A Kentucky Couple Bought Their Dream Cottage, Then Learned Locals Called It "the Snake House"

SALVISA, Ky., Nov. 8, 2026 — Jessica Perry spotted the Mercer County house on Zillow, fell for it on the first walk-through and made an offer that day. She and her husband closed on Aug. 5. A few weeks later the snakes started showing up.

The first week, the family found two adult rat snakes and several young ones in the basement, Perry told LEX18. Over the following months they ran into dozens more. Rat snakes aren't venomous. They're constrictors that eat rodents, birds and eggs.

An exterminator set traps in the basement and around the house, and a contractor tore down the porch to find where the snakes were coming from. Under it was what Perry believes was a den that had been there for years. "We found snake skin sheds going into the foundation of it," she told the station, and once the contractor broke through the middle, there were "multiple, multiple snake eggs."

The den was cleaned out and openings around the house were sealed. Then, days before the interview, Perry found a snake about 6 feet long in the basement.

She said the seller never mentioned a snake problem. Neighbors told a different story. One had grown up in the house as a child and remembered snakes in the basement, and a former owner eventually told Perry the property had a nickname: "the snake house," WKRC Local 12 reported.

The family has spent a couple thousand dollars so far. A contractor told Perry part of the basement may need significant work that could run $4,000 to $5,000, money she said they don't have. A friend has started a fundraiser to help.

They're staying. Salvisa sits about 30 minutes west of Lexington, and Perry said they want to raise their son there. "We love our neighbors," she said, "and we're just hoping that we can get it under control."