Local snake information

Snake control in Virginia

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Snakes in Virginia: what to know

Around Virginia

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

What to note

Where you see snakes, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.

A useful next step

Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.

Local research

Snakes in Virginia: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which snakes actually live in Virginia, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

3: copperhead (statewide), timber rattlesnake (western mountains; canebrake in the southeast), cottonmouth (south and east of Petersburg)

Venomous species

Timber rattlesnake is state endangered.

Virginia DWR

No more than one non-SGCN reptile per address

Private possession limit

DWR does not remove snakes; licensed pest companies do.

Virginia DWR

Snake species recorded in Virginia

Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) — Statewide in Virginia and common in gardens and woodlots; the most common venomous species in the Mid-Atlantic. In Florida only the western Panhandle.
Cottonmouth (water moccasin) (Agkistrodon piscivorus) — Throughout Florida; in Virginia only south and east of Petersburg in wet areas. Georgia lists both northern and Florida cottonmouths.
Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) — State endangered in Virginia (canebrake population in the southeast); northern Florida only as far south as Gainesville.

Copperheads are common in gardens and woodlots but rarely inside homes.

Rules that apply in Virginia

Virginia DWR nuisance snakes

For context, nationally

7,000-8,000; about 5 deaths — Venomous snakebites per year in the U.S.. CDC/NIOSH
10-44 percent — Rattlesnake bite victims with lasting injury. CDC/NIOSH

Sources: Nuisance wildlife: Snakes; CDC/NIOSH; Recognizing Florida's Venomous Snakes (WEC 202/UW229). Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Virginia cities

Alexandria

Humid Subtropical · urban setting

Snake control in Virginia

Snakes in Virginia: what to know

Around Virginia

What to note

A useful next step

Snakes in Virginia: what the public record shows

Snake species recorded in Virginia

Rules that apply in Virginia

For context, nationally

Explore Virginia cities

Alexandria

Blacksburg

Charlottesville

Chesapeake

Danville

Fredericksburg

Hampton

Harrisonburg

Leesburg

Lynchburg

Manassas

Newport News

Norfolk

Petersburg

Portsmouth

Richmond

Roanoke

Suffolk

Virginia Beach

Winchester

Ask about snake control in Virginia