Snake Removal Davidson NC: Help When a Snake Turns Up

A snake by the back steps, in the garage or under the deck is not a job for the Davidson police. The town's police department says its officers are not sent out for wild animal or reptile intrusions, snakes included, and points residents to a private company instead. For snake removal Davidson NC homes and businesses can call (844) 595-3326, and the line is answered 24/7.

This page is about the town of Davidson in north Mecklenburg County, one of the Lake Norman towns along with Cornelius and Huntersville, not Davidson County near Lexington. Until help is on the way, keep people and pets back and give the snake plenty of space, which is the advice of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NC Wildlife). If it is inside, keep everyone out of that room while you call.

Animal Control Davidson NC: What the Town Does About Snakes

Davidson shares animal control with the City of Charlotte through an interlocal agreement. Town police officers usually go out first to size up a problem and call animal control when it is needed. Snakes are the exception. The police department's Animal Care & Control page says officers are not dispatched for wild animal or reptile intrusions such as a raccoon, fox, coyote or snake, and asks residents to contact a pest control company for those removals.

Our Mooresville Snake Removal page explains how a call works and what to have ready when you dial.

Tip: if the snake is inside or will not leave a spot your family uses, call the snake removal line first. Calling the town only adds a step before you are pointed to a private company.

Davidson NC Snakes: What Turns Up Around Town

NC Wildlife counts 38 snake species in the state and says most of them are harmless to people. A few are worth knowing by sight, from a distance:

• Copperhead: NC Wildlife says that in many areas, including most of the larger urban areas of the state, it is the only venomous snake. Our page on copperhead removal covers what to do when you find one.
• Long black snakes: adult eastern rat snakes are black on top, and NC State Extension describes them among the harmless snakes and says they occur statewide. See our page on black rat snakes.
• Snakes on docks and lake rocks: a snake there is often a water snake. NC Wildlife says water snakes lack fangs and venom glands, and that cottonmouths are found mainly in the Coastal Plain. Our guide to Lake Norman snakes shows how to tell them apart.
• Small banded or brown snakes: many people take these for a young copperhead. Our baby copperhead guide walks through the look-alikes.

Tip: a snake you cannot name is a snake to leave alone. Keep kids and dogs inside until it moves on or help arrives.

Where Davidson Snakes Show Up

Davidson mixes a small town center with wooded lots, parks, greenways and lake shoreline, and snakes in Davidson follow cover and food into all of it.

• Lake Norman shoreline: docks, rock walls and boat lifts are places to look before you step or reach.
• Fisher Farm and the West Branch Greenway: the town describes the 200-acre Fisher Farm as a natural area populated with a variety of wildlife; the West Branch Greenway reaches it from the north, and the county's Abersham Park sits next door. On the trails, watch where you step around logs and tall grass.
• Yards that back up to woods or creeks: NC State Extension says snakes look for hiding places such as downed wood, pots, rocks and other debris, so a woodpile or a stack of pots by the house gives one a reason to stay.

Clearing that cover is the heart of how to keep snakes away. If one gets indoors, our page on what to do about a snake in the house covers the minutes until help arrives.

Davidson Snake Questions