"I've Been Bitten!"- Temecula Home Inspector

First Choice Inspections was founded by Temecula home inspector, Steve Stenros, nearly a decade ago. Here in southern California, a home inspector always needs to be on the lookout for job hazards. Not only are there hazardous conditions inside a home, there are numerous creeping or crawling critters to watch out for as well.

Just last week, while sitting in my office, I noticed the gardener looking intently in the hedge row at the edge of our lawn. Curiosity got the best of me, so I went outside to see what he was looking at. He had nearly stepped on a rattlesnake, which was now coiled up in the vegetation at the edge of our lawn. I quickly ran inside, grabbed my camera, and snapped a few photos before dispatching of the snake.
 

I am especially careful when entering a crawlspace area under a home. My protocol is look left, look right, look up, then enter. I've run into rats, rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, brown recluse spiders, skunks, opossums, raccoons, and pit bulls in crawlspaces.  That's right- pit bulls! A pit bull actually followed me into a crawlspace once! Fortunately, he was so joyous over his new-found territory, he wasn't interested in tasting me. (Then an idea came to me... Mount a video camera on a helmet, place it on my home inspection dog, and train him to systematically film the crawlspace area!)

Once, when inspecting an attic area at another Temecula home inspection, I heard a rustling noise at the location where the bathroom exhaust fan duct penetrated the roof line. There, only five feet away, was a foot-long rat coming in through the roof opening! Startled as we both were, he quickly exited and, luckily, I did not misstep and go through the ceiling!

Just last year, while inspecting an outbuilding at a home inspection in the foothills surrounding Temecula, I moved a few gardening utensils out of the way to view the foundation, I was nearly bitten by a coiled rattlesnake! 

A few weeks later, a large dog nearly jumped a five foot fence to get a piece of me! Inspecting homes is an exciting occupation. I'm always happy to still have all my parts intact when I arrive back at the office after a busy home inspection day!

Steve Stenros is a CREIA-certified home inspector with the MCI designation (Master CREIA Inspector) and is the founder of First Choice Inspections. A FREE lifetime appliance RecallChek is always provided with every standard home inspection. When looking for a professional Temecula home inspector, give Steve a call at 888-335-3040.

Originally posted at ActiveRain.