I have now found a second very small snake in my house. I discarded the first but currently have the second. It is the size of a leaf worm and completely black. I was not even sure it was a snake until after putting it in a zip lock bag I laid it on a piece of white paper. At this point I saw its tongue repeatedly come out. What kind of snake could it be and why have I found 2 in my house??

If you send a photo of the snake I can identify it for you. Or, the Illinois Natural History Survey has a very good website that has photos to help people identify snakes: http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/cbd/collections/amprep/ilspecies.html

Snakes sometimes seek out basements or other similar areas to serve as their over-wintering sites.