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There Was a Snake in My Kitchen — I Was Afraid to Sleep That Night
One of us had to die — I was determined it wouldn’t be me
The Mozambique Spitting Cobra is a highly venomous species of spitting cobra. Their bite can damage tissues and they can spit up to a distance of two metres and inflict serious damage to your eyes — even blind you.
In March last year, the same species slithered through the open kitchen door, up the step to the lounge, then settled under the couch. I could see the tip of its tail sticking out..
It was a Saturday, mid-afternoon.
I was a widow, with no-one around to help me. I lickety-split sent out an SOS to our local chat group asking who I could contact to remove it, all the while keeping an eye out for movement. I needed to ensure it stayed put.
A neighbour knew a snake remover and brought him to take the snake away. The two-hour delay felt interminable. Keeping a beady eye on the couch, I changed into jeans, tucked the bottoms into my socks, and put on my sneakers. At least my legs were protected in case it came out spitting venom.
Armed with a long plastic rod to ensure the cobra didn’t emerge from its hiding place, I stood and waited for help to arrive. You don’t sit in such a situation!
