Why the hell am I reading this thread. I hate snakes more than I hate clowns.

Betty you did better than I would. No way in hell would I go near that thing with tongs.

No worries. I'm actually rather proud of myself for handling it. From what I hear from a guy in the office, king snakes are good to have around. I won't have a rattlesnake problem.

Just stay out of my house thank you very much.

Should I find another one in the future, if I pick him up behind the head he can't get me - right?

I picked up garter snakes as a kid so I know I can do it... just not in underwear perhaps. ;)

Snakes! Agh!
Congrats for taking care of it, Betty.
Yikes. I wouldn't have done that, I think...
I think I would have called the police... or called a SWAT team in...

But the snake would have crawled into my shoes and bed and toilet by then and we'd all be dead or eaten or molested by snakes! ;)

I probably would have gone the route of throwing as large a container as I could find over top of it and either hope to somehow slide a lid underneath or put some books on top and figure out how to deal with it in the morning. Yikes.

True. If it was me, I guess I would have just torched my house. It would surely be killed then.
:D

I say we take off and Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

F*ckin' A!

Yes, if you get a good grip then holding it right behind the head will keep you safe. But you can't freak out when it starts tangling itself around your arm, which it will do (they're constrictors after all); plus once it's wrapped around your arm and you're holding its head letting go isn't all that easy.

Grab a pillow case
Use the tongs again since that worked for you already
Put snake in pillow case
Tie pillow case closed
Transport snake a fair distance from your house (you don't want it just coming right back in)
Pour snake out of pillowcase in area with some cover it can hide in.

Yes, kingsnakes are very good snakes to have around as they pose no danger to pets and people and eat rodents and occasional rattlesnakes (they're immune to rattlesnake venom). But don't rely on them to keep rattlesnakes away, while they will kill and eat them, I don't believe they primarily prey on them.