Because of its layout and how it gets used, your home’s basement can be one of the more surprising rooms in the house. Sometimes, it can be finding a box of old family photos you thought had disappeared during a move long ago. In others, it can be a suddenly malfunctioning appliance or another maintenance headache. But because of the relatively quiet environment it provides, it can also be a place where unwelcome animals from the outside world can also wind up—including reptiles. And according to experts, there are certain places in your basement where snakes will most likely hide. Read on to see which spots are their favorites.
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Besides your extra boxes of clothing and other odds and ends, your basement also tends to be where many major appliances are. But the same appliances that keep your home heated and running with hot water can also help the cold-blooded reptiles regulate their body temperature and stay warm.
“Snakes prefer spots where it is dark and there are many areas to hide,” Daren Horton of Gecko Pest Control tells Best Life. “This can often be near a heat source, so areas such as near water heaters [and] laundry pipes.”
Even though they’re likely to venture inside for shelter or in search of food, it’s not just warmth that snakes are after. Experts point out that certain parts of your basement can mimic the trees and foliage they naturally hide in while also providing them with the kind of cool surface they may be seeking out during warmer months.
“When snakes venture indoors, they usually prefer to be in damp and humid environments, with access to warmth from the sun,” Donnie Shelton, owner of EnviroCon Termite & Pest, tells Best Life. “Generally, they’re found in basements and crawl spaces, but specifically areas where there is shelter from predators such as in the rafters of your basement or around water pipes.”
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Part of the reason basements tend to accumulate clutter is because they’re an easy way to keep items you don’t need every day out of sight. But besides being unsightly, chaotic piles of boxes or other items can provide the kind of hiding environment that snakes seek out once they make their way into your home.
According to Shelton, it’s not uncommon to find the reptiles hiding in “piles of tarps or blankets, cardboard boxes, or storage containers.” However, this isn’t only because it gives snakes a place where they can stash themselves away undisturbed: Clutter and piles can also attract rodents, giving them easy access to one of their favorite meals. To avoid this, he advises installing shelving to avoid creating piles or switching to rigid plastic containers that mice and rats can’t easily chew into and turn into a home of their own.
And if you’re using your subterranean level to stash extra garments or seasonal clothing, you might want to ensure you’re storing them properly. “Snakes love hiding in dark, damp, secluded places, often hiding behind boxes, bags, or in piles of clothes if they go a while undisturbed,” Joshua Paske of Paske Pest Control tells Best Life.
While it’s in use as a part of one of the more active rooms of your room, furniture like your favorite chair or that comfy couch you’ve had for years can be your favorite place to relax. But when you relegate those same items to storage in the basement, they can become equally enticing for a snake looking to stay out of the way.
“If your [basement] is filled with a lot of furniture, chances are snakes will hide under these pieces to avoid any human contact,” Mike Orlino, owner of Superior Pest Elimination, tells Best Life.
The colder months often see wildlife making an even greater effort to find their way to the relative warmth your home provides. And whether they’re seeking a place to stash themselves for the winter or following in their favorite rodent food supply, snakes are no exception.
“If it is cold outside, you may find snakes hiding near a vent or a radiator to receive heat,” Todd Milsom of Delsea Termite & Pest Control tells Best Life. If you are keeping your lower-level warm, he suggests keeping the area around any heating source clear of clutter or debris so they can’t get comfy so easily.
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