Imagine coming across a large snake? Scary, right? Now imagine coming across a large snake in your own home. Terrifying!

  • Deputies said snake was six-foot banded water snake
  • Snake maybe displaced from habitat by crews mowing nearby

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, deputies caught this six-foot water snake inside a Lake Wales home Thursday after homeowner, Joan Dick, saw it slither behind a filing cabinet in her home office.

“I screamed. I screamed and screamed," said Dick. “It was horrifying, it really was. I was terrified.”

The woman said she noticed the snake around 4 p.m. and immediately called animal control. She said she stayed in the other room and the patio until deputies were able to get it out of the house.

“They’re wonderful people. They’re just so sensitive," said Dick. "They recognized how frightened I was so they talked to me first before they took it out of the room.”

She said the deputies help allowed her to sleep good Thursday night.

The woman lives near a small lake and believes the snake's habitat was disturbed by crews mowing on the other side of the lake.

She said she left her patio door open while watching her dog play outside. She thinks that is how the snake got in.

“ I will be cautious from now on. I know it’s possible now," Dick said.