Snake Removal in Norcross, GA

Snakes around your Norcross home

Norcross is built up, so people are surprised to find snakes. But snakes follow food, and few places in Gwinnett have as many rats as the Buford Highway corridor and the older neighborhoods around it. Where rats run along fences, retaining walls and crawlspace vents, rat snakes show up to hunt them. The overgrown strips behind shopping centers, ivy-covered walls, old woodpiles and the remaining wooded patches along creeks give them cover. Most snakes Norcross residents see are doing them a favor by eating rodents.

Two facts matter on every call. Georgia has 47 native snake species, and only seven are venomous. In a developed place like Norcross the copperhead is the one you're realistically likely to meet. And every non-venomous snake in Georgia is protected, so killing one is illegal. Most calls turn out to be harmless snakes that people assumed were venomous. If the snake is outside, it will usually move on within an hour. If it's inside your house, garage or crawlspace, that's when to call.

Rats bring the snakes

The single biggest reason snakes turn up around Norcross homes is the rodent population. Rat snakes are excellent climbers and will follow rats up walls, into garages, under decks and into crawlspaces through the same broken ground vents the rats use. Add overgrowth like ivy, tall weeds or stacked lumber against the house, and the snake has both food and cover. That's why fixing a snake problem in Norcross so often starts with fixing the rat problem.

Most of them are harmless

The large majority of snake calls turn out to be rat snakes, which are long, dark and harmless to people and eat a lot of rodents. Kingsnakes even eat other snakes, including copperheads. Small brown and garter snakes in flower beds eat slugs and worms. People tend to assume every snake is dangerous, but very few calls actually involve a venomous one. A pro can tell you right away what you have.

The copperhead

The copperhead is Georgia's most common venomous snake in suburban areas. It has a tan to coppery body with darker hourglass-shaped bands, and it blends in with leaves and mulch. Around Norcross, look for it in leaf litter, under ivy, in the cracks of old stone or block retaining walls, and in woodpiles, mostly in warm weather and around dusk. If you see one, keep kids and pets back and don't try to kill it or move it yourself. Most bites happen when people try.

Georgia law protects non-venomous snakes

Of Georgia's 47 native snakes, 40 are non-venomous, and all of them are protected by state law. Killing one is illegal. Trying to kill any snake, venomous or not, is also how most bites happen. Snakes can strike farther than people expect, and a snake that looks dead can still bite. A licensed pro removes and relocates non-venomous snakes and handles venomous ones safely.

Outside? Usually wait. Inside? Call now.

A snake crossing your yard or sunning on a walkway will usually be gone within a few minutes to an hour. By the time anyone arrives it has often moved on, and there's nothing to remove. Just keep people and pets away and let it go. A snake inside the house, garage or crawlspace is different. Call right away and keep an eye on it if you safely can. The longer you wait, the harder it is to find.

Making the property less inviting

Snakes come for food and cover, so take those away. Deal with any rodent problem first. Pull ivy and tall weeds back from the foundation, store firewood and lumber off the ground and away from the house, and fix broken screens on crawlspace vents and gaps under garage doors. Snake repellents and mothballs don't work, and mothballs shouldn't be used around a home for any animal problem.