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 Snake Removal and Control Services
There are four poisonous snakes in Indiana: the Northern Copperhead, Timber Rattlesnake, Western Cottonmouth and the Massasauga Rattlesnake. This is usually the first question asked when we get snake calls, so we can get that out of the way right away.
Awesome Critter Gitters only services Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan so we won’t cover Timber Rattlesnakes and Western Cottonmouths because they are only found in Southern Indiana. The only native poisonous snake found in Michigan is the Massasauga Rattlesnake.
Massasauga got their name from the Chippewa Indians, it means: great river snake or big water snake, I've heard both definitions. It’s easy for me to remember because the only place I've seen Massasauga was around big rivers or big swamps. The reason I've seen so many is because I trap and fish big rivers and swamps. We've never caught or seen one in populated areas; they require big swamps to hunt in to survive. Massasauga are very timid and refuse to strike unless provoked or stepped on. Being a rattlesnake they have rattles to warn you with, even the little ones.
Northern Copperheads on the other hand are a nasty tempered snake that will constantly strike until it tires itself out. For that reason there are more copperhead bites than any other snake in the US. It has a tan and brown banded body with an arrow or V shaped copper colored head and no rattle. They hang out in dryer ground than the Massasauga but still require heavy cover and undergrowth. Bites cause many different problems but are rarely fatal to adult humans. Repeated bites to a child or pet can be fatal.
- Snakes somewhere around your property
- Snakes under your house or decking areas
- Snake in your swimming pool or tub
- Snake inside the home!
- Concern for safety of pets or children
In 30 years of Wildlife control, I've never seen a native poisonous snake in a residential area. The way we landscape our homes make snakes vulnerable to predators so they avoid our lawns, during the day. Most snakes are nocturnal hunters so when we do find them on our property, they are usually curled up sleeping. They are not a threat to pets or children. As a matter of fact they are very beneficial vermin predators. If you stay away from them, they will move on the next evening. Your pets may smell them but they will not attack them, nor will the snake attack the pet. If you have allot of snakes, you also have allot of mice. Kill the snakes and, see what happens, you will be over run with mice.
Snakes in the Basement or Attic
There’s a strange phenomenon about snakes my years of experience has reveled, that not many people know about it. Climbing snakes find holes in homes and climb up into the attic of people’s homes. Wildlife control operators have seen this for years, but they always explain; the snake followed a mouse pheromone trail up there and was making a living on the mice (or rats) in the attic. No, most mice move outside during the summer, the attic is too hot for them. The reason snakes go into attics is to shed their skin. Snakes don’t eat when this occurs and their eyes fog over making it difficult for them to see. The attics are very warm and void of all predators making it the perfect shedding spot. It’s very common for us to see a snake skin in attics, but we seldom find snakes skeletons so they must find their way out again. The snakes come and go, shedding their skin in the attic, and most people never know they were there. There are some people that can actually hear the snakes moving in the attic! The first 2 or 3 years I was a full time Wildlife Control Operator, customers would tell me they heard snakes in the attic, I thought they were prank calls. After finding many snake skins in attics, I finally started taking the calls serious. I’m amazed people can hear snakes in their attics. Most of the snake calls we go on are snakes in the basement. We always hand capture or trap the snake and release it unharmed, if possible. Then we perform a very through inspection of the foundation and repair the holes to keep snakes and other vermin out in the future. All snakes are beneficial to us and should be respectfully avoided and ignored.
Poisonous Snakes in Indiana and Michigan
With this said, about every other year we have exotic snake owners call us about a poisonous or dangerous snake that has gotten loose, usually inside their house. For this reason alone, I never say never to our customers when they ask me about the species of snake they saw!
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