How Much Does Snake Removal Cost
Snakes, whether venomous or not, are not usually welcome to any home. However, as they follow insects and rodents, they can end up living where humans live. From time to time, there will be chances of snake in a house particularly in the basement, wall cavity, attic, crawlspace, and even a small stack or pile of firewood or debris.
In the event that you see a snake in your property, it is important that you practice extreme care. Getting the help of professional snake removal companies is important to ensure success of the removal as well as the safety of everyone nearby.
The Cost Of Snake Removal
The cost of snake removal can range from $100 to $600.
This price refers to hiring a professional snake removal company that will do the following services for you:
- will inspect the premises to identify entry points, the type of snake in question, the number of snakes present, and the overall scope of the problem
- will devise plans on how the snake will be trapped
- will trap the snake for their disposal
- will suggest plans on how the home will be snake-proof .
Factors Affecting The Cost Of Snake Removal
Type of snake. Snakes can be venomous or non-venomous. Basically, poisonous snakes are more expensive to deal with because the company faces greater risks when dealing with them. This is as compared to having to deal with non-venomous snakes, which give them little to no risk at all. More often than not, removing a venomous snake is $50 more or higher of the price of removing a non-venomous snake.
Size of snake. Bigger snakes are usually more expensive to remove as compared to smaller ones or baby snakes. This is true because bigger snakes are usually heavier and are harder to deal with safely. However, there are companies that charge just the same no matter how big or small the snake in question is.
Number of snakes. The more snakes are to be dealt with, the more expensive the service usually becomes. This is true because the more snakes in the property, the more effort, labor, and time are required to have the property completely snake-free.
Difficulty. Some snake removal jobs are more difficult than the rest. For instance, getting a snake out of a crawlspace will be more difficult as compared to a snake lying under a pile of firewood. Hence, the price of snake removal varies depending on the difficulty level of the removal.
Inspection. Usually, the trapping of the snake is not the hardest part. It actually is the inspection where the company will search for snakes in the property that is the hardest. The harder it is to search for the snake, the more expensive the service goes. At times, snake removal companies charge inspection fees by the hour. So if the property is too big and the snakes live in hard-to-reach areas, the cost of snake removal services can go higher. This is without mentioning yet that other types of inspections are more dangerous than the rest. One good example of a dangerous inspection is an under-house search.
Company. Snake removal prices vary from one company to another. This is true not only based on local rates and transportation costs but as well as on pricing. Other companies will charge by the hour and others can charge a minimum fee for every snake removal project no matter how small or big the problem is.
DIY. DIY snake removal is usually not recommended because most snake bites are reported from people trying to corner a snake by themselves. However, DIY snake removal is still possible. DIY snake traps can be purchased from $25 to $60 only.
Additional Costs
Snake proofing is recommended once the snake has been removed from the property to ensure future snake incursions are prevented. Hiring a professional to do preventive measures in your property can be an added $100 to $500 to your bill.
For those purchasing snake traps, shipping may be an additional cost.
If people or animals have been bitten by a snake, snake bite treatment may add to the total cost of the bill. Anti-venom treatments can cost around $7,000 or higher for people and $1,500 to $3,000 for dogs or cats.
Tips Before You Decide To Get Rid of Snake
Always hire a snake removal company that has both liability insurance and personnel insurance. The latter will ensure that the employee will be covered by insurance when accidents such as snake bites happen. Liability insurance, on the other hand, will ensure your property’s protection against damage during the snake removal process.
Make sure to hire a company that is licensed and experienced. Snake removal is a very risky job so you want to only trust a company that has years of successful experience in doing every task required from them.
A good snake removal company will not be there for you only from inspection to trapping the snakes. A good company will guide you through making preventive measures to ensure that your home will not anymore be a home for snakes.
A good snake removal company will also explain to you in detail what the real problem is starting from the type of snake present and what the best plans are to trap them.
If you are getting snake-proofing from the same company, make sure that they offer sufficient guarantee for their job. At least one year guarantee must be expected to ensure protection in your part.
Get references from snake removal companies of your choice. Call their previous customers yourself so you can see for yourself how well a particular company work to satisfy customers’ needs.
Get price estimates from at least three different snake removal companies. Understand that a good removal company will at least see how big the problem is before giving you an estimate.
Pick a company based on license, insurance, experience, reputation, and credibility. Do not forget to ask a written agreement in terms of the kinds of services they are offering in line with the price quotation.
Snakes can be scary; however, if circumstances put you face to face with a snake and the help of a professional can be miles away, you can attempt to catch the snake yourself. However, make sure you practice care all throughout the task. Though removal of the snake usually involves picking the snake up with your bare hands, this is not always the safest. You can use several items such as a long-handed net, a broom and a bin, or a snake trap. However, keep in mind that this must be done only if the snake is not venomous. If the snake is, try your best to contact a professional to deal with the removal.
Preventing Snake Presence In The Property
Having snake in your property does not simply mean expenses in your part. Snakes are also a threat to life; therefore, it is best to do your part in making sure that snakes will not be driven to your home. Here are some prevention techniques you can consider to avoid snake invasion in the future:
- Cut down the population of insects and rodents in your property. They are the main food of snakes so if you have these pests at home, there will be higher chances of snake incursions at home. Hire professional pest control companies to help you eliminate snake foods.
- Remove debris and other items that can be a good hiding spot for snakes. If there is a stock of firewood in your property, better remove it because this is one of the perfect hiding spots of snakes.
- Block openings and holes that may give snakes access to your home. You can consider snake fencing and attaching it to your existing fence so that snakes won't be able to access your yard. Snake fencing is a 1/4 inch mesh that is buried a foot deep in the ground to keep snakes away from the property. Snake fencing usually costs around $8 per linear foot.
- Hire professional snake removal companies to do snake prevention for you. They can help snake-proof your property through several means including the application of snake musk within the property.
- Purchase snake repellents and traps at hardware stores. If you have seen a snake a few times in your property but cannot seem to locate it, better get a snake trap. Traps work to catch any present snakes in the property. Snake repellents, on the other hand, work to keep snakes away in the property. However, be careful when buying snake repellents because a lot of them are bogus and some of them just pollute the environment.