Reasons Why You’re Seeing Snakes Around Your Home
Snakes, like all animals, go where there is a safe place to live and a good food source. For snakes, finding a home where there are places to hide and mice to eat is ideal. If your property has a lot of mice, you can be sure there will be snakes.
Take a walk around your property and check for overgrown shrubs, thick leaves, woodpiles, and areas where a snake may find a cozy place to hide. Keep in mind there will be cooler days where a snake may come out for warmth and sunshine during brumation.
When Snakes Are Most Active
Snake activity picks up as temperatures fall in late summer and early autumn before they go into hibernation, which can be as early as September or as late as December, depending on where you live. Snakes will spend January through April in a type of hibernation.
Since snakes are cold-blooded animals, they become less active in the cooler months. During the winter months, snakes and other reptiles will enter brumation, which is similar to hibernation but does not require the same amount of sleep as hibernation. Snakes are active in the winter months, and especially on warmer days. You’ll want to be cautious during these months also. A snake can be found basking in the sun on sunny days during winter.
Types of Snakes to Avoid
While the majority of snakes you may encounter in your garden or property are harmless, they can still cause panic, especially if you don’t know what kind it is. Understanding the variety of snakes, and whether it is venomous can be crucial.
The most common venomous snakes you will find in North America are Rattlesnakes, Cottonmouth, and Copperhead. Common non-venomous garden snakes are Garter Snakes.
Poisonous (venomous) snakes you need to watch out for:
- Cottonmouth
- Timber Rattlesnake
- Black Diamond Rattlesnake
- Tiger Rattlesnake
- Copperhead
- Eastern Coral Snake
- Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
- Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
- Prairie Rattlesnake
- Mojave Rattlesnake
How to Tell Which Snakes are Poisonous
The best way to quickly tell if a snake is venomous or not is by looking at its head shape. The most common non-venomous snakes have heads that are more rounded, and triangle-shaped, while venomous snakes have diamond-shaped heads with smaller necks and chiseled lines. The illustration below shows what to look for if you encounter a snake in your home or on your property.
How to Keep Snakes Away
The best way to keep snakes away is to keep your property as tidy as possible. Make sure your yard is free of underbrush and overgrowth, piles of debris, or large piles of mulch. Keep your grass cut short and avoid overusing mulch. Use snake repellents and keep garbage stored in tight lids to deter rodents and mice.
Snakes have an elevated sense of smell and are ultra-sensitive to odors and fumes, so using household remedy repellants can work. Common types of snake repellents include powdered Sulphur, ammonia, white vinegar as well as essential oils such a peppermint, clove, and cinnamon oil.
Cost of Snake Removal
Every wildlife removal company is different in its pricing scale, so it’s best to contact the company directly to get a quote. On average, the cost for snake removal services can run anywhere from $250-$600, depending on your location, the company, or the type of snake removal or follow-up services needed.
Professional Snake Removal
When you don’t want to deal with removing a snake on your own, the best solution is to call a professional snake removal company. What do professional snake removal specialists do? Wildlife removal specialists are well-educated on all types of wildlife, including snakes.
A trained snake removal specialist will come out to your home or business and identify the snake, as well as the source of its entry if it’s in your home. A wildlife expert may also help you remedy any further snakes from entering or finding their way on your property again. He or she will then safely and humanely remove the snake from your property and relocate it to an area where there are no other homes or further conflict between humans and wildlife.
If you have a snake problem or need snake removal, give us a call. We are one of the nation’s top-rated services in all types of wildlife control and pest removal.
