WILDLIFE REMOVAL

Snake Removal in Toronto, Oakville & the GTA

Snakes in basements, garages and sheds, caught and released nearby

Snake removal for homes in Toronto, Oakville, Mississauga, Burlington and Milton. The snakes that turn up in GTA basements, garages and sheds are harmless: Toronto and the Hamilton area have no native venomous snakes. When you ask us to, we identify the snake, catch it and release it within 24 hours, close to where it was found. Then we look for the gap it used and seal it.

Snake indoors? Keep children and pets away, don't try to catch it, and send us a photo by WhatsApp at (905) 739-7888.

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AT A GLANCE

Snakes at a Glance

Eastern Gartersnake, Toronto's most common reptile

Size: Usually 45 to 80 cm long
Colour: Dark green to black, usually with three yellow stripes
How to tell: Look-alike ribbonsnakes have a white crescent by each eye
Active: Most active May to October; winters underground
Where found: Yards and gardens; can winter in old foundations
Bites: Not venomous; its tiny teeth cause no significant injury

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Signs of Snakes Around the House

If you’ve noticed any of these, call and a licensed technician will tell you what it points to.

Call (905) 739-7888

A snake in the basement, garage or shed, most often in spring or fall
Several small snakes in the yard in spring or fall, close to the foundation
Snakes hiding under boards, logs, rock or scrap piles next to the house
Snakes basking on rocks and paved paths on warm days
A buzzing tail in dry leaves: the harmless milksnake shakes its tail like a rattlesnake

A rattlesnake or a species at risk?

We don't handle the Eastern Massasauga or any snake that is a species at risk in Ontario. Leave it alone and keep people and pets back. For a Massasauga bite, call emergency services, go to hospital by ambulance and call the Ontario Poison Centre at 1-800-268-9017.

Ontario's Massasauga page

IDENTIFICATION

How to Identify a Snake in Ontario

Ontario has 17 kinds of native snake, and only one, the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, is venomous. It doesn't live in the GTA. The snakes found around homes here are gartersnakes, brownsnakes, red-bellied snakes and milksnakes, with watersnakes near ponds and streams. The milksnake is the one most often taken for a rattlesnake, because it vibrates its tail and has blotches. Looks can mislead: the hog-nosed snake, which isn't venomous, rears back and flattens its neck like a cobra.

Milksnake or Massasauga: the milksnake is long and narrow; the Massasauga is far thicker, with a rattle on a blunt tail and a vertical pupil.
Gartersnake or ribbonsnake: the ribbonsnake has a white crescent just in front of each eye.
Red-bellied or ring-necked: the ring-necked snake has a yellow, cream or orange ring around its neck.

TYPES

Snakes Found Around GTA Homes

Eastern Gartersnake (Garter Snake)
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
Most have three yellow stripes on a body that runs from dark green to black, though colour and pattern vary a lot. Usually 45 to 80 cm long.
Where found: Toronto's most common reptile, in yards and gardens. It winters underground, sometimes in the foundations of old buildings.
Harmless, and not a species at risk.
DeKay's Brownsnake (Brown Snake)
Storeria dekayi
A small snake, brown, light brown or grey, with two side-by-side rows of small dark spots down its back.
Where found: After the gartersnake, the snake seen most often in Toronto. It hides under logs, rocks and boards and often winters in house foundations.
Harmless, but it gives off a foul musk if picked up.
Red-bellied Snake
Storeria occipitomaculata
Small, about 24 to 28 cm, with a belly that is usually red but can be red-orange or pink.
Where found: Under logs, rocks and scrap piles and along building foundations. Uncommon in Toronto, and mostly out at night.
It rarely bites, and its teeth are tiny.
Eastern Milksnake (Milk Snake)
Lampropeltis triangulum
Grey or tan, with reddish or reddish brown blotches edged in black, and a Y or V shaped mark at the back of the head.
Where found: Southern Ontario neighbourhoods and around barns, where mice are plentiful. It can winter in old foundations.
A specially protected reptile in Ontario. It vibrates its tail, so people mistake it for a rattlesnake.
Northern Watersnake (Water Snake)
Nerodia sipedon sipedon
A bigger snake, 60 to 110 cm, brown or dark brown with faint dark bands that are sometimes reddish.
Where found: Near ponds, lakes and streams. Common around Hamilton, very rare in Toronto.
A specially protected reptile in Ontario. Harmless, but it bites if caught.
Smooth Greensnake
Opheodrys vernalis
Bright emerald green all over and 30 to 50 cm long. No other Ontario snake is a plain bright green.
Where found: Grassy places with dense plant cover. In Toronto it lives in some of the larger parks and is uncommon.
A specially protected reptile in Ontario.

Milksnakes come for mice, so mouse control is part of keeping them away. For photos of every Ontario snake, see Ontario Nature's snake field guide, listed under Sources.

