A Snake in Your House or Garden in Thailand: Who to Call and What Not to Do

Published 19 October 2026 · By the Visit-Thailand editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

If you find a snake in your house or garden in Thailand, move away from it, keep children and pets out of the room, and call for help. In Bangkok the number is 199, and the city's fire and rescue officers remove snakes free of charge. Do not try to catch or kill it yourself.

Snakes turn up in Thai homes more often than newcomers expect, in city condos as well as village houses. Most of them are looking for rats, water or shelter, and most of the snakes caught in Bangkok are pythons. The situation is frightening, but it is usually short and well handled if you stay calm and let trained people do the catching. This page is about that situation. Which species live in Thailand and how a bite is treated are covered in the snakes section of our guide to dangerous animals in Thailand.

The first two minutes: distance, doors and a photo

Step back slowly to a distance of several meters. A snake that is not cornered will usually try to hide or leave, and it can only reach a short distance. Then do three things.

1. Get everyone else, especially children and pets, out of the room (our guide to Thailand with kids covers animal bites and other risks for children) and close the door behind you if you can.
2. Keep an eye on where the snake goes from a safe distance, or from a doorway. A rescue team arriving at an empty room with "it was here somewhere" may not find it.
3. Take a photo or short video from where you stand, using the zoom. It helps the rescue team prepare and helps doctors if anyone is bitten later. Never walk closer for a better picture.

If the snake is in the garden and moving away, the simplest choice is often to let it go and watch where it leaves. If it is inside the house, in a car or near where people sleep, call for help.

Calling 199 in Bangkok

In Bangkok, the 199 line is the fire and rescue number, and it also handles dangerous animals entering homes. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said in February 2025 that its Fire and Rescue Department officers will come for any snake or reptile, small or large, as quickly as they can, and that the service is free. The same hotline deals with monitor lizards, wasps and hornets.

The service is busy. In 2022, staff at the 199 center told reporters they received a snake call about every 15 minutes, around 60,000 removals a year, and caught the snake in more than nine out of ten cases. Most of the snakes were pythons and cobras.

When you call, give the address with a landmark, say where the snake is now, and roughly how big it is. If you do not speak Thai, ask a neighbor, the condo security guard or the juristic office (building management) to make the call for you. Our page on emergency numbers in Thailand has tips for calling when language is a problem.

Outside Bangkok: who comes depends on where you live

We could not confirm one national rule for snake removal outside Bangkok. In many towns the local fire and rescue service or the municipality responds, and in many places volunteer rescue foundations do this work. In a village, the village head or a neighbor usually knows who to call. In a condo or housing estate, the juristic office often has a number ready.

The practical step is to ask before you need it. When you move into a new place, ask your landlord or the building office which number they use for snakes, and save it in your phone next to the emergency numbers. The fire service number 199 works throughout Thailand and is a reasonable first call if you have nothing else.

What not to do

Most snakebites happen when someone tries to catch, move or kill a snake. Thailand's Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, part of the Thai Red Cross, counts about 7,000 to 10,000 venomous snakebites a year in the country, and some of the most venomous species, such as cobras, are also found around homes.

• Do not try to catch the snake, pin it with a stick or pick it up, even if you think it is harmless.
• Do not try to kill it. Trying puts you within striking range, and a rescue team will take it away alive.
• Do not corner it or block its only way out.
• Do not pour boiling water, petrol or chemicals on it.
• Do not trust a guess about the species from a blurry glimpse. Pythons, cobras and harmless snakes can look alike to an untrained eye.

If someone is bitten

Call 1669 or get the person to the nearest hospital quickly. The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute's first-aid advice is to stay calm, because not every bite injects venom, and to move as little as possible, especially the bitten arm or leg. Wash the bite with clean water. Do not cut or suck the wound, do not put herbs on it, and do not use a tight tourniquet unless you have been trained to. Take the photo of the snake to the hospital if you have one. Our guide to hospitals in Thailand explains private and public care.

Why snakes come into houses

Snakes come for food, water and shelter. Rats are the main attraction: the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute's prevention advice is to keep the area around a house free of clutter and overgrowth that hides rats, because snakes follow them. Garden ponds, drains, piles of wood, stored building materials and thick plants against the walls all give snakes a place to hide close to the house. Sightings also tend to rise in the rainy season, when water changes the ground the snakes live in, and a flooded garden pushes animals toward dry, raised places; see our checklist for preparing a home for floods.

Chickens, pet food left outside and rubbish that attracts rats make a garden more interesting to a snake. Our page on household pests covers keeping rats out.

Making a home less attractive to snakes

• Keep grass short and cut back plants that touch the walls or the roof.
• Move piles of wood, bricks, tiles and boxes away from the house.
• Close gaps under doors and around pipes, and fit covers on floor drains.
• Keep rubbish in closed bins and do not leave pet food outside overnight.
• Carry a torch when you walk in the garden or along a soi (side street) after dark, and wear closed shoes.
• Check shoes, laundry baskets and car footwells in houses close to fields or forest.

In a rental, holes in walls, broken drain covers and an overgrown garden are worth raising with the owner in writing; our guide to renting a condo or house in Thailand covers repairs and the lease. If you have a dog or cat (our page on bringing a pet to Thailand covers the import rules), keep it inside at night, because a pet that corners a snake can be bitten.

Frequently asked questions

What number do I call for a snake in my house in Bangkok?

Call 199. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says its Fire and Rescue Department removes snakes and other reptiles from homes free of charge. Call 1669 only if someone has been bitten and needs an ambulance.

Do I have to pay for snake removal in Thailand?

In Bangkok the 199 service is free, according to the city administration. Outside Bangkok, the arrangement depends on the local fire service, municipality or volunteer rescue foundation, so ask your landlord or condo office which team covers your area.

What happens to the snake after it is caught?

In Bangkok, rescue workers said in 2022 that caught snakes are usually handed to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to be released back into the wild, away from homes.

Are snakes common in Bangkok condos?

Snakes are common in Bangkok as a whole; the 199 center reported about one call every 15 minutes in 2022. Most of the snakes caught are pythons, which follow rats. Ground-floor units, houses with gardens and buildings near canals give them the easiest way in.

Sources

• Bangkok Biz News – BMA: call 199 for snakes, free service (February 2025) (checked October 2026)
• Bangkok Post – Snake encounter reported every 15 minutes in Bangkok (August 2022) (checked October 2026)
• Thai PBS World – Snake problem in Bangkok (August 2022) (checked October 2026)
• Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, Thai Red Cross – Information about animal toxins and snakebite first aid (archived copy, January 2023) (checked October 2026)