Does SC have snakes that can climb up a house and get inside? Here’s what DNR says

Lyn Riddle
·2 min read

For all of you who get the heebie jeebies when you see a snake, here’s something else to think about.

South Carolina is home to three types of snakes that can climb.

Yep. Climb.

And that’s how they end up in your attic. Or toilet.

Rat snakes, black racers and rough green snakes are the climbers among the 38 species of snakes, including six venomous, found in South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Rat snakes can climb trees and walls, looking for bird eggs and frogs. They also eat rodents, which may be the reason they’re slithering inside your house. Same with the Eastern rat snake.

Black racers can easily climb tree trunks, then hop onto a roof and into a vent pipe, which is how they can end up in your toilet. Very uncommon, but it does happen. Just look at YouTube. Plenty of people are on there fishing snakes out of a toilet.

Allegedly.

Trutech Wildlife Service, a national company with six locations in South Carolina, says snakes end up inside houses when they find gaps or cracks in the foundation, loose siding, or gaps between rooflines and fascia boards.

They are flexible enough to squeeze through small holes.

“Snakes are opportunistic in nature and might enter an attic in search of shelter, warmth, or prey,” Trutech said on its website.

You’ll know one is around because you’ll see droppings, which are small to medium cylindrical pellets that are a mixture of feces and urine and sometimes contain bones, hair, and scales from meals.

You can also smell them. Musky and pungent inside. You may also see shed skin and tracks. And sometimes you can hear them hissing.

What do you do if you find a snake in your house?

Don’t call DNR. Their agents do not remove nuisance snakes, but the agency does have a list of wildlife removal specialists on its website.

The best way to keep snakes away from your house is to remove old lumber, woodpiles, tin, and other debris, which provide refuge for snakes and rodents to shelter. Keep grass mowed and lower branches of shrubs trimmed.

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