There are some childhood things you just don’t confess until you’re much older and the statute of limitations on your parents getting genuinely upset at you has expired.
But what happens when a problem you created as a child only gets bigger and bigger as you age and ends up having very real consequences for someone’s property value and living situation?
Would you confess or take the secret to the grave?
What Happened With This Home?
In a viral TikTok with more than 16 million views, creator Nicole Parish (@soundoftheforest) reveals the origin story of a snake problem that drove an entire family out of their home.
Parish said it started innocently enough. She and her brother, as kids, loved garter snakes. So they went to a nearby field almost every single day. There, they collected as many as they could find, and released them into their yard and fed them to keep them around.
“We absolutely loved them,” she says. “But it got to a point that there were just so many snakes in our yard that there wasn’t room for them all.”
There was an abandoned house next door, a bank-owned property that had sat empty for years. The snakes migrated there, but nobody noticed, because nobody lived there.
Until someone moved in.
“It wasn’t long until we got a knock on our door,” she says. The new neighbors wanted to know how Parish’s family dealt with the snakes which they said were everywhere from the yard to the house to the walls. Her mom had no idea any of this was happening.
“My mom was like, ‘What?'” she says.
She and her brother stood there and said nothing. Their mother had no idea they’d spent years stocking the neighborhood with garter snakes. As far as she knew, the kids were just out having fun, “gathering maybe a few snakes here and there.”
And what happened to the neighbors? Unable to solve the snake infestation, they eventually moved out.
“If those neighbors see this video, I’m so sorry,” she said in the caption.
Are Garter Snakes Dangerous?
According to HowStuffWorks, garter snakes are among the most benign snakes in the world. They do technically produce a mild neurotoxic venom, but the amount is so small it can’t harm a human.
What they will do if you pick one up is bite (harmless but still an unpleasant nip) and release a foul smell from their anal gland. Generally, though, they’re shy, avoid humans and pets, and are actually useful in a garden setting, eating slugs, snails, insects, grasshoppers, and small rodents.
There are 35 species of garter snakes across North America, ranging from about 18 inches to nearly four and a half feet long. They’re highly social during mating season, forming what researchers call “mating balls” where groups of males cluster around a single female. They also hibernate in large numbers to conserve heat.
How Bad Can An Infestation Get?
Havahart notes that while a few garter snakes in a yard can be beneficial, a large group is a different story. Because they hibernate communally, a colony can form quickly, and their combined smell alone can make a residence unlivable.
Experts describe garter snakes as potentially among the smelliest snakes.
They can also enter through surprisingly small cracks, which makes them hard to keep out once they’ve identified a structure as suitable. Havahart recommends sealing any entry points as the first line of defense, followed by granular snake repellents applied along the perimeter. But if a population is already established, getting rid of them is a much bigger project.
What Did Viewers Think?
“I don’t think my parents appreciate me as a child as much as they should,” a top comment read.
“I enjoyed this story but only because I’m not involved,” a person said.
“In y’alls defense, garter snakes are ridiculously adorable,” another wrote.
“You’re grounded. On behalf of moms everywhere you guys are grounded,” a commenter wrote.
@soundoftheforest If those neighbors see this video, I’m so sorry. #autisticadult #autism #autistic
BroBible reached out to @soundoftheforest for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message.