Snakes will seek refuge in locations that meet their needs. If there is a dependable heat source, a large population of rodents, uncovered containers, or plastic bins near your home, snakes may be attracted to your home. Snakes also like to hide under appliances and in difficult-to-reach places.
Important: Do not approach a snake. Seek a professional pest control to remove snakes from your house.
Where Do Sakes Hide In The House?
Snakes are excellent at concealing and can slip into the most inconspicuous of spaces. They are most commonly seen in basements or crawl spaces, although they have also been known to infiltrate residential areas. You can find snakes in the following locations:
- Behind and beneath appliances
- In or around clothes heaps
- Near water pipes
- In Septic Tanks or Plumbing Systems
- In or near storage boxes
- In close proximity to heat sources
- In restricted, dimly lit areas
- In the rafters
- On the ledges of walls
- Close to door or window frames
- Spaces between furniture and walls
It may be just as hard to keep snakes out of buildings as it is to keep rats out. Snakes may enter your house by chance or by choice (to locate prey or seek refuge).
Certain snakes might hibernate (called brumation) in cellars or crawl areas of older homes. Shed skin generally implies that a snake has been residing there for some time.
How Do Snakes Enter Homes?
Gaps linking the garage door and the garage are a popular entry site for snakes. Even minor gaps offer easy access to the interior where snakes seek prey, such as mice and rats in the house or a safe location to lay eggs.
They may enter your home by slipping between bricks if the mortar is lacking and between bricks and siding on the exterior. It is often recommended by pest control companies that homeowners fill gaps between siding and stone veneers, brick, or other comparable materials to avoid moisture snake penetration.
Snakes getting into attics is a prevalent problem that pest control companies are frequently called in to deal with it. Climbing snakes are generally drawn into attics by the odor of rodents, so make sure there are no rodents present who might incentivize a snake to climb into your attic.
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What are the Signs of a Snake’s Infestation
Keep an eye out for the following signs:
- Finding their trails.
Snakes move from one location to another by contracting their muscles and scooting down the ground. Even though snakes move in various ways, they all leave slither marks on sandy or dirt-covered terrain.
A snake track often has an s-shape that repeats in a sequence. However, depending on the snake’s motions, this might change and seem more like a sideways squiggle.
- Finding droppings.
Snakes, like any other animal, will leave droppings in their wake. A snake’s droppings resemble those of a bird because they contain a yellow-white liquid component containing urea. On the other hand, a snake dropping has a lengthier solid brown component that may contain undigested food fragments such as bones, hair, or feathers.
For an unknowing homeowner, identifying wild animal droppings might be challenging. However, it is best if you don’t handle animal excrement. You should always arrange for a professional snake check if you detect droppings in a location that should not be home to wild animals, such as your attic or crawlspace.
- Hearing unusual noises.
Snakes are quiet creatures that do not communicate verbally. However, their movements may make a lot of noise, especially if they’re trying to leave a crowded location. When entering an uninhabited place, such as a storage shed, keep an ear out for slithering noises or noise from falling things.
How To Find a Snake in The House?
Do not place your hands or limbs into holes where snakes may be hiding. Keep a safe distance from snakes at all times.
Snakes, especially those that are active during the day, will typically move around at night. They have a habit of moving along walls and baseboards to avoid detection. The first place to look is behind the enclosure, all over the flooring, and inside any bookshelves or cupboards in the room, looking behind shelves and knickknacks and on top of books.
They are likely to be under and behind hiding spaces. To keep a safe distance, you can use a hand mirror and a strong flashlight to look behind bookcases, kitchen appliances, seats, and sofas.
If your chairs and sofas (as well as box spring beds) are upholstered, safely check them for any rips in the fabric that the snake may hide in. Check between all of the cushions, along with the space in the middle of the bed’s mattresses, and between the sides, backs, and lowest part of the upholstered furniture.
If you have any boxes, wastebaskets, boots or shoes, or bags. Make sure you examine them all.
Examine the insides of the cupboards in the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room. Note any holes heading into the walls or the cabinet from holes near the floor and return after you’ve found the intruder to duct-tape them over.
Look up at the bottom of your cabinets, stove, and dishwasher for holes; tape or have steel plates manufactured to seal any openings after you’ve found the snake. A snake is unlikely to go down the toilet – it’s more likely that it will squish in between the toilet tank and the wall – so keep an eye out for it there.
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What to Do if there’s a Snake in your House
Do not attempt to trap a snake yourself. Seek professional help from an eco-friendly pest control company.
Unfortunately, there are no good home remedy snake repellents available today. While there are many solutions that people believe help (naphthalene, moth balls, peppermint oil, and garlic to name a few), none are scientifically proven to be able to repel snakes.
If there is already a snake in your house, you’ll need to seek the help from a professional pest control company. They will be able to track down the snake and trap it using their expertise.
How to Keep Snakes Out of your House
It’s easier to prevent snakes from coming to your house than removing them when they come in. Here are some tips on keeping them out:
1. Leave a Gap between the House and Garden
Snakes like to hide in amongst your garden. They will slither under shrubs and foliage in the garden bed.
If you can keep a gap of a few meters between those garden beds and the house, this will help deter them from coming close to the house and finding gaps to get into the house.
If you already have a garden bed beside the exterior walls of the house, an alternative step you can do is to keep foliage to a minimum and keep shrubs trimmed so the snakes don’t have overhanging branches that they can hide under.
2. Keep Branches Away from the House
Some snakes are terrestrial, meaning they will spend their lives in branches. If there are branches hanging over or touching your roof, you have provided a bridge for these snakes to slither onto your roof. From there, they may be able to get into your attic or crawlspace.
3. Keep your Yard Clean
Snakes gravitate toward unkept yards. They like long grass, wood piles, foliage, tree overhang, and rock piles. By trimming your trees and shrubs, mowing your lawn, and removing any foliage, wood or rock piles, you can deter snakes from coming close to the home.
4. Control Rodents (Mice and Rats)
Snakes are attracted to rodents. So, if you keep rodents away from the house, then you can deter snakes, too. By keeping food crumbs off the floor and all food in sealed containers, you can minimize rodent infestations. You can also keep humane rodent traps around the house, checked regularly, to keep rodents under control.
Many people also own cats who can keep mice and rats away. Some cats will also keep snakes away, giving a double benefit of having a cat in your house!
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Conclusion
Snakes enter houses through fractures in the foundation or spaces around doors. They may find their way into your basement, crawl space, or attic if you have a rodent issue.
The chance of a snake becoming harmful varies depending on the species. Snakes such as rattlesnakes and cobras are venomous and harmful to people, but garter snakes, racers, kingsnakes, and rat snakes are not. Because of the risk of snakebite, you should always exercise caution when in the presence of any snake. Seek the help of pest control to remove snakes from the home.
Joe is a freelance writer for FaunaFacts. Joe has written extensively about snakes for the site, but also contributes content about a range of animals.