Snake, monkey or other wild animal in your home: what to do
Rescue guide · Last reviewed
Short answer
Almost every serious outcome in this situation comes from the same thing: someone decided to deal with the animal themselves. The great majority of snakebites in India happen to people trying to catch or kill the snake, not to people who walked past one. A cornered monkey bites hard and the wound needs immediate medical attention. A bat handled bare-handed is a rabies exposure.
The useful contribution from a resident is almost always the same three things, and they are all passive: get people away, keep the animal contained in one room or one area, and keep your eyes on it until someone trained arrives. A rescuer who is told exactly where the animal still is will be done in minutes. A rescuer searching a flat because the snake was chased and lost can be there for hours.
It is also worth knowing the legal position, because it changes how people behave. Most wild species in India, including nearly all snakes, monkeys and bats, are protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Killing, injuring, capturing or keeping one is a criminal offence, and that applies to a snake in your kitchen as much as to anything in a forest.
What to do about a wild animal inside a building
You will need: A phone with a torch and a camera · A door that closes, and a rolled towel for the gap underneath · Somewhere to watch from at a safe distance
- 1
Get people and pets out, quietly
Move everyone, especially children, and any dog or cat out of the room. Do it calmly — shouting and running is what makes an animal move unpredictably, and a dog investigating a snake is a common way this becomes two emergencies.
- 2
Shut the animal in and block the gap
Close the door of the room it is in and push a rolled towel into the gap at the bottom. Containing the animal to one room is the single most valuable thing you can do. If it is in a garden or a stairwell, keep people back and clear a path towards the way out instead.
- 3
Keep it in sight from a safe distance
If there is a window, a glass panel or a doorway you can watch from without entering, keep watching and note where it settles. If you cannot watch safely, do not go in — just remember where it was last seen and tell the rescuer.
- 4
Call a trained rescuer or the forest department
Call a wildlife or snake rescue contact, or the state forest department. Say what it is and how big, what room it is in, whether it is contained, whether anyone has been bitten, and whether there are children or pets in the building. Do not call a crowd of neighbours in first.
- 5
Photograph it only from a distance
If you can photograph it safely from a doorway or through glass, do — identification changes the response, and for a snake it changes the urgency and the treatment. Use the zoom, not proximity, and do not use a flash close up. Never approach an animal to get a better photograph.
- 6
Leave any exit route open
If the animal can leave the building on its own — an open outside door, a ground-floor window, a gate — leave that route clear, keep everyone away from it, and let it go. A great many of these situations resolve themselves in a few minutes when nobody is blocking the way out.
- 7
Do not attempt a capture
No sticks, no brooms, no buckets, no bare hands, no bags, no attempt to pin the head. Rescuers use hooks, tubes and bags and know which species they are handling. Every improvised capture is how the person doing it gets bitten and how the animal gets injured.
Do
- Contain the animal to one room and block the gap under the door.
- Keep watching from outside the room so the rescuer knows exactly where it is.
- Say on the phone whether anyone has been bitten and whether children or pets are present.
- Photograph it from a safe distance if you can — identification matters.
- Leave an exit route open and let it leave by itself if that is possible.
- Keep a wildlife rescue number saved before you need it, especially if you live near a wooded area, a nullah or a construction site.
Do not
- Do not try to catch, hit, trap or kill it. Most Indian wildlife is protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and killing or capturing one is an offence.
- Do not attempt a capture with a stick, broom, bucket or bag, and never with bare hands.
- Do not handle a bat, even one that seems helpless or dead. It is a rabies exposure risk.
- Do not feed a monkey or offer it anything. It brings it closer and it brings it back.
- Do not let a crowd gather, and do not let anyone film it from close up.
- Do not pour water, kerosene, phenyl or anything else at the animal to move it.
If someone has been bitten by a snake
Get to a hospital with anti-snake-venom immediately. This is the whole of the plan, and the speed of it is what decides the outcome.
Keep the person as still and as calm as possible and keep the bitten limb below the level of the heart. Take off rings, bangles and watches before swelling starts. Do not apply a tourniquet, do not cut the wound, do not try to suck the venom out, do not apply ice, and do not give alcohol or any painkiller — every one of those traditional responses makes the outcome worse.
