So, you go down to the basement to do a load of laundry. It's dark, but you've been down there a million times. You flick on the light. Once your eyes get used to the light you notice something is different. There, in the floor beams above your head, is a five- foot-long snakeskin. That means two things. You've got a snake in your basement. And it just got bigger.

As president of Blue Ridge Wildlife Management in Roanoke, Jason Reger has seen his share of wild animals -- and unhinged home owners. Since 1996, he's trapped or bagged them for a living. These days his company has four wildlife technicians and two secretaries. And four trucks. When you watch him shimmy into a crawl space or creep into an attic, you're probably dying to know one thing: Does he get scared or what?

"Of course, every snake call we get is for a rattlesnake or copperhead. And less than 1 percent of them are actually a rattlesnake or copperhead.

"I hadn't been doing the job but a few years when I got this call from a lady who says she needs me to get there 'right now.'

"It had rained all day the day before and I'd just come from a job where I'd gotten my shoes all muddy. I had a pair of sandals in the truck. So here I am in sandals and a pair of shorts. And I've got to pull a rattlesnake out of a log pile next to the house.

"I pull off all this wood and the pile's getting down there and all of the sudden I hear the thing rattling. There he is. I take my snake tongs and reach in there and pull it out and it's this 54- inch timber rattler. I pinned him to the ground with a broom handle and grabbed him.

"Now, rattlesnakes and copperheads can strike from about half their body length away. And I'm about to drop him into a standard size pillow case that is half his body length. I'm thinking, how fast can I drop him in this bag and seal it up? 'Cause they can sense heat and literally strike you through that bag. So now I'm thinking, 'OK, we're just going to do this really quick.' And hope that I don't get bit.

"Well, I threw it in the bag, put a zip tie on it real quick and brought it over to the back of my truck. And then I broke out in the worst cold sweat. She looked at me and said, 'You didn't get bit, did you?' And I was like, 'Not that I know of. But if I drop down on the ground, you might as well dial 9-1-1.' I had never held a venomous snake before in my life.

"When I got it back to the shop I got it out and worked with it some so the next time I'd know how to handle it. Now I've caught four poisonous snakes. It's not a big deal.

"About 75 percent of what I do is fix things to keep animals out of places. You know, I'll clean up a whole lot of bird poop or bat guano and then make repairs to make sure they don't come back. That's the 'management' part.

"I've always loved animals. And really it's all about knowing what their habits are.

"Basically to me that animal's not doing anything wrong. But people will say, 'I don't care, I just want it trapped.' So the first thing out of my mouth is, 'Well, legally we'll have to euthanize that animal. Do you feel comfortable with me euthanizing an animal that has done nothing wrong?' And 90 percent of them will change their mind right there. Replica Air force one Shoes Ethically, it's killing something that has done nothing wrong. But they have that right.

"The more people we can educate, the less likely they are to call us with something they think is a problem but really isn't. I mean, we've had people call about alligators in their yard. They turn out to be snapping turtles."

--Chris Henson, special to BRBJ

Jason Reger

Blue Ridge Wildlife Management

President, technician and staff wildlife biologist

Age: 37