started planning how to take the snake down as the animal rescuers had tried it twice to pull down the snake but were unable to do that with equipment. The family feared how Mark would manage to do it without any help other than his girlfriend. Would he be able to take the serpent down?

The Hustle

He went on to remove a couple of old slats and place it down so that he could put his a PVC pipe in the hole and bring it out. But all his attempts seemed to go in vain as the snake got on the PVC pipe and didn’t move as stated by Bob. Bob also talked about its length in an interview and said: “It took three and a half minutes for that snake to move into that rafter space…it was bigger than I expected,”.

Discoveries

Several futile hours went by and still, there was no trace of the serpent. He could only catch his rusted snakeskin which indicated that he had been residing in the attic for quite a long time estimated to be 3-4 years! Bob Van der Herchen recalled.“When he pulled that snakeskin out, I said, ‘That’s a sign he must have been there for quite a while,’”

Attempts

After several hours had passed, he finally got a hold on the tail of the snake and yanked it from the whole that he had created before. When Mark pulled the serpent out of the hole everyone was stunned at the very sight of it. It wasn’t the rattlesnake that animal rescuers had predicted it to be. It was a massive Colombian red-tailed boa constrictor which was quite common in the jungles but they seldom came into the habitation. Then how did a boa constrictor manage to enter their attic?

Boa Constrictor

They are generally found in tropical North, Central, and South America. They are rarely found in the forest but are exclusively bred and kept in captivity. They are seldom aggressive and their bites are not that dangerous. Even if it bites someone, the person can be given simple medications and he would be fine.

Red-tailed Boa

Generally, they are referred to as red-tailed boa because of the red color in their tail. They belong to the family of Boidae which comes in the category of nonvenomous snakes but their bites are really painful indeed. Boa constrictors are their subspecies and in the exotic pet trade, they are too referred to as “BCC” which is its scientific name.

Size And Structure

They are usually heavy-bodied snakes and their length can be up to 3–13 ft and the one found in the attic was too 6 feet long. But mostly their length depends on the locality and environment these snakes live in. They can weigh up to  27 kg (60 lb) and in the case of females, the weight can go up to 10 to 15 kg (22 to 33 lb).

Non-Venomous But Dangerous

Though they are not venomous snakes, they have large fangs. They can strangle anyone to death if at all they don’t make them their prey. Which in turn is more painful than death from their bite. They rarely interact with other snakes unless they have to mate. They would not be even visible in the daylight as they are nocturnal in nature. But when the night temp is quite low they often bask in sunlight during the day. Would the local snake trapper be able to catch such a serpent?

Crucial Time

The moment he started the mission, the family was just praying that he would take the snake down carefully. It took almost two hours before Mark could pull it out and as he took him out of the attic the family sighed in relief. Mark very casually held the snake in his hand and happily posed with him. Such a brave boy!

Questions Unanswered

Though Mark skillfully took out the snake out of the attic, the questioned remained how did it manage to get in the first place in the attic and that too such a rare breed. What if the snake might have come down at night and strangled any of the family members especially Adam because it was his room beneath the attic?

The semi-arboreal snakes

The snake was semi-arboreal that means they can climb on trees and bushes. And this was how the snake managed to get into the attic. Commonly young boa constrictors climb trees and shrubs in search of food. This nocturnal snake too must have sneaked from somewhere and while searching for the food on the trees might have landed in the attic of the van der Herchens’ family.

Sold As A Pet

The snake might have been adopted by some nearby residents and then it could have sneaked out from the window or any openings of the house in search of food, according to Lampert, “From there it might have climbed the tree and ended up in the attic. Later Linda disclosed to her Facebook friends “Animal control said it got on the roof from tree branches.”

Mission Succesful

Mark Lampart was successful in evacuating the snake without getting anyone hurt. Bob was so concerned about the snake and requested the animal rescue team, which came later to their house to displace the snake from their house to a safe place. Hence they took the exotic snake to the jungle where it actually belonged.

Aftermath

The family was overjoyed with the news and thanked everyone for their cooperation and support especially Mark Lampart. The family thanked him numerous times when the video ended.”Wow, thank you, thank you, thank you,” said Bob at the end of the video. It was after several nights that they would be able to sleep peacefully.

Getting On The Nerves

As for Lampart, it was his mundane job to catch animals and this would give him the kick of his life. Amusingly he met his current girlfriend in one of these adventures and they both now are on the mission to protect the exotic animals and they do whatever. But this project had got on their nerves.”I’m glad we could get it. It was very difficult,” replied Lampart while in an interview.

Ever-Increasing Population

They were increasingly found in the habitation of humans at that time in the Sunshine state. And this had been terrifying for people in and around the city. Because they always lived in a threat that anytime a massive snake might turn up in the house in the middle of the night. And recently their presence had been terrorizing a lot of people.

City In Danger

And most of it that are found are dangerous Burmese Python species that are lurking in the habitation. And they are known to prey on anything that came in their way ranging from rats to deer. And if they were lurking in human habitation it was a matter of deep concern for the people as well as the authorities too. Would they be able to protect Florida from the attack of serpents?

Taking Actions

Authorities were scratching their heads because they were unable to find out where the snakes were coming from. Still, they were determined to excavate them from the houses and at least from Miami. While the excavation was going on, however, there were complaints about seeing these notorious creatures were sneaking into the people’s houses. They troubled their sleep or horrified them by showing up in their sinks and bathrooms suddenly.

Dogs At Rescue

Dogs had been trained to sniff the presence of the snakes in the suspected houses and then they are left to search for the serpent. Luckily for the officers, this idea had been successful and they had saved many inmates from the clutches of the snakes because of the brave dogs. But would they be able to reach to every needy house?

Where There’s A Will There Is A Way

The spirit of the authorities had been high and positive, though Miami had numerous people residing in it. Nevertheless, they tried to cover and help as many houses as they could, excavating the snakes from their houses and afterward moving them into a safe place too. Reports against spotting a snake had been reduced in the records showing how the authorities had tackled the problem and had been doing so for the last numerous months.

A Sigh Of Relief

But for the van der Herchen family, it was a sigh of relief when the snake was excavated from the attic. Bob was particularly happy after watching the snake going to a safe house. Now, whenever he went out for projects in the bee removal in any house he particularly warned them to take any suspected noises from the quite seriously as it would be beneficial for the inmates only.

Spreading Awareness

No matter how much the authorities would be ready to help the public but it is the truth that they can’t be always present at certain times of miseries. After the incident, not just Bob but the whole family try to aware people about the same. And they were in debt of Mark because it was he who saved them from the threat and as a token of respect they always invite him at Christmas celebration. And he had been now more active with authorities in this task. Wondering how many pastries would he be getting from around the city? Well, of course, a lot!.