A Google search told a South African family the snake around their front door was harmless. Then, their young son spotted it under the couch.
Professional snake catcher Warren Dick drove about 21 miles from The Bluff to Adams Mission, KwaZulu-Natal, and found a green mamba about 4 feet (1.2 meters) long.
Here's what to know
According to the South Coast Sun, Dick identified the snake from a brief video a woman in Adams Mission sent him.
The clip came after earlier sightings on the front door's burglar bars and in brickwork above the entrance.
He said the family's online check had pointed them in the wrong direction.
"The snake was first seen on Friday climbing up the front door burglar bars, but quickly moved off," said Dick. "It was seen again on Saturday sticking its head out of the corner of the brickwork above the door; this is when the video was taken. A Google search of the snake said it was harmless. It soon disappeared, and no one thought of it again until her little boy was playing on the lounge floor and spotted it under the couch."
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Dick added that the family's teenage daughter pulled her brother away and locked up the house, which helped keep the situation under control.
The South Coast Sun reported that the woman had also struggled to get help, with other snake catchers either unable to come or charging more than she could afford.
More background
Before anyone identified it, the snake stayed on the property for days.
Its path moved from outside to inside: from the burglar bars to the brickwork to a spot beneath a couch in the house, Dick explained. The encounter played out almost entirely in human-made spaces, not the wild.
Dick said reaching the home was also difficult because the woman was at work, the property had no proper address, and her daughter's broken phone meant she couldn't send a pin right away.
Such delays can make a major difference when children are in the house, and the animal's location keeps changing.
What can be done?
The video Dick received showed him what species he was dealing with before he set out from The Bluff.
Keeping the house closed also improved the chances of a quick capture. Dick located and removed the snake within about five minutes of arriving.
The response also depended on outside support. An Edwin Swales filling station donates fuel that covers one or two callouts each month in poorer communities, Dick said, and the caller also gave R300.
Affordability, transportation, and communication all affected whether expert help was available.
As Dick put it, "However, living in a rural area, she has no proper address, and her daughter's phone was broken, and she was at work, so no location could be sent to me immediately. She had to try to make her way back home from work to send me a pin location. She got home at 13:00 and sent me the location, and I was off."
Where can I learn more?
These stories show how venomous snakes can turn up in everyday parts of South African homes, from roofs and garages to kitchens and living rooms.
• In Durban, a man was bitten after experts identified a green mamba that others had called harmless.
• In South Africa, a woman trapped a black mamba indoors before it reappeared on a dining chair.
• In Boboyi, KwaZulu-Natal, a black mamba appeared in a kitchen during breeding season.
• In Empangeni, South Africa, homeowners found a black mamba in the garage after opening a box.
• In South Africa, a snake catcher waited by a roof hole until a massive black mamba emerged.
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