Rattlesnakes are named for the warning sounds they make when threatened. While their menacing appearance and toxic bites have earned them a bad reputation, the snakes keep rodent populations in check. Still, finding them near homes is frightening and dangerous for both families and pets.
If you find a snake in your home or office, it is either shedding its skin or looking for prey, usually other pests such as mice or rats. When spotting a snake, the best thing to do is slowly back away and call our professionals to remove it. We can remove it quickly and safely, keeping you from getting bitten.
Home Inspection for Snakes
During the inspection, we will look for what lured the snakes into your home. Unfortunately, snakes are often a sign of a rodent infestation. So, we will carefully look for any potential rodents that could act as a food source for the snakes in your home.
Rattlesnake Removal
After the inspection, we will carefully remove the snakes using humane trapping. Snake traps include a funnel trap. If the snake hasn’t moved, we can remove it with snake tongs. No snake removal job is finished until the rodent population is under control. An active rodent population will continue to attract snakes into your house.
Rattlesnake Control
After we ensure the rattlesnake is gone, we offer long-term snake control through exclusions. Snakes and rodents use the same entry points, typically along the house’s foundation. We seal the gaps to make sure rats, mice, and snakes cannot get back inside.
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The U.S. is home to 15 rattlesnake species, ranging in size from one to eight feet long. They can be brown, yellow, gray, black, white, muted red, or olive green in color. Many rattlers also have chevron, diamond, or spotted back and side markings. Their rattles are comprised of interlocking scales on the tips of their tails.
More information about what rattlesnakes look like.
Rattlesnakes can live in a variety of habitats such as forests, brush, swamps, grasslands, and deserts. They are strong swimmers and often found near bodies of water. Since they rely on their environment to regulate body temperature, the snakes are especially common in sunny southwestern states (though they can hibernate in colder weather). Rough terrain, dense vegetation, rodent burrows, and hollows in trees are some of their favorite natural shelters.
Are rattlesnakes known to enter homes or yards?
While they generally try to avoid people, rattlesnakes have been forced into close proximity to residential neighborhoods thanks to urban sprawl. The pests can squeeze through gaps in fences, gates, and shrubbery to get onto lawns. They then take shelter under scrap piles, firewood, trash cans, sheds, and porches.
Do rattlesnakes harm people or property?
Rattlesnakes live in burrows made by other animals, which makes them hard to detect and therefore easy to startle. This usually results in injury. While over 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year, fewer than 10 snakebite deaths are reported. Still, even non-fatal bites cause extreme pain and deep, slow-healing tissue damage. Children and pets are at greater risk for additional problems like cardiovascular shock and seizures.
Property owners can make their yards less favorable to the pests by controlling rodent populations around homes. Removing piles of debris, sealing holes in building exteriors, and maintaining neatly trimmed lawns and shrubs minimizes rattlesnake hiding spots. Individuals can also install wire mesh fences three feet high and buried three to four inches below the soil around yards or play areas.
Most fumigants are designed to flush snakes out of hiding for wildlife control professionals to capture with specialized equipment. Improper handling of live snakes may spread salmonella and often results in injury. Therefore, homeowners should avoid the risks by contacting Critter Control’s wildlife management professionals for safe removal.