OUR APPROACH

How Our Snake Removal Works

Step 1
Identify the Snake
We identify the snake first, from your photo or on site, before anyone handles it, because species at risk are handled differently. Most snakes at GTA homes are gartersnakes, brownsnakes, red-bellied snakes or milksnakes. If it is a Massasauga or another species at risk in Ontario, we don't handle it: we leave it alone and point you to the province's species at risk page.
Step 2
Catch and Release Nearby
If you ask us to, we catch a snake that is in your home, garage or shed and release it within 24 hours, close to where it was found. The province's guidance is within 1 km. It goes onto someone else's property only with that owner's permission. We don't kill snakes, and we don't use poison or glue on them.
Step 3
Wait Out the Cold
We don't put a snake outside in winter or below 12°C, as the City of Toronto advises. The City's advice is to move it out gently once the weather is right. If it can't wait that long, we point you to an authorized wildlife rehabilitator for advice.
Step 4
Seal the Way In
Once the snakes are out, we look for the crack or gap they used, often in the foundation, and seal it. We point out wood, rock or scrap piles against the foundation worth moving, and can deal with any mice drawing snakes in.

BITES

Are There Rattlesnakes or Venomous Snakes in Toronto?

No. Toronto and the Hamilton area have no native venomous snakes. Ontario's only venomous snake is the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, a threatened species found mainly around eastern Georgian Bay and the Bruce Peninsula, with two small populations at Wainfleet Bog near Port Colborne and near Windsor. None of these places is in the GTA. The province says no one in Ontario has died of a Massasauga bite in over 50 years. Toronto's native snakes have tiny teeth, so a bite from one won't cause significant injury. For a bite from a snake you can't name, the Ontario Poison Centre says to call 911, rest and wait for instructions.

Spotting a Massasauga: a stout rattlesnake, usually 50 to 70 cm, grey to dark brown with darker blotches. No other Ontario snake has a vertical, cat-like pupil, and the rattle is often missing.
A buzzing tail isn't proof: the harmless Eastern milksnake and Eastern foxsnake vibrate their tails too, and in dry leaves it can sound like a rattle.
Meeting one: don't try to catch, handle or kill it, since catching, moving or harming one is against the law. For a bite, call emergency services, go to hospital by ambulance and call the Ontario Poison Centre at 1-800-268-9017.

RISKS AND DAMAGE

Do Snakes Damage Houses or Carry Disease?

They don't damage houses, and the health risk is small. The City of Toronto says snakes do no harm, and a bite from one of Toronto's native snakes won't cause significant injury. They don't damage the house; what they need from it is a way underground for the winter, and cracks in a basement foundation can give them one. Around the yard they help: snakes eat slugs and insects in gardens and keep rodent numbers down.

Like other reptiles, snakes can carry Salmonella bacteria, so wash your hands with soap and water after touching a snake or anything it has been on.
Brownsnakes give off a foul-smelling musk if they are handled.
Snakes often winter together and head back to the same site each fall, so snakes that winter in a foundation tend to come back to it.

A snake indoors is a nuisance, not a danger; call when one is inside the house or snakes keep turning up in the basement or garage, so the way in can be found and sealed.

CAUSES

Why Snakes Get Into Basements and Garages

Snakes come to houses for shelter and food, not to do damage. Many spend the winter underground and reach their winter sites through rock or cracks in basement foundations. Brownsnakes and gartersnakes both use building foundations for the winter, and snakes go back to the same site each fall. Wood, rock and scrap piles against the house give them cover, and mice draw milksnakes.

What Draws Them In

Cracks in the basement foundation that lead underground
Wood, rock, board and scrap piles against the house
Tall grass and wood piles, which shelter snakes and the rodents they eat
Mice and shrews, the milksnake's main food
Slugs, insects and earthworms in gardens

How They Get In

Cracks and holes in the foundation at or near ground level
Gaps behind warped siding
A garage door left open
Doors that don't close tightly

HABITS

Snake Life Cycle and Habits

Habitat

The snakes at GTA homes live in yards, gardens and parks, under cover such as logs, rocks, boards, leaves and scrap piles. Gartersnakes cope well with built-up neighbourhoods, and watersnakes stay by the water. Like most Ontario snakes, they spend the winter underground below the frost line, often many together, in rock or log piles, old wells or building foundations.

Diet

Gartersnakes eat earthworms, frogs, toads, salamanders, small fish and mice. Milksnakes live mostly on mice and shrews. Watersnakes hunt fish and amphibians along the water's edge or underwater.

Life Cycle

Most of these snakes breed in spring, soon after they leave their winter site, and some breed in fall too. Gartersnakes, brownsnakes, red-bellied snakes and watersnakes give birth to live young between midsummer and early fall: usually 15 to 20 for a gartersnake and 4 to 10 for a red-bellied snake. The milksnake lays eggs instead, 8 to 16 of them, in rotting logs, stumps or small mammal burrows, and they hatch in August or September.

Seasonal Behaviour in Ontario

Ontario's snakes are most active from May to October. In spring they come out of their winter sites to bask and breed, and on warm days they lie out on rocks, paved paths and roads. In fall they return to the same winter site, so spring and fall are when you are most likely to see several near the house. A snake found indoors in winter may have been disturbed from its winter shelter, and it can't go outside until spring.