If the snake was photographed safely, take the photo. Do not go back to find or catch the snake for identification: treatment in India does not depend on it.
Monkeys
Do not feed them, and ask neighbours not to — feeding is the reason a troop keeps returning, and a fed monkey loses its wariness and starts taking things from hands, which is when people get bitten. A monkey bite or scratch needs washing under running water and a same-day doctor's visit about rabies.
Shut windows, balcony doors and kitchen doors when a troop is around, do not leave food visible, and never corner a monkey indoors — an animal that cannot see a way out will go through a person. Persistent troop problems belong with the forest department rather than with individual residents.
Bats, mongooses, civets and monitor lizards
A bat indoors will usually leave by itself. Switch off the fan immediately, dim the lights, open the windows and outside doors wide, shut the internal doors, and leave the room. Never handle a bat with bare hands, and never handle one that is on the ground or apparently dead — that is a rabies exposure and needs medical advice if it happens.
Mongooses, civets, palm squirrels and monitor lizards that get into a compound or a building are almost always passing through and will find their own way out if a route is left clear and nobody chases them. If one is trapped in a room or has fallen into a tank or a pit, call a rescuer rather than reaching in.
Why the animal is in your building
- Rain flooding burrows and drains, which pushes snakes and rodents into buildings — the commonest reason during the monsoon.
- Rodents. A snake follows its food, so a building with a rat problem has a recurring snake problem.
- Construction or clearing nearby that has destroyed habitat.
- Rubbish, food waste and uncovered bins, which draw rats, monkeys and civets.
- Stacked material, garden debris and unused pots against a wall, which make ideal shelter.
- Gaps under doors, open drain mouths and unscreened ventilators.
Need a rescuer right now?
Mumbai bird and animal rescue helpline numbers, listed area by area.
Open the rescue helplineFrequently asked
There is a snake in my house. What should I do?
Get everyone and all pets out of the room, close the door and block the gap underneath with a rolled towel, and keep watching from a safe place outside if you can. Then call a trained snake rescuer or the forest department. Do not try to catch, corner or kill it — most snakebites happen to people attempting exactly that.
Can I kill a snake that gets into my home?
No. Nearly all Indian snakes are protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and killing or capturing one is a criminal offence. It is also the most dangerous option available to you, because most bites occur during attempts to kill or catch a snake. A trained rescuer removes it safely in minutes.
What should I do if someone is bitten by a snake?
Get them to a hospital with anti-snake-venom immediately, keeping them still and calm and the bitten limb below heart level. Remove rings and bangles before swelling. Do not use a tourniquet, cut the wound, suck the venom, apply ice, or give alcohol or painkillers — all of those worsen the outcome.
How do I get a bat out of my room?
Switch the fan off at once, dim the lights, open the windows and outside doors wide, close the internal doors, and leave the room for a while — it will almost always leave by itself. Never handle a bat with bare hands, including one on the ground or seemingly dead, because it is a rabies exposure risk.
Monkeys keep coming into my building. What can I do?
Stop all feeding and ask neighbours to as well, since feeding is what keeps a troop returning and makes it bold. Keep windows, balcony and kitchen doors shut when they are around, keep food and bins covered, and never corner one indoors. Persistent troop problems should be reported to the forest department.
Who do I call for wildlife rescue?
A trained wildlife or snake rescuer, or the state forest department. If you have no local number, start with the area contacts in the directory at jinseva.in/helpline, saying clearly what the animal is — many rescue volunteers either handle wildlife themselves or can put you straight through to someone who does.
Why do snakes come into houses during the monsoon?
Rain floods the burrows and drains they shelter in and pushes them onto higher, drier ground, which often means buildings. Rodents are the other main reason: a snake follows its food, so a building with a rat problem tends to have a recurring snake problem.
This guide covers containment and transport first aid only — the same advice rescue groups give over the phone. It is not veterinary treatment and does not replace a vet. Any injured, sick or orphaned wild animal should be handed to a registered rescue group or a veterinarian as soon as possible.