Arkansas Realtor Finds House Overrun by Nonvenomous Black Rat Snakes

An Arkansas real estate agent, Christopher White, arrived to show a house for sale and discovered the property had been taken over by dozens of black snakes. What looked like a routine viewing quickly turned into a no-go visit when White realized the home was full of reptiles around the front entrance and porch.

White told USA Today that at first nothing seemed unusual. “When I got to the house I treated it like a normal workday. I got out of the car, walked around the house, and then went back to the car to check the property details. At that moment I looked toward the porch,” he said. In the video he filmed, snakes can be seen near the front door, hanging from the porch roof, and hiding inside an old electrical panel.

After spotting the infestation, White posted on Instagram, “I had to tell my buyer that I was absolutely not going to show this house.” Experts identified the reptiles as black rat snakes, a nonvenomous species. They are considered helpful to farmers because they reduce populations of mice and other rodents.

The encounter took place in Arkansas, where White had come to present the home to prospective buyers. The house was still on the market, but White made clear that the showing would not go ahead.