Has anyone has experience with snakes getting into the basement through cracks in the foundation? My rental house seems to be overrun with snakes and one of my tenants thinks they are nesting inside the walls. They are just garden snakes but no one wants to come face to face with a snake unexpectedly.
I have to tear out the dry wall and replace it anyway so if I can find out how to keep the snakes out it would be great.
We had that happen in the house we rented several years back. It was an older home. Only 3 snakes got in that we knew of and they were garden snakes, harmless and my daughter actually kept 2 of them as pets for a while and we let them go in the forest right before winter set in.
Don't know how they got in but since it was no big deal to us - we just let it go.
Good Luck!
D.
Northern Black Hills
I would call an exterminator. I know moth balls will keep mice and other little varmits out. It's worth a try, it might chase them until the extermintors got there.
You must find the entry point. There is probably more than one. If you are tearing out the dry wall anyhow, it won't be such a big deal and you may be amazed at what you find under it. Make sure you check EVERYWHERE and when you find even the slightest hole, it must be plugged. You can purchase a small bag of patching cement at most lumber/hardware stores. Also you can use caulking to achieve the same result. Snakes have also been known to enter through open drains. Hope this helps!
Anne-Marie's advice is the way to go, but I would also suggest calling a pest control company who specializes in these things. They can usually come pretty quickly and are good at finding these holes.
I owned a home that was almost 100 years old. We found two entry points for the snakes...a tiny crack between the foundation and basement window and another TINY hole in the foundation. I only saw two snakes before I located the holes and plugged them. One of the holes was beneath the actual soil...I only found it because I was mowing and saw a snake go down between the foundation and soil so I got the shovel and started digging to make sure. ...and sure enough...about four inches beneath the foundation was a hole.
Hi B.! My friends had this problem. Their entire property is overrun by snakes and they have had over 50 come into their house. The only way they knew how the snakes were getting in was by actually observing where they were entering. They were able to plug that specific hole in the foundation and no longer had a problem. So, they may or may not be nesting in the walls.
Do you have a contractor to replace the drywall? They should be able to pinpoint where they are entering and patch the foundation.
You and your tenants are brave people! If I saw a snake in my house.....well, I would never be able to go back! :)
