For a long time now, Bob van der Herchen has been hearing sounds coming from the attic in his house in Englewood, Florida, about an hour-and-a-half south of Tampa.

“Probably over the last couple of years, my wife said she heard sounds in the attic. My son said he heard sounds in the attic, ” Van der Herchen told WESH. “I didn’t think much of it. I thought maybe it was rats.”

Which he was apparently willing to live with. What it actually was was a snake, a six-foot boa constrictor that was found hanging out in the insulation.

A snake catcher came to retrieve the reptile, noting that the presence of shedded snake skin, indicating it had been there for awhile—possibly up to four years.

Where might it have come from? Van der Herchen told WFLA that he thinks it might’ve been a pet, coming into the house, perhaps, by way of surrounding trees. Which is the lesson in all of this for Van der Herchen, he says: be sure to trim your trees.

Also, one might add: if there’s noises coming from your attic, investigate them. It could be a six-foot snake.