A couple who bought a new house in Colorado got the fright of their life when they discovered a nest containing 150 snakes underneath their home.
That wasn't picked up on the searches, that's for damn sure.
Shaynon McFadden and Royce Robins had moved into the house on Rushmore Street in the town of Elizabeth back in 2018, but it quickly became clear that there was a den of snakes under the back of the property.
To their surprise and terror, the critters started popping up out of the decking. As the weather started to get a bit warmer, the couple started seeing more and more snakes slithering out around their house.
Luckily, the reptiles were only garter snakes, and unlikely to do any real harm to a human. They'd give you a nip, but they aren't venomous or anything like that.
Ms McFadden told 9News: "We started seeing garter snake heads popping up in between the wood slats on the ground level patio."
Having bought the house in November 2018, they had no idea that there was a snake den on the land. That's considered - quite rightly - a material fact that should be disclosed to buyers before the property is sold.
Failure to do so is against Colorado state property laws.
Anyway, as winter turned to spring, so the snakes began to flourish. By this point, they were even getting inside the house, with one coming face to face with the family felines.
McFadden continued: "My cats had it cornered in the bathroom.
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"We're not sure how it got in, but we got rid of that one right away."
It's been an expensive process for the pair. They've forked over for pest control, new decking, and a new shed. In total, they reckon they've spent $8,000 (£6,200) on the problem.
More than 150 snakes have been captured, and removed from the property to somewhere else.
As for the dispute over not knowing about the infestation, the Colorado Association of Realtors, a not-for-profit real estate trade association, reckons that a snake infestation is something you should be telling folks about before letting them buy a house.
Yeah, that seems fair enough.
Colorado's laws state that sellers and real estate employees must disclose anything that could be materially relevant - such as 'you've got hundreds of snakes chilling out beneath your back garden decking', for example.
According to a spokesperson from the Colorado Association of Realtors, non-disclosures are the most common dispute to arise after a sale.
Particularly if there are tonnes of slithering reptiles living in your house rent-free.
Featured Image Credit: 9NewsTopics: US News, Weird, Animals