RELATED: This Is the No. 1 Sign There’s a Snake in Your House, Experts Say. It may be the perfect place to store all of your winter gear, rarely used tools, or odds and ends. But surprisingly, your attic could be attracting snakes into your house if you’re not taking care to clean it regularly.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb According to experts, your top floor can provide ample meals for snakes looking for mice, rats, bats, or squirrels that have managed to sneak their way in. By not giving your attic a somewhat regular reorganization and tidying up, it might only be a matter of time before a slithering intruder makes its way into your house. While snakes certainly don’t have the advantage of flight or even a set of arms and legs that might make it easy to reach your top floor, experts point out that some types of snakes are gifted climbers. They’ll often use overgrown trees, bushes, telephone poles, and light posts to follow a rodent scent that could bring them right to the same undetected opening in your attic that other pests can use. In some cases, it can be as obvious as a window, a gap in roof eaves, or a vent. According to experts, snakes have a much harder time climbing smooth surfaces than they do stone, brick, or tree bark. If your home has coarse exterior walls or overgrown foliage, make sure there are no cracks or crevices that could allow pests or snakes to enter on an upper floor. RELATED: This Is When You’re Most Likely to Encounter a Snake, Experts Say. It’s doubtful that you’re leaving food scraps in your attic that could be attracting the rodents that snakes love to eat. But storing items haphazardly, leaving chaotic piles around, and not checking for any signs of infestation regularly, you’re essentially rolling out a welcome mat. And even without pests, this can be true for snakes themselves looking to find a place to stay warm over the cold winter months. Take time every so often to tidy up your top room, especially if you’re swapping out items at the beginning or end of a season. Instead of letting clothing, documents, or items pile up, consider putting them in tightly sealed storage bins or garment bags that will stop them from becoming rodent residences when you’re not looking. You should also resist the temptation to store large bags of pet food, birdseed, or other items in your attic, which can become all-you-can-eat buffets for rodents. If you do keep bulk supplies of those items around the house, be sure to keep them in tightly sealed animal-proof storage containers and regularly check them for signs of rodent tampering. For more helpful home tips sent straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. It’s probably likely you’ll notice a mouse scurry across your kitchen before you notice a bat hanging up in your attic. But by taking some proactive measures and sticking to a cleaning schedule, you could avoid a full-blown infestation that could bring snakes into your attic. Set a reminder in your calendar to give your top floor a quick tidying every three to four months. Use the time to check for any signs of rodents, such as droppings or nests, and for signs of snakes, such as shed skins or droppings with bones or fur in them. If you hear the scurrying of a mouse, rat, or squirrel in your walls, set traps in your attic immediately or call a pest control service that can help you avoid a long-lasting problem. RELATED: Leaving This in Your Garage Is Bringing Snakes to Your Home, Experts Warn.