PREVENTION

How to Keep Snakes Away From Your House

Seal cracks and holes in the foundation at ground level, once no snake is using them, and repair warped siding.
Keep the garage door shut and fix doors that don't close tightly.
Move wood, rock, board and scrap piles away from the foundation; the rest of the yard can stay as it is.
Keep tall grass and brush trimmed right next to the house, where it gives snakes and mice cover.
Close off the space under decks and inside sheds where animals could den.
Pick up fallen fruit and vegetables and clean up spilled bird seed, which feed the mice that milksnakes hunt.
Get mice under control in the house, garage or shed.

How to Get Rid of Snakes: DIY or a Professional?

A snake out in the yard can be left alone: it is eating slugs, insects and mice. Indoors, keep children and pets away, take a photo from a distance, and don't try to catch, handle or kill it. Anything caught alive has to be released within 24 hours, close to where it was caught, so driving a snake out to the countryside isn't allowed.

Call when a snake is inside the house, basement or garage and you want it out.
Call when snakes turn up in the basement every spring or fall: there is a gap in the foundation to find.
If it might be a Massasauga or another species at risk in Ontario, leave it and its shelter alone: capturing or harming one, or damaging its habitat, needs a permit or registration.

Found a Snake in the House? What to Do First

Leave it alone, keep children and pets away, and take a photo from a distance. Don't try to capture, handle or kill it. In winter, or when it is below 12°C outside, don't put it outdoors; the City of Toronto advises against it. Then send us the photo by WhatsApp at (905) 739-7888, or tell us on the quote form where you saw it, and we'll tell you what the job involves.

Snakes and the Law in Ontario

Seven snakes still found in Ontario are species at risk in Ontario, on the Protected Species in Ontario List: Blue Racer, Butler's Gartersnake, Eastern Foxsnake, Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, Eastern Massasauga, Gray Ratsnake and Queensnake. Under the Species Conservation Act, 2025, capturing, harming or killing one, or damaging its habitat, needs a permit or registration. Eleven snakes, the milksnake and northern watersnake among them, are specially protected reptiles under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. The same Act bans poison and glue for killing or catching wildlife.

Live-caught wildlife is released within 24 hours, close to where it was caught; the province's guidance is within 1 km.
Wildlife goes onto private property only with the owner's permission.

WHY CHOOSE US

Why Ontario Homeowners Choose Sting Out

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Licensed Trapper on Staff

When an animal has to be caught, a licensed trapper on our staff live-traps it. Bats are never trapped: they leave through one-way doors, in Ontario's exclusion windows.

Ontario's Release Rules

A live-caught animal is released within 24 hours, close to where it was caught, and only on property whose owner agrees. Sick, injured or orphaned animals go to an authorized wildlife rehabilitator.

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COMMON QUESTIONS

Snake Removal: Questions We Get

Can a snake be moved somewhere else?

Only a short way. Ontario's rules say a captured wild animal has to be released within 24 hours, close to where it was caught, and the province's guidance is within 1 km. It can go onto someone else's land only with their permission. Moving a snake on the Protected Species in Ontario List needs a permit.

Do snake repellents or mothballs keep snakes away?

Health Canada's pesticide label search lists no snake repellent for home use, and using an unregistered pest control product, or using one against its label, breaks federal law. Health Canada says never to use mothballs outdoors. What helps is sealing ground-level gaps, moving wood and rock piles off the foundation, and controlling mice.

Will animal services remove a snake from my house?

Generally not a healthy one. Mississauga says its Animal Services won't remove or relocate healthy wildlife, and Toronto Animal Services staff aren't licensed trappers and don't rent out traps. When you ask us to, we can catch and release a healthy snake on your property. For an animal that seems sick or injured, Ontario lists authorized wildlife rehabilitators.

How much does snake removal cost?

The price is set once we know the job: whether the snake is indoors or out, how many visits it takes, and how many gaps in the foundation or siding need sealing. Send us a photo and tell us where you saw it, and we'll tell you what the job involves.

Is it illegal to kill a snake in Ontario?

For a snake on the Protected Species in Ontario List, capturing, harming or killing one needs a permit or registration. A first offence can bring a fine of up to $250,000 per animal for a person, or up to $1,000,000 per animal for a company. The province asks people not to capture, handle or kill any snake they meet, and we don't kill snakes.

Are garter snakes poisonous?

No. The Eastern Gartersnake isn't venomous: Ontario's only venomous snake is the Massasauga, and it doesn't live in the GTA. Like Toronto's other native snakes, a gartersnake has tiny teeth, so a bite won't cause significant injury. Like other reptiles, it can carry Salmonella bacteria, so wash your hands after touching one.

Sources

Last updated October 10, 2026

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Snake Removal Across Toronto, Oakville & the GTA

We remove snakes in homes, garages and sheds throughout Toronto and Southern Ontario.

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