Snake Removal in Holly Springs, GA

Snakes around your Holly Springs home

Building a Holly Springs subdivision leaves a lot of ideal snake habitat behind. Graders push brush and stumps into piles, rock and spare block get stacked at the edge of the lot, the pond banks grow up in tall grass, and the mown yard stops abruptly at the uncleared woods. Mice and rats displaced by the clearing gather in that cover, and snakes follow them. So a snake crossing the driveway is part of living next to recently cleared land, and roughly nine out of ten are harmless rat snakes.

Two facts settle most snake questions in Georgia. Of the state's 47 native species, seven are venomous, and around homes here the copperhead is the only one you're realistically likely to meet. And every non-venomous snake is protected, so killing one is illegal. One more thing a pro will tell you: a snake outside usually moves on within a few minutes to an hour. If it's in the yard, keep your distance and let it go. If it's in the house or garage, call right away.

What actually turns up in a new yard

Georgia's seven venomous species are the copperhead, northern cottonmouth, Florida cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, pigmy rattlesnake and eastern coral snake. On a Holly Springs lot the copperhead is the only one you're likely to see. The usual visitors along the edge of a new yard are rat snakes, along with kingsnakes, garter snakes and other harmless species. All of them eat the rodents that clearing pushed toward your house. Most people assume every snake is venomous. In practice, only a small share of calls involve a venomous snake.

The law, and why the shovel is a bad idea

All 40 of Georgia's non-venomous native snakes are protected, and killing one is illegal. There's a practical reason to leave them alone too. Trying to kill a snake is how most people get bitten. A snake can strike farther than people expect, and even one that looks dead can bite by reflex. A licensed pro removes and relocates non-venomous snakes and handles venomous ones safely, so nobody in your family has to get close.

Construction leftovers are the draw

Snakes come for food and cover, and a lot near new construction has both. The food is rodents, and clearing pushes them right to your property line. The cover is brush and stump piles, stacked lumber and block, leftover fill and rock, and thick new pine straw against the foundation. If you remove one snake and leave all that, another will move in. Clearing the leftover piles and keeping the strip along the woods mowed do more than any repellent.

Copperheads in the pine straw

Copperheads like the in-between ground around new houses: leaf litter at the edge of the woods, landscape beds with deep pine straw, and the base of a brush pile. Their camouflage is so good that people step right next to one without seeing it. They're most active on warm evenings and mornings. Wear shoes outside after dark, use a light, and if you see one, keep kids and pets back and call. A pro removes it and shows you the spots on your lot it's most likely to use.

What the pro does on a snake call

First is identification: venomous or not. Then the pro removes the snake with proper tools and relocates harmless species legally. After that they walk the lot looking for what drew it in: rodent signs, piles against the house, gaps under the garage door, and open crawlspace or ground vents. You get a short list to work on. Fewer rodents, less cover and sealed gaps mean fewer snake calls later.

Inside the garage or crawlspace

A snake indoors is the one case where you should call immediately. The longer you wait, the less likely it is to be found. Snakes get into garages and crawlspaces looking for cool shelter and for the mice already living there. The pro removes the snake, then adds a door sweep, fixes the garage door seal and closes the ground-vent gaps. Dealing with the mice matters most, since they're why the snake came inside.