Snake Removal in Fayetteville, GA

Snakes on Fayetteville properties

Two things bring snakes to a property: overgrowth and a food source. Fayetteville has a lot of both. The creek corridors and the shoreline at Lake Horton have brush and frogs. The large wooded lots in the county have leaf litter, woodpiles and tall grass along the edges. The older homes near downtown sit on crawlspaces where mice nest. New construction near the studios borders land that was recently cleared and disturbed, and animals living there may move into the nearest yard. So seeing a snake here is normal, and most of the time it's a harmless one.

Two facts apply to every snake call in Georgia. The state has 47 native snake species, and only seven are venomous. Around Fayetteville, the venomous one you're realistically likely to meet is the copperhead. And every non-venomous snake is protected by state law, so killing one is illegal. Most people assume a snake is venomous, but very few calls actually turn out to be. Identify it first and decide what to do after.

Outside? It's usually gone within the hour

This is the most useful thing to know about snakes. A snake crossing your yard, sunning on the driveway or passing along the fence line will usually move on within a few minutes to an hour. By the time anyone arrives, it's gone, and you've still paid for the trip. If it's outside and not cornered, keep kids and pets away and let it leave. Call a pro when a snake is inside the house, garage or crawlspace, keeps coming back to the same spot or is one you're sure is a copperhead near where people walk.

Most of what you find is harmless

Most snakes that operators remove in Georgia are rat snakes. They are long, dark and good climbers, and they're often found in garages, attics and crawlspaces hunting rodents. Eastern kingsnakes eat other snakes, including copperheads. Garter snakes and small brown snakes live in the mulch and eat slugs and worms. All of these are protected, and all of them help keep rodents down around your house.

Copperheads on wooded and creek-side lots

The copperhead is the venomous snake that does well near people. It likes leaf litter, woodpiles, rock edges and thick ground cover, which are common on wooded county lots and along the creeks. Its pattern blends into dead leaves, so most bites happen when someone steps or reaches near one without seeing it. It's most active on warm evenings. If you see one, keep people and pets back and call. Wear gloves when you move firewood, and keep the edges of paths cleared.

The law protects non-venomous snakes

Georgia protects every non-venomous native snake, and harming one is illegal. Trying to kill a snake is also how many people get bitten. Snakes can strike farther than people expect, and even a snake that looks dead can still bite by reflex. A licensed pro removes and relocates non-venomous snakes and handles venomous ones with the right tools, so no one has to get within striking distance.

How a pro handles a snake call

The pro identifies the snake from a safe distance and removes it with tongs or a bag. Non-venomous snakes are released in suitable habitat. Then the pro looks at what drew it: signs of mice or rats, brush or woodpiles against the foundation, thick ground cover near the door and gaps into the crawlspace or garage. The advice that follows, like cutting back growth, moving firewood away from the house and dealing with rodents, does more than any snake repellent. Most repellents don't reliably work.

Crawlspaces in the older homes

Many of the older homes near the courthouse sit on crawlspaces. A broken foundation vent screen or a crawlspace door that doesn't close tightly lets mice in, and snakes follow the mice. If a snake is in the crawlspace or garage, call right away, because the longer you wait the harder it is to find. After removal, the pro puts metal screen over the foundation vents, adds door sweeps and points out any rodent activity, since the rodents are why the snake was there.