Tyler and Lauren Bouldin purchased the 1830s home at an auction in Pine Grove in late 2020, despite knowing it had been neglected for years, according to People.

"The house had been abandoned for years, and the condition showed it," Tyler says about the place when they took possession. "The main level had no floors, the grand staircase was falling down and the kitchen was gone entirely."

The surrounding overgrown woodland, pond and neglected grounds had also become a thriving habitat for mice, rabbits and frogs, attracting black snakes, water snakes and copperheads.

"This made an excellent hunting ground for black snakes, water snakes and copperheads, and we saw our first black snake climbing up the side of one of our massive sycamore trees, hunting for wood duck eggs, the day we took ownership of the property."

 

 

American couple battle venomous snakes after buying 200-year-old house

Sống chung với đàn rắn khi mua nhà cổ 200 năm tuổi

During the first six months of renovations, the family lived in a caretaker’s apartment inside the barn. With Lauren pregnant with their second child and their eldest son still a toddler, they checked the area carefully whenever they went outside.

The couple then launched a full restoration of the grounds to make the property less attractive to wildlife.

Rather than killing the reptiles, Tyler used a six-foot snake grabber to capture them and release them far from the house.

Inside Tyler's family's historic stone house. Photo from Symmetry Co. Photography

After more than five years of work, snake sightings have fallen sharply, according to The Economic Times. Tyler said the family now encounters only an occasional snake, compared with the almost daily sightings they experienced when they first arrived.

Looking back, the couple said the hardest part of buying an old house was not the renovation itself, but the unpredictable problems involving wildlife, cost and time.

"If you’re considering buying a big, old, run-down property, you’re going to face challenges related to wildlife, renovations, money and time that you can’t possibly predict or prepare yourself for," Tyler said.