If you found a snake in your garage, might wonder how long it can live in there. The answer depends on what the snake is looking for.
A snake can live inside a garage from a few days to several months, depending on the availability of food, water, and shelter.
For example, if you have water (such as leaking pipes), and food sources (such as mice) in your garage – a snake can live inside for several months.
Why Do Snakes Enter Garages?
Snakes don’t want to live inside your garage, they’re much happier outside.
But sometimes they end up in your garage for the following reasons.
1. They’re Looking for a Meal
Snakes, like you, also get hungry. They enjoy eating mice, rats, frogs, small lizards, and bugs like roaches too!
If you have mice in your home, snakes can smell them, and they will follow that trail right to your door. Once they’ve located a food source in the home, they may remain for more food.
Imagine if someone put a pizza on your doorstep every 5 days, wouldn’t you go back there, too?
2. They Want to Warmth or Shade
Snakes are cold-blooded animals, which means they cannot regulate their body temperature. Instead, they rely on their environment to regulate their temperature.
They seek out warmth if it’s cold outside, and they look for a cool place if it’s hot outside.
Your garage has both warm places, and cool places making it like a perfect snake hotel.
3. They Are Looking for Water
All animals need water to survive. Snakes do not drink much water, but they still need it sometimes.
Snakes can find water in your garage if there are leaky pipes, pet bowls, or puddles.
If it hasn’t rained in a while, your garage could be the only place they can find a drink.
4. They Want to Hide or Feel Safe
Snakes are shy animals and do not like to be seen. Snakes spend most of their time hiding in dark and quiet places.
Your garage has plenty of great hiding spots for snakes.
If snakes find a good hiding spot, they will stay hidden during the day and only come out at night.
5. They Are Lost
Another reason why snakes may enter your garage is that; sometimes snakes wander in by accident.
A snake might chase after a mouse and end up inside your garage through the front door.
Or it might be crawling through an open door, between gaps under doors, cracks in walls, air vents, and pipes.
When snakes have gotten inside, they generally will move around a bit.
If they water, food, or a comfortable place to stay, while exploring, they may end up staying longer than expected.
How Long Snakes Can Live Inside a Garage
If a snake gets into your garage, you might wonder how long it can stay alive. The answer? It depends on what your garage is like.
Some snakes die after just a few days. Others can live for months without you even knowing they’re there.
A Few Days
If your snake visitor shows up in a house that doesn’t have food, water, noise, lights, and everyone moving around, it will have a hard time.
The snake will become stressed quickly. It can’t find water, making it thirsty. From all the movement, it feels unsafe.
Most snakes in this situation will try to immediately leave and go back outside. If they can’t find a way out, they may die within a day or two.
This happens frequently in very busy residential areas.
One to Two Weeks
Snakes are more resilient than you might think. They can go days or weeks without food, so if it finds a tiny bit of food (like a bug or small spider) and there is some water around, it may happily stay for a week or two.
While it is there, it will hide during the day, and at night, it will come out to hunt. It will sleep in dark and quiet areas, such as under your couch, on your walls, etc.
After a week or two of no food or water, the snake gets weaker. It may leave on its own or eventually die in your garage.
One to Two Months
If your garage has mice or rats running around, a leaky pipe or your pet’s water bowl, lots of good hiding spots, and quiet areas, a snake can live inside for weeks or months.
Snakes don’t need to eat frequently; maybe once a week or once every two weeks.
If the snake is comfortable and regularly finds food, it could stay hidden in your garage for months without you ever knowing.
This happens more often in garages that are already infested with mice.
Several Months
Sometimes, a snake can live in a garage for several months before it is discovered.
There have been cases where people discovered snakes in an old box, in basement crawlspaces, or within walls after not knowing a snake had been living there for months.
Sometimes people only find the snake when they smell something bad – like when the snake dies in a hidden spot.
Snake Species Commonly Found Inside Garages
The specific type of snake in your garage is important. Some snakes are better at living indoors than others.
1. Garter Snakes
Garter snakes are found in many places. They typically eat small animals like mice or insects.
If they find pests in your house they may find something to eat. They can survive indoors for weeks or months if they find food and water
2. Rat Snakes
Rat snakes are often found living near houses, and they eat mice and rats. If mice or rats are present in your house, then a rat snake can survive for a long time.
Rat snakes even can survive for months without eating.
Signs That a Snake Is in Your Garage
Even if you can’t see the snake, there are some signs that you may have a snake around.
- Old Snake Skin
Snakes shed their skin as they grow. The old skin from the snake will be a clear thin tube-like structure.
If you find that skin, there is probably a snake somewhere nearby.
- Unusual Odors or Smells
Some snakes (such as garter snakes, and copperheads) can create a musky smelly odor when threatened.
It’s not a normal household smell, so you might notice it.
- Snake Droppings
Snake waste looks like bird droppings but longer. It may have some white spots and bits of bone or hair from animals the snake consumed.
- Strange Noises
You may hear faint noises in your garage, especially at night. This could be a snake moving around.
- Pets Acting Unusual
Dogs and cats can smell and hear things we can’t. If your pet keeps staring at one area or acting nervous, there might be a snake there.
How to Keep Snakes Out of Your Garage
If you want to stop snakes from coming into your garage, you have to make the area around your garage less attractive to them.
Here are several things you can do to keep snakes from entering your garage.
1. Keep Mice and Other Small Animals Away From Your garage
One of the easiest ways of keeping snakes away is to get rid of the “snake food” (prey animals) you have in or around your garage.
You can do this by getting rid of trash piles, or anything that may attract rodents or insects.
Ensure that food scraps are disposed of properly, as rats and mice are attracted to places where they can find food.
Also, avoid leaving uneaten pet food outdoors, and consider storing any bird seed in rodent-proof containers.
In essence, make sure there is nothing in or around your garage that can attract mice or other animals that snakes prey on.
2. Seal All Entryways
Block off as many possible entryways to your garage as possible, to reduce the chance of a snake slithering inside.
Screen all outside vents, seal cracks and holes around the foundation, and make sure doors and windows fit tightly.
Many adult snakes can squeeze through spaces only a few inches wide, so even tiny holes should be blocked off.
3. Keep Your Grass Short
Tall grass provides the perfect cover for snakes to hide in. It also attracts mice and other small animals that snakes prey on.
Keep your grass, and other vegetation around the garage short. This will discourage snakes from coming into your yard, and into your garage.
It will also make it easy to spot the snakes that do end up in your yard so you can get rid of them.
4. Clear Dead Leaves and Other Dead Vegetation
Snakes love to hide under dead logs and leaf litter on the ground around your garage.
Getting rid of these will keep snakes away because they will have fewer places to hide.
5. Keep Firewood, Compost Piles, and Other Types of Debris Away From Your garage
Snakes love to hide in well-covered areas outside. Compost piles or stacks of firewood and lumber are the perfect places for snakes to hide.
If these are kept close to the garage, snakes can easily make their way inside.
Store firewood, lumber, and other piles of debris away from your garage
6. Be Vigilant During the Warm Seasons of the Year
Snakes and other reptiles are most active when the temperatures are warm.
Be alert during this time of the year and watch for any snakes that may end up in your yard, so they do not get inside your garage.
Featured image credit: smitsam (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Hi, my name is Ezra Mushala, i have been interested animals all my life. I am the main author and editor here at snakeinformer.com.