How to Deal with Snakes Entering the House

A snake appearing out of nowhere in your home can freak you out when you spot it! While snakes can be scary, remember that they don’t intentionally enter your home to harm you. Stay calm while thinking of ways to deal with and avoid provoking the snake. Not all snakes are deadly, but it’s still best to be careful. We’ve gathered here questions and answers to help you handle snakes safely in your home.

Table of Contents

What should you do when you see a snake in the house?

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Remove small children and other pets from snake areas. Due to their small size, children and pets are at greater risk of being bitten than adults. Children and pets also often act unpredictable and easily provoke the snake. Calmly take people and objects out of danger so you can safely deal with the snake with your hands free. ^{[1] X National Pesticide Information Center Trusted Source Go to source}

If you have a small child bitten by a snake, call 911 immediately. Although the snake is not venomous, you should still be careful. Better safe than sorry.
If you suspect your pet has been bitten by a snake, take them to your veterinarian’s office or call a poison control center. If the animal has swelling, redness or bruising on its body, you must act quickly as they may be at risk of more serious injury or even death.

Stay calm and do not provoke the snake. Snakes don’t usually attack unless they feel threatened, so try to stay calm. Do not try to attack the snake with a broom or other object, lest you accidentally irritate it. You are the bigger predator, and the snake won’t do anything to you if you don’t touch it. ^{[2] X Research Source}

If the snake curls up and opens its mouth wide, it is seeing you as a threat. Step back slowly to avoid risk.
Remember that snakes have a role in controlling the number of insects and rodents in the wild, so even if it’s upsetting to see a snake in your home, don’t try to kill it. That snake is helping to limit the number of pests in your area.

How to get rid of snakes in the house?

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Keep a safe distance between you and the snake. Even though the chances of a snake being venomous are very low, you should still avoid getting too close to the snake. You should not leave the snake alone as it may crawl to another part of the house without your knowledge, but keep your distance from it. However, if the snake is moving and you are concerned your presence may provoke the snake, leave the area and call an animal control center.

If the snake curls up and lies still, you can slowly turn the bucket or box over the snake to limit its movement.

Open the door and use the broom to drive the snake out. Only venture to do this if you are sure the snake is not poisonous. Do not push the snake away with a broom. You just need to open the door and find a way to guide it out gently. Since the presence of a snake in your home is almost always an incident, it is probably trying to get out, too! ^{[3] X Trusted Source The Humane Society of the United States Go to Source}

If the snake is in an area with lots of outdoor doors, such as a garage, try opening all the doors. The snake can find its own way out when it sees an exit nearby.

Call an animal control center so they can send a specialist to capture the snake. Do this if you cannot get the snake to come out on its own, if you are afraid to approach the snake or suspect it is venomous. An animal control specialist can safely capture the snake and take it away from your home, so you don’t have to get too close to the snake or deal with it in any way. how.

You can also call a pest control company to deal with the snake if there is no animal control center in your area.

How do I know if a snake is poisonous or not?

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Unfortunately, distinguishing healthy snakes from venomous snakes based on their color is a myth. However, you can learn the characteristics of common snakes in your area so that you can identify poisonous and non-venomous snakes. Always be alert when you come across a snake in your home, as some species of snakes can be difficult to identify with certainty. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

You can also learn about the characteristics of different snakes in the area on wildlife or environment websites.

Where do snakes hide in the house?

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Snakes like to hide in cool, moist, and dark places. For example, they may find their way down to the basement or crawl into low spaces in the house. Therefore, you should seal the entrances to basements and low spaces larger than 0.6 cm in diameter to prevent snakes from entering your home to find a comfortable place to hide! ^{[5] X National Pesticide Information Center Trusted Source Go to Source}

Snakes can also crawl into your home through open window frames or door sills, so make sure these are securely attached.
Cover all ventilation openings or drains with nets to prevent snakes and pests from crawling through. Sometimes animals can get into the dryer vent.

What attracts snakes into the house?

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Food sources like rodents and birds will make your yard attractive to snakes. If you have trouble with snakes, the first thing you should do is remove the bird feeders to avoid attracting birds and rodents. This will help reduce the number of small animals that come into your yard to feed, causing snakes to also come to hunt. ^{[6] X Trusted Source National Pesticide Information Center Go to source}

If you have rats or mice in your home, you can get rid of them with a trap or hire a pest control company to deal with them to eliminate attractive food sources for snakes.
Pet food left outdoors can also attract rodents. Cover your pet’s food bowl when they’re not eating or bring it into a home where small animals can’t get in.
Garbage left in the yard is also attractive to these animals. You should take your trash out as close to collection time as possible or put the trash bag in a covered trash can.

How to prevent snakes from entering the yard?

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Try to eliminate places where snakes can hide in the yard. Trim the lawn and maintain the yard to make it less attractive to snakes. Build a stone wall with mortared stone instead of stacking loose rocks on top of each other, as snakes can get into the cracks in the wall. In addition, you should also avoid placing large piles of firewood or rubble in the yard that snakes can find as a hiding place. ^{[7] X Trusted Source National Pesticide Information Center Go to Source}

You can also prevent snakes from entering your yard by building an anti-snake fence. Stretch plastic cloth or wire mesh between the fence posts to create a surface that snakes cannot crawl on.
If you have small children or pets at home, you can build a small fenced-in playground to reduce the risk of children and pets encountering snakes when playing outside.

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