Snake Removal in Powder Springs, GA

Snakes around your Powder Springs home

The trail, the brushy edges along it, and the fields and woods toward the county line give Powder Springs a lot of snake habitat. Most snakes stay out of sight. They show up around homes for two reasons: overgrowth and food. Thick shrubs against the foundation, a woodpile, tall grass along a back fence, or a rodent problem in the crawlspace all attract them. Older homes near downtown, with crawlspace vents and gaps under doors, are where snakes most often get inside.

Our crew says most people assume every snake is venomous, but only about one call in a hundred actually involves a venomous snake. Around nine in ten are harmless rat snakes. Georgia has 47 native snake species, and seven are venomous. The copperhead is the one you might realistically meet around Powder Springs. All non-venomous snakes are protected, and killing one is illegal.

A snake in the yard will usually leave on its own

This may be the most useful thing on this page. A snake crossing your yard, sunning on the driveway or passing along the fence by the trail is usually gone within a few minutes to an hour. By the time anyone arrives it has typically moved on, and you still pay for the trip. Keep kids and pets away, let it go, and save the call for a snake that's inside, keeps coming back, or you think is venomous.

If it's inside, call right away

A snake in the house, garage or crawlspace is different. Call immediately, because the longer it has to find a hiding spot, the harder it is to locate. Keep everyone out of the room, close the door if you can, and watch where it goes. The pro removes it safely and then finds how it got in, usually a gap under a garage door, an open crawlspace vent, or a gap around a pipe. On older homes near downtown, those gaps are common.

Rat snakes, kingsnakes, and the occasional copperhead

Most snakes you'll see in Powder Springs are rat snakes. They're good climbers and eat rodents, sometimes in attics or barns. Kingsnakes eat other snakes, including copperheads. Small garter and brown snakes live in garden beds. The copperhead is the venomous snake that adapts to suburban yards. It's well camouflaged in leaf litter, mulch and woodpiles, and it's most active in warm weather. Our crew also deals with rattlesnakes every year, more often on the larger, more open lots toward the county edge than in town.

The law, and why killing one is a bad idea

Georgia protects all non-venomous native snakes. Killing one is illegal, and licensed pros remove and relocate them without harming them. Trying to kill a snake is also how most people get bitten, because you have to get within striking distance, and a snake can strike farther than people expect. Snakes are the animal homeowners misidentify most often. Let a pro identify it.

Making the yard less attractive to snakes

Snakes come for cover and food. To reduce both: keep firewood and lumber off the ground and away from the house, cut back overgrowth along the fence and foundation, and keep grass short where the yard meets the trail or a field. Deal with rodents too, since they're what snakes are hunting. Seal crawlspace vents, garage door gaps and pipe openings with metal screening or proper door sweeps. Snake repellents and mothballs don't work.

What the pro does on a visit

The pro identifies the snake, removes it with proper tools, and takes it off the property, following state law for protected species. Then they look at why it came: signs of rodents, piles of debris near the foundation, gaps into the crawlspace or garage. The advice you get afterward, such as controlling rodents, clearing cover and sealing entry points, is what actually reduces the chance of seeing another one.