7ft-long snakes creeping into attics and wall cavities in the UK, experts warn

London, United Kingdom

Europe’s largest snake species, which is not native to the UK, has turned invasive. Snakes are creeping up walls and into attics in the United Kingdom, in search of a warm place for breeding, scientists have warned in a new study. 

Aesculapian snakes have not been seen in the UK for 300,000 years but are now looking for shelter. They can grow up to seven feet long and went locally extinct during the last Ice Age.

Researchers warn that they are lurking in warm corners in the UK. The snake species was earlier found to be living around the London Zoo area in Regent’s Park and near Bridgend in South Wales. 

Invasive species shift to new areas due to climate change and habitat change and also human transport. To understand more about them, researchers radio-tracked and studied about 13 male and eight female snakes. This was done every day for over two active seasons between 2021 and 2022.

They aimed to understand why were snakes trying to seek warmth in a region that could get too cold for their survival.

Snakes are occupying attics and walls

The study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, found that the snakes were entering places like “attics and wall cavities of houses”. The preferences changed among genders, with male snakes seeking solace in buildings and females in woodland.

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“For snakes, anthropogenic structures such as buildings and culverts provide shelter, thermoregulatory opportunities and egg-laying sites,” scientists say.

“We observed Aesculapian snakes actively seeking and returning to use inhabited buildings and were observed climbing large structures to access the attics and wall cavities of houses.”

They also found snake eggs inside a compost heap at a house. Researchers say that this is "unusual behaviour" considering snakes native to the UK normally avoid crawling into urban areas. 

Species like the Adder and the smooth snake are “rarely found” in places dominated by humans. During the course of their research, five of the snakes died. Three of them were killed by cars, and one was eaten by another male snake.