There's something about snakes which is just off-putting. Sorry to all you reptile-lovers who are the proud owners of a slinky danger noodle, but personally I think they're a bit creepy. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it's the way they move, slithering and gliding across the floor; or maybe it's their cold, hard stare, and flicking tongue. Or it could be the fact that their sharp fangs could pierce the skin like a pair of daggers, and fill your veins with venom. Or perhaps it's the thought of being crushed within their loops of coiled, scaly muscle and slowly constricted to death.

Come to think of it, there are plenty of reasons to be scared of them. But for me, the big one is the fact that they can get absolutely anywhere. Seriously, they can get into every nook and cranny like that stretchy guy from The X-Files, and even wind their way into the confines of your own home. Just think of sleeping soundly in your bed, while a serpent crawls through a pipe or a crack in your wall, and makes its way into your house.

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One unfortunate woman learned this to her displeasure this week, after venturing into her attic, only to discover two gigantic pythons wrestling each other over a female. Terrified, she grabbed her phone and started filming the scrapping reptiles. Since pythons are a particularly deadly species, the woman in question was forced to call a snake catcher, who promptly appeared in the video himself.

The pest control expert stated: "It's coming into breeding season, so these two males have obviously caught the scent of a female. Yeah, they're competing to see which of them's the worthy lover. It's all just wrestling each other, and pushing each other down."

The two snakes appear to be members of the carpet python species. The carpet python, also known as the diamondback, boasts a range of natural habitats, including Australia, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. The species is mostly nocturnal, and are adept at climbing trees and shrubs, and even at crossing open areas like forest floors, roads, and rock faces, which makes it easy for them to slither into someone's house. They are, however, a useful species, and devour pests such as rats, lizards or other vermin. However, they also make good pets and are relatively docile in their temperament.

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Unfortunately for the two warring snakes, the catcher was unable to find the female that they had been wrestling over - meaning that all of their efforts to win her affection had been for nothing. Ah well, better luck next time lads. I suppose guys out there could learn a lesson here. Dudes, if two of you are competing for the attention of one woman, then maybe consider resolving your differences amicably, instead of knocking lumps out of each other - it never works!

Now, I will happily hold my hands up and admit that I am one of those people that are terrified of spiders.

I don't like the way they look. I don't like the way they move. And I especially don't like the way they snare their prey and suck the life out of them.

However, as any arachnophobe will know, I am often asked: "Why are you scared of spiders? They're much smaller than you! They're more scared of you than you are of it!"

Well, the next time some spider-loving fool decides to question why these eight-legged freaks cause me to freeze on the spot, then I'm going to show them this video.

The footage - showing what appeared to be a pink toe tarantula attempting to eat a house wren - was originally shared on Reddit, and has since made its way across social media.

Check out the horrifying video below:

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Per Newsweek, after the arachnid in the video was misidentified as a Goliath birdeater spider (then again, I can see how people came to that conclusion), Jason Dunlop - an expert from the Museum of Natural History at the Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Research in Germany - told the publication that the spider actually appears to be a pink toe tarantula (Avicularia avicularia), "or at least something closely related".

Dunlop added that it is uncommon for tarantulas to feast on birds, but added: "I suspect the tarantula would have chewed up what it can.

Further proof spiders are not friendly creatures:

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"It basically regurgitates digestive juices on to the prey and then sucks the liquified remains back in [...] Whatever was left—bones, feathers—would simply be discarded."

(People: "WhY yOu sCaReD Of sPiDerS?" Me: "Because of sentences like the one above.")

Per the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the pink-toed tarantula is a small, tree-dwelling tarantula, with the larger females achieving leg spans of roughly 4.75 inches.

Appearance-wise, they are black and hairy, with some pink coloring at the end of their legs. They also have four appendages near their mouths, with two containing their venom-filled fangs and the other two it uses as claws and for feeling.

And you never know where you're going to find them:

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It can also launch the hairs from its body as a form of defense.

Now for most of us to take a nice sign of relief, as these particular spiders are native to the rainforest regions of northern South America, including Venezuela, northern Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname.

Fortunately, nowhere near me. That being said, I'm sure this beast will be haunting my dreams for the next few months.

One of the more common creature phobias is snakes, probably ranking in there somewhere between spiders and sharks. Personally, I don't have any fear of the slithering reptiles, but even those of us who are fine with them have our limits. I'd say if 45 turned up in my house, I wouldn't exactly be relaxed.

The Texas-based company Big Country Snake Removal removes snakes, as you can probably tell from their name. Since it's quite literally in their name, you'd think that they'd be used to getting rid of the troublesome creatures from awkward spots - but even the professionals can be shocked by their work sometimes.

