A slithery snake is the last thing you want to see in your home. But as a couple pulled up to their home in Houston, their headlights illuminated a black serpent climbing its way up the side of their house.
From there, it disappeared into a woodpecker hole.
That was definitely a shock! Instead of panicking, these savvy homeowners called Critter Control.
Types of Snakes in Texas
After the technician arrived, their first order of business was to try to determine what kind of snake they had on their hands. In southeast Texas, there are 39 snake species that it could be.
Importantly, the technician wanted to discover if it was a venomous snake or not. The seven possible venomous snakes include Southern Copperheads, Western Cottonmouths, Timber rattlesnakes, Western Diamondback rattlesnakes, Western Pygmy rattlesnakes, Dessert Massasauga, or the Texas Coral snake.
The technician was fairly confident that it was not a venomous snake based on the homeowners’ description of a black snake. Most of the venomous snakes in Texas have relatively colorful patterns. Although the description of a black snake could point to a cottonmouth, the home was several miles away from any ponds or lakes.
Why do snakes get in your home?
With the confidence that the snake was not venomous, the technician investigated the hole on the side of the house. He determined that the hole led into the attic. So, he climbed up into the attic to search for the snake.
Snake droppings greeted him to confirm that a snake was indeed using the attic regularly.
The reasons why this particular snake was in the attic could vary. In many cases, snakes will wiggle into an attic on the hunt for a food source. If there are rodents in an attic, that is a sure attractant for snakes. Luckily for these homeowners, the technician did not find any evidence of rodents.
But based on the sweltering heat of a Texas summer, it is possible that the snake was seeking shelter from the heat.
How Snakes Get in Your Home
Snakes can worm their way into small spaces and squeeze into your home. Disconcertingly, snakes can climb. With that, they can scale the side of your house looking for an opening.
How Can Snakes Be Controlled: Exclusion and Traps
Snakes are excellent at avoiding detection. In Houston, our technician searched the attic for signs of a present snake. After ensuring that the attic was snake-free, they sealed all of the openings on the side of the house.
Exclusion is the most effective way to eliminate a snake presence in your home. But it can be more difficult to exclude snakes from your property. However, a specialized snake-proof fence or boundary of lava rocks could prevent snakes from becoming regular visitors.
Since the snake was not deemed a threat, the homeowners decided that traps were not necessary. If the snake had been venomous, the homeowners may have pursued trapping methods that would ensure the snake was removed from their property permanently.
Testimonials
Great natured guys and very thorough. Appreciate their attitude and service.
Michele and George delivered pre-eminent world class customer service! They gave a 24 hour notification with their arrival date and time, were prompt, knowledgeable, and easy to do Business with! They planned their work, and worked their plan.
Just when we thought that customer service was a dying art, they restored our confidence that Critter Control is passionate with their craft! I would highly recommend this Company, as they exceeded our expectations!
Sincerely,
Karen Doherty and Kris Kepler
Excellent communications, execution and friendly. I highly recommend this company!
The Critter Control team went above and beyond to make sure that NO CRITTERS could get into my home. We thought we had conquered the problem, but we still heard squirrels getting in, so they returned to reassess and finish the job. They actually pulled up our deck boards and found that the critters were getting in because of a rotted board underneat the cantilever. They replaced the insulation, rotted boards, and put a metal sheeting over everything so NO squirrels or critters could chew their way in! If you need critter control - you need to contact them. They stand behind their work 100%.... Thank you Rodney & Team!! Great Job.
Ellen R.
Haslett, MI
Eric was grate,give him 5 stars and much thanks.
Everyone is awesome!!
Thank you!
If you are in the market for this service, having Michelle and George take a look is a must!
Unlike some other vendors, the people who come to the house and assess the job are the ones that will actually do the work, so you get to meet the people who will actually perform the work - no new people or subcontractors.
Michelle and George are highly experienced, professional, and friendly - a pleasure to work with. They always came within the promised window, and were accessible by phone or text for any questions.
Sincerely, highly recommend.
Terrance was very professional. He was very thorough. I would definitely order this service again.
Brandon from Critter Control was professional, courteous, thorough, and knowledgeable. We are very pleased with our service.
technician was great--explained everything well.
We had a great experience working with the crew from Critter Control San Jose. They patiently listened to our observations, we came up with strategies and ended up fixing suspect areas, trapping a couple of rats. Problem seems to have been solved and hope we don't need to call them again
Brandon was extremely thorough and knowledgeable. He was able to figure out where our mystery smell was coming from, removed the carcass, and cleaned/deodorized the entire area. We are very pleased with the job performed and the professionalism shown. Highly recommend!
The job was handled very professionally and done in a timely matter was very pleased with the removal of the critters that were beneath my home I would recommend you to my friend thank you.
Great family company. I've used this company for many years and will continue to do so.
Brendan is always good and he is friendly.thank you
Y’all were responsive & personable… & caught 4 critters that were doing damage digging up our lawn. Thanks.
Thanks for taking care of our "critters" so quickly and efficiently. It's not a job I want any part of, but I'm glad you are good at it!
They did a really good job, very professional and courteous.
Terrance showed up when he said he would and did a great job.
Thank you for the help.
Excellent work. Kept us informed throughout and helped us control the problem.
Chris is great , courteous and professional
Prompt service,very nice on phone.Glad to know about Crittercontrol.
My whole interaction with Critter Control was very satisfying from making the appointment to Chris' 2 visits. He diagnosed the issue and returned several days later to finish the job with a creative solution. Many thanks!
Chris is excellent!
He eliminated the flying squirrels and bats from our new home.
He’s always professional and polite.
Terry did a great job with the initial bird removal and covering up the hole where the birds had nested afterwards. He was also very polite and explained everything that he was doing. I couldn't ask for a better experience.
Critter Control was EXCELLENT in helping us get an iguana out of our attic! The technician was polite, friendly and very responsible! He explained what he was doing and what had to be done to ensure success in removing the iguana. I would hire Critter Control again without hesitation. Thanks Critter Control for helping us!
Thank you!..always on top of it!