Snake Removal in Newnan, GA

Snakes around your Newnan home

Around Newnan's older homes, snakes are drawn to the same things rodents are: the dark space under a porch or back steps, a crawlspace with a broken vent screen, an old garden shed, stacked firewood and thick shrub beds against the foundation. Rat snakes are good climbers and will follow mice up a porch post or into the gap under siding. In the newer subdivisions along I-85, snakes show up where yards meet wooded buffers and creek edges, in pine straw beds and in garages with the door left up.

Two facts settle most of the worry. Georgia has 47 native snake species, and only seven are venomous; in a Newnan yard the one you might realistically meet is the copperhead. And all non-venomous snakes are protected by Georgia law, so killing one is illegal. Most snakes people call about are harmless rat snakes, and many callers assume venomous when it almost never is. Here's what to do and when to call.

Outside? It's usually leaving

A snake crossing the lawn or sunning on the driveway is almost always passing through. Most will be gone within a few minutes to an hour, often before a technician could get there, and you'd still pay for the trip. Keep children and pets back, give it room, and let it go. The calls that need a pro are a snake inside the house, garage or crawlspace, one that keeps returning to the same spot, or one you believe is venomous and is close to where people walk.

What you are most likely seeing

Most snakes found around Newnan homes are rat snakes, long dark climbers that hunt mice and rats and sometimes turn up in a porch ceiling or an attic. Other harmless species like kingsnakes and garter snakes turn up too. Georgia's seven venomous species are the copperhead, northern cottonmouth, Florida cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, pigmy rattlesnake and eastern coral snake, but around town the realistic one is the copperhead. Identifying snakes from a phone photo is unreliable, so have a pro confirm it.

Georgia law and safety

Georgia protects its non-venomous snakes, and it is illegal to kill them. Trying to kill any snake is also how a lot of bites happen, because a snake can strike farther than people expect. A licensed pro removes the snake without harming a protected animal and without anyone getting close with a shovel. Non-venomous snakes are relocated, not killed.

Porches, steps and old foundations

The historic homes here often have deep porches, brick or stone steps, and lattice or skirting around the base, and the space behind all of that is cool, dark and full of mice. Old outbuildings and woodpiles add more cover. A snake living there is following food. Clearing clutter, keeping firewood off the ground and away from the house, and closing gaps in the skirting with metal hardware cloth makes that space much less useful to snakes and rodents both.

Copperheads at the wooded edge

Copperheads blend into dead leaves and pine straw, which is the real danger: people step near them without seeing them. They do best where yards back onto woods, which describes a lot of the newer lots built at the edge of Coweta County woodland. Watch where you reach and step when clearing beds or moving wood, especially in warm months and around dusk. If you see one near the house, keep everyone back and call rather than trying to move it.

Inside the garage or crawlspace

A snake inside is a different call: call right away, because the longer it's left, the less likely it can be found. Snakes get into garages under worn door seals and into crawlspaces through broken ground-vent screens, usually following mice. The pro removes the snake, then points out the gaps and the rodent activity that brought it in, so the fix covers the reason it came, not just the snake.