Last week, they arrived at a Texas house to rid them of an infestation in the foundations of the home. The house, located in Albany (around 150 miles west of Dallas), was well kept - but even so, an astounding amount of snakes made it in.

The homeowner contacted the service after spotting "a few" around that part of the house when he was searching for the source of an electrical problem. Nathan Hawkins, who runs the removal business, wrote about the incident on Facebook:

"Our day started off with a quick removal in Woodson, Texas. After the Woodson removal, we headed back south to a house between Baird and Albany.

"Due to the high winds, their TV/cable was acting up, so a gentleman crawled under to see what was going on. He saw a few snakes and quickly crawled out."

In a supplied video, they explore how many snakes have managed to infest the home, without any of them even noticing. And when a removal tool is used to get rid of them, they're not exactly happy about it - letting off the creepiest rattle sound.

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"The interesting thing here was they only see a few each year, their yard was very well kept and their house was nice and clean," Hawkins wrote, before warning people that the same thing could happen to them:

"My point is, we run into this scenario often, and people don't think it can happen to them. As I stated in the teaser video, rattlesnakes don't care how nice your house is or what kind car you drive - they care simply about survival.

"We arrived around lunchtime and as soon as I crawled under I could immediately see that there was far more than a few."

Hawkins says he's been working in the Abilene area for years, and has also visited many natural snake dens to observe their behaviours - seeing the likes of "dens; male combat, feedings, breeding". Maybe after seeing all that action, 45 snakes doesn't phase him any more.

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One of the snakes that Hawkins captured was apparently five-and-a-half feet long, to make things even less pleasant. Thankfully, all 45 snakes were safely removed from the home, though I can't imagine the homeowners will sleep too well for the near future.

1. This is a giant centipede protecting its children

2. These wasps built their home around a disposed child's doll 

3. And this hornet's nest was found fused with a wooden statue of a man

4. This hermit crab used a discarded baby doll's head as a shell 

5. This is some weird-looking fungi

6.This is Cymothoa Exigua. It’s a parasite which attaches itself to a fish’s gills, eats its tongue and then replaces it… 

7. Sheepshead fish have rows of human-like teeth! 

8. This lava pit (or possible portal to Hell) looks like it's sucking people into eternal damnation

9. This centipede was eaten by a viper, but it found a way to chew itself out

10. These pythons separated themselves by colour, straight after hatching. Clever, huh? 

11. This is Eulagisca Gigantean, a type of Antarctic worm species 

12. There are so many bees in this plug socket that their honey is starting to leak out

13. This person's mussel contained a half-eaten crab!

 14. This is apparently a pufferfish skeleton 

15. This is what the inside of a sea lamprey's mouth looks like 

16. And what on earth is this?! 

There are few creatures more petrifying than snakes. No matter how small or unthreatening they are, there's something very sinister about them. Luckily, for most people, snake sightings are pretty rare.

Others, however, have the misfortune of living in close proximity to them - for example, many parts of Australia are home to numerous species of the slithery creatures.

But while snake encounters are a relatively common occurrence for some people in Queensland - one professional snake catch made a "nightmare" discovery in one family's attic.

The snake catcher, named Dave, works for Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, who shared photos of the eerie snake skins on their Facebook page.

It wasn't exactly the find that Dave - who typically wrangles rogue snakes away from people's homes and takes them back to the bush - was expecting.

Alongside a couple of images featuring the snake skins, Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers explained that the snake catcher had found at least 30 of them on that particular job.

The company wrote:

"Has There Been Any Snakes In Our Roof?! Well to be completely honest, there has been a couple...at least! How is this haul from Dave when he conducted a roof inspection yesterday.

"He brought down over 30 snake skins out of the family's roof space, and there was probably another 20 skins up there. The kids at the house loved it and had plenty of questions to ask Dave about snakes."

They went on to mention that snakes are "great to have in your roof as they eat all the rodents", calling them "free pest control". Yeah, I'd probably prefer the mice.

The post has since racked up over 5,000 reactions and more than 5,000 comments, with one commenter remarking: "That’s just plain scary !!!!!" and another describing it as their "worst nightmare".

Meanwhile, another decided it would be a "great 'show and tell' for the children."

A different person had a snake anecdote of their own, writing: "I know when my python is in my ceiling cavity...I hear him. He comes and goes. Must be moonlighting in someone else's roof too."

What's the most insane thing you've found in your roof? Let us know in the comments!

Featured image credit: Tierfotoagentur / Alamy Stock Photo