Wildlife Removal Services
Snake Removal in Northern Virginia
A snake in the basement, the garage or the crawl space is almost never the animal you think it is, and almost always a sign of something else. We identify it, remove it, and deal with the reason it came in.
Licensed in VA (#56104) and MD (#049372). Family-owned, 20+ years, answering 24 hours a day.
Which Snake You Are Actually Looking At
Fairfax County is home to a range of snake species and, per the county’s own guidance, the Eastern copperhead is the only venomous one commonly found here. Rattlesnakes are a mountain animal; cottonmouths are a Hampton Roads animal. Almost everything found around a Northern Virginia house is harmless — usually a black rat snake, a garter snake or a northern water snake near water.
A copperhead is identified by a triangular head, a vertical pupil, an hourglass pattern banding the length of the body, copper to tan colour, and a yellow tail tip on juveniles. Fairfax County notes that many harmless snakes are killed each year purely because they are mistaken for copperheads.
That matters practically: the black rat snake people kill in a panic is the animal that was holding the rodent population down. Remove it and you have traded a snake you can see for mice you cannot.
A Snake Indoors Is a Rodent Problem with Extra Steps
Snakes do not nest in houses and they are not interested in people. They follow food and temperature. A snake in a crawl space is there because mice are there; a snake in a garage is there because it followed a gap and the concrete held heat. Basements, crawl spaces, garages, window wells and the space under a stoop are where we find them.
They get in through the openings nobody looks at: unscreened crawl space vents, the gap under a garage door, foundation cracks and the sill plate, utility and dryer penetrations, sump and drain lines, and window wells with no cover. A snake needs a fraction of the opening a mammal does — if a mouse can use it, so can the snake following the mouse.
Which is why removing the snake alone is a temporary result. The sequence that actually works is: catch the animal, close the openings, and take away what it was hunting.
Most Snakes in Your Yard Are Doing You a Favor
We do not kill snakes. A black rat snake along your foundation is eating the mice and voles that would otherwise be in your crawl space, and removing it tends to make the rodent problem worse rather than better.
The one to know on sight is the eastern copperhead — the only venomous snake commonly found in this part of Northern Virginia. Keep people and pets away from it and call us; identification from a safe distance is part of what we do, and most of the calls we take turn out to be harmless species.
A snake indoors is a symptom. It followed prey, or it came through the same gap something else is using. We remove the snake, then find and seal the opening — and tell you honestly if what you really have is a rodent problem.
How the Job Runs
1. Identify and locate
Species identified first — venomous or not — then we search the likely harbourage: crawl space, sill plate, window wells, garage, water heater closet and under the stoop.
2. Remove safely
Hand capture or trapping with proper tools and protective equipment, then release on the property away from the house as Virginia requires. Copperheads are handled accordingly.
3. Seal and de-bait
Crawl space vents screened in metal, the garage door gap closed, foundation and utility penetrations sealed, window wells covered — and the rodents that drew it in addressed.
Why Homeowners Call BEDR
- 20+ years, family-owned — you deal with the people doing the work.
- Licensed in Virginia (#56104) and Maryland (#049372).
- Humane and legal methods — we work inside Virginia’s relocation and protected-species rules, not around them.
- We seal, not just trap — the reason customers do not call us back about the same animal.
- 24/7 answering, with same-day service across Northern Virginia.
- Full restoration in-house — attic cleanup, insulation, chimney caps, crawl space work.
Humane Solutions. Lasting Results.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is a snake in my basement right now. What do I do?
Keep people and pets out of the room, keep the snake in sight if you can do it from a distance, and call. We answer 24 hours a day. Do not try to catch or kill it — that is when bites happen, and most bites are to the hand.
How do I know if it is a copperhead?
Triangular head, vertical pupil, hourglass bands down the body, copper or tan colour, yellow tail tip if juvenile. If you are not certain, treat it as venomous and keep your distance. A photo from a safe distance is enough for us to identify it over the phone.
Why do I keep finding snakes every year?
Because the openings are still open and the food is still there. Recurring snakes are a rodent and exclusion problem — seal the crawl space and the sill plate, deal with the mice, and the pattern stops.
Do you remove snakes from crawl spaces?
Yes, and that is where most of them are. Crawl space work, vent screening and cleanup are all in-house.
Get the Snake Out and the House Sealed
We answer 24 hours a day.
Other Wildlife Removal Services
Squirrel Removal · Raccoon Removal · Bat Removal · Bird Nest Removal · Groundhog Removal · Skunk Removal · Fox Removal · Opossum Removal · Mole Removal
Where We Work
Fairfax · Alexandria · Arlington · McLean · Vienna · Reston · Herndon · Falls Church · Woodbridge · Fredericksburg · Chantilly · Centreville · King George