A South Carolina couple woke up to a cold-blooded guest on their front porch early Monday morning. Charles and Louis Monteith were sleeping when they heard loud banging from an alligator outside, CBS affiliate WCSC-TV reports.

The couple, who lives in The Lakes in North Charleston, started their week in 5 a.m. standoff with the reptilian menace. Charles first realized it was a gator when he went to check on his dogs and cats. One of his cats was looking out the window and there it was: a seven-foot-long alligator.

When Charles cracked open the front door, he said the gator began to hiss and thrash, at which point they called North Charleston authorities.

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"He came running upstairs saying every four-letter word he knew and I thought someone had stolen all our cars," Louise told WCSC-TV. "I said, 'What's wrong?' and he said there is a gator on our porch."

A South Carolina couple called authorities after a 7-foot alligator woke them up early Monday morning. WSCS-TV

A gator wrangler later arrived at the home and was able to put a clasp around its neck. Video shows the alligator putting up a fight before the wrangler taped its eyes shut and removed the animal from the yard.

The alligator was not injured in the process, but was later euthanized, according to the Island Packet.

"We're really lucky it happened when it did," Louise told the Island Packet. "Two hours later and my daughter would have walked out that door ... and probably would have stepped on it."

There are a number of ponds near the Monteiths' home, and one alligator expert says mating season may bring more human-gator encounters.

Ron Russell, the owner of a local company that specializes in rounding up the reptiles, told the Island Packet it was likely the quick change to warm weather that has alligators roaming around.

"Typically the males move around," he said. "They're trying to move around a lot right now. If they make a wrong turn, they get trapped, and they get confused, then they get ticked off."

He believes this is what happened with the alligator that showed up on the front porch of the Monteiths' home.