Snake in the house

[AtlantaViking]

Hello Forum,
I am a life long "fearer" of snakes. Trying to learn to be okay and even like them. Bought some property, built a house and have encountered dozens of snakes, mostly rat/king/black/indigo, and getting better and dealing with them. Tonight though, my first time having one come inside my home. Caught me off guard in our foyer. No idea what it is but looks like a Western rat snake from research I have done. Not a native Georgia species. Also, the burning question is - If there is one, is it likely there are a lot more, no more or a few more? Is momma nearby? Also, how would I find out? PS - It seems like it was coming out of one of our floor HVAC supply vents Any advice help would be appreciated

[Scubadiver59]

Not too many in the house, or venturing into the house I would expect. They're just looking for food, and maybe you have a vermin issue and don't know it?

Put screens over the vents/pipes. Get some caulk or expanding foam, look around the house and block any holes you find. IMO, it's better to have the snakes vice mice and/or rats which nest, chew wires, harbor disease, etc.

[kudzu]

Might be a juvenile black rat snake.

[Jim Smith]

Just move him outside and look for areas where they can enter near doors, windows even downspouts near the gutters. If you've seen an Indigo snake in the Atlanta area, that is big news for reptile lovers. Indigo are very rare and usually only found in south Georgia near the Florida or Alabama line.

[toddnbecka]

It's a black rat snake, not only harmless but usually not even prone to bite when picked up IME. Even if a non-venomous snake does bite you it really isn't very painful. Aside from your own fear there's really nothing to worry about. Some areas of Georgia are bad for copperheads and/or cottonmouths, so be on the alert for those. Best just to avoid them as much as possible. On the good side, king, indigo, and black rat snakes will actually eat the venomous snakes, so finding those around the house is actually a good sign.

[Jim Smith]

I also live in Georgia and it happens to be an area where Copperheads are very common. In fact, I picked up two road kills this morning within a 1/2 mile of the house and had neighbors bring another very large dead Copperhead (over 36 inches) by the house because they know I'm "the snake guy". I use the skins to make custom pens which look beautiful.