Common North American Snakes
150 snake species call North America home.
Venomous Snakes
North American venomous snakes belong to the pit viper family and include rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, copperheads, and coral snakes. They are found throughout the United States.
Non-venomous Snakes
Non-venomous snakes are much more diverse. Though common types like garter snakes, kingsnakes, milk snakes, racers, and water snakes can be found throughout the Nearctic region, specific species vary by state.
What states have the most snakes?
In general, the Western and Southern states see the most diversity.
Texas tops the charts with 68 different snake species. With 52 different species, Nevada is a close second. On the other end of the spectrum, you won’t find any snakes in Alaska due to the cold climate.
In the Western United States, species like the California mountain kingsnake, rubber boa, and the common garter snake are found in abundance. The southern states are home to eastern racers, southern watersnakes, Great Plains ratsnakes, and the common kingsnake. Southern snakes also include various species of invasive pythons and boas.
The northeastern region of the U.S. supports populations of the milk snake, the northern black racer, the northern water snake, and the smooth green snake.
How to Identify Types of Snakes
All snakes have long, scaly bodies with no legs and no ears. Their forked tongues help them smell, and they are able to unhinge the bottom half of their jaw from the top in order to swallow their prey whole. As cold-blooded reptiles, they regulate their body temperature by spending many hours basking in the sun and must hibernate in regions with harsh winters.
Snakes range in color from black, brown, and tan, to green and orange. They may be solid in color or display patterns.
Snakes occupy a number of different habitats. Water snakes, for example, spend a fair amount of time underwater. Species of green snakes often live in trees. Most species prefer cool, dark, and moist areas like gardens with mulch, basements, barn lofts, unkempt lawns, and abandoned lots or fields.
Problems Caused by Snakes
Since snakes eat various species of rodents and insects, their presence generally benefits property owners. However, the fear they incite is reason enough to not want them around. Additionally, all species of snakes have sharp teeth and are capable of inflicting painful bites. Venomous species are especially dangerous, as their bites can be fatal.
Control & Removal
Property owners can reduce the possibility of encountering snakes by making their homes and yards less favorable to common snake prey. This entails maintaining the cleanliness of homes, mowing lawns regularly, cleaning out clutter from basements and attics, and storing food in rodent-proof containers.
In the event of a snake infestation, do not approach the pests. To avoid injury, property owners should instead contact Critter Control to take advantage of our professional wildlife removal services.
Learn more about snake removal.
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Brandon was out to please and make out lives easier with out bat situation. Above and beyond of the call of duty and got the job done. Thank you!
BAT POOP CLEAN-UP AND PREVENTION! Bat guano removed from gables. No bats found in attic, so put new screens on all gable vents, as one screen was close to breaking and then bats may have gotten in! Great work in
Tulsa!
Squirrels and chipmunks were in our attic. So we called Critter Control to do an inspection. Their representative climbed all over our very steep roof and found several places where squirrels had entered our attic.
Upon inspection of the attic, evidence of bats was also found. The Critter Control team came on time to completely caulk the entire perimeter of the house and create an exit strategy for the squirrels and bats.
Because
bat droppings can cause histoplasmosis, this also required total removal and replacement of our attic insulation and sanitizing the space. Not a small job in a 1,300 sq. ft. attic! While Critter Control’s cost was high, our homeowners insurance covered most of it. Everyone representing Critter Control was professional, courteous and timely. I would highly recommend them to anyone who thinks they might have unwelcome guests living in their attic
On recommendations from a nearby pest control company, I called Critter Control for suspicious
bat droppings.
Madison came out the same day to do an inspection. She was knowledgeable, thorough, and highly professional. She examined the ‘matter’ that had been scattered on my threshold and thought it was foliage. But she then asked to go up to my attic space where the bats could be roosting. She had to walk up 3 flights of stairs with a heavy ladder. She again spent some time searching all the nooks and crannies and found nothing.
She seemed so interested in her craft, it was truly inspiring to see! She reassured me and is writing up a prevention strategy for my appraisal. She charged me NOTHING!! I am so impressed. We need more Madisons in this world!
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We noticed droppings on our brand new deck - we were given their number from our contractor. They came the next day. Brian looked at it and said - yeah, bats!! He then checked every area in our attic and he explained exactly what needed to be done.
He found evidence of a mice infestation, provided a referral and they are helping us as well. Great service, very informative, very professional! We are very satisfied and would recommend them to anyone who has any issues with any critters!
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