Snakes can be sneaky! Here are five ways they enter houses during the summer, and what you can do to stop it.
5 Frightening Ways Snakes Can Enter Your Home
Snakes can fit through small spaces, and often pursue their prey or a place to lay eggs indoors. Here are five ways snakes can end up in your home.
So, How Do Snakes Get in the House?
Through Cracks and Gaps Around Doors
Gaps between the garage and the garage door provide one of the most common entry points for snakes, according to Tennessee exterminator Paul Osborne. For snakes even very small gaps provide easy to access to the indoors where they seek food, such as rats and mice that may have gone ahead of them, or a safe place to lay eggs.
Through Gaps Between Brick and Siding
Osborne also warns that snakes can get inside by slipping between bricks if mortar is missing and also between bricks and siding on the exterior of your home. Gaps between siding and stone veneers, brick or any similar material should be repaired to prevent moisture damage and stop snakes from gaining entry.
Inside Large Plants
Snakes can live inside the pot or container of a large plant. We have personal knowledge of a homeowner who purchased a large houseplant and placed it in her living room. Later that day she thought she heard some rustling near the plant. Several minutes later, out slithered a snake! No one knows when or how the snake entered the pot, but it was indeed a huge shock. If you have large potted plants on your patio or porch that you bring inside for winter, it might be worth poking around in the dirt before you bring them inside, just in case. Learn about the different types of poisnouous snakes that could be hiding in your lawn.
Enticed Up to the Attic by Prey
Snakes climbing into attics is such a common problem that pest removal services regularly encounter it. Climbing snakes are usually lured into attics by the smell of rats, so making sure there is no reason for a snake to want to climb into your attic is essential. Also, make sure any gaps are sealed to help stop this problem.
There’s a Snake in the Toilet!
It may sound like an urban myth, but snakes have been known to end up in pipes and appear in the toilet. They’re not coming up through the plumbing, usually they enter from the top of the bowl.
FAQ
Why do snakes come into houses in the first place?
Snakes usually enter homes in search of food, shelter, and temperatures they prefer. If you have rodents in your home, be on the alert for snakes, because they attracted to rodents as a food source. Snakes particularly like damp, dark spaces, so if you have a basement or crawlspace, snakes will be attracted to these areas.
What time of year are snakes most likely to enter homes?
President of Black Pest Prevention Nicole Carpenter says, “Snakes are most likely to enter homes in spring when they’re waking up hungry and in fall when they’re hunting for a warm spot to hibernate.” She adds, “In winter they mostly sleep and stay hidden, and in summer they just feel comfortable enough outside, so there’s less chance they’ll actually move inside.”
How can I protect my home from snakes?
Carpenter offers some pointers for preventing snakes from entering your home. “Ideally, your first line of defense is making your yard less attractive to snakes,” she says. “If there’s nowhere to hide and nothing to eat (like rodents), they’re less likely to hang around in the first place.”
However, you can’t guarantee that snakes will never be around. “In some areas, especially rural places or spots near fields or woods, you can’t get rid of every snake,” Carpenter continues. She advises, “When you can’t control what’s outside 100 percent sealing up your house is the next best step. Snakes can squeeze through tiny cracks, even cracks as narrow as a quarter inch wide, so sealing gaps under doors, around the foundation, pipes, vents, and crawl spaces really does help keep them from sneaking in.” In addition to sealing these types of entry points, Carpenter adds, “Use door sweeps for gaps under doors, weatherstripping for windows, exterior caulk or foam for cracks around pipes and foundations, and ¼-inch hardware cloth for vents, crawl spaces, and under decks to keep snakes out.”
How can I tell if there’s a snake in my house?
Aside from actually spotting a snake in your home (yikes), there are several indications that a snake has taken up residence in your house. If you see shed skins (especially a whole one), spot slither tracks in dusty areas, notice your pets acting strangely, smell strange odors, or hear rustling sounds, you may want to investigate further.
What are the most common entry points for snakes?
Carpenter says, “The most common way snakes get in is under exterior doors or garage doors which are often poorly sealed, but also don’t forget gaps around pipes, utility lines, attic vents, or even the roof edge.” She reminds homeowners, “Snakes can and do climb, they can flatten, squeeze, and are super flexible — so even very tiny gaps and spots up high are all potential entry points.”
What are some mistakes home owners make that attract snakes?
Poor maintenance of the area around your home is the biggest mistake home owners make that attracts snakes. “Snakes love poorly-maintained yards because they basically offer an abundance of food and a good shelter for them,” says Carpenter. She details, “Overgrown grass, thick bushes, brush piles, and clutter all create cool, shady spots where snakes love to hide. Plus, these spots attract rodents, frogs, and insects — so snakes have plenty to eat without wandering far.”
Even if your yard is well cared for, you could be inadvertently inviting snakes. Carpenter explains, “Even if it’s a well-maintained yard, sometimes the landscaping is just set up in a way that gives snakes exactly what they want — dense plants, shady hiding spots and lots of cover close to the house. Using decorative stone walls or log edging right next to the house or stacking firewood right up against your foundation create little tunnels and hiding spots that stay cool and damp — prime snake habitat.” Being aware of these common errors is key to ensuring you don’t make them.
About the expert
Nicole Carpenter is the president of Black Pest Prevention. She began working there when she was in high school and continued working there while attending N.C. State University. Black Pest Prevention helps with pest control in Charlotte and serves both North and South Carolina.
