Is it normal to find asbestos in this kind of loose fill insulation?

That grey, fluffy loose-fill you're seeing in a 60s build is most likely rock wool or cellulose, but you need to be extremely careful because vermiculite—which often contains asbestos—was frequently used as a base layer under other types of insulation back then. If you dig down to the gypsum board and see shiny, pebble-like flakes that look like toasted mica, stop immediately and get it tested. Even if it's just old cellulose, that stuff is a respiratory nightmare once it's been contaminated with snake shed and rodent droppings. You definitely shouldn't be up there shoveling this into bags yourself. Most reputable wildlife control companies offer a full 'attic restoration' service, which involves using a high-powered vacuum system with a long hose to suck everything out into a collection bag outside the house. It's way safer because it creates negative pressure, so you aren't blowing dust and pathogens through your HVAC vents. They'll usually sanitize the joists with an enzyme cleaner afterward to get rid of the pheromone trails that attract more pests. The real issue here isn't just the snakes; it's what they're eating. Snakes don't hang out in attics unless there’s a consistent food source, which means you almost certainly have a mouse or rat problem too. The snakes are just the visible symptom of a larger pest cycle. If you just remove the snakes and the insulation without sealing the gaps around your electrical conduits and fascia boards, the rodents will move back in within weeks, and the snakes won't be far behind. Get a pro to do a full exclusion. They’ll use steel mesh and expandable foam to plug those holes along the top plates and joists. It’s expensive, but it beats breathing in pulverized snake poop and potentially disturbing **friable asbestos** that might be hiding at the bottom of the pile. Once the attic is sucked clean and the entry points are sealed, you can blow in fresh fiberglass or treated cellulose and actually have a functional thermal barrier again.

I had a similar scare with my '68 ranch. Mine was that same grey woolly stuff. I skipped the manual bagging and rented a 19hp insulation vacuum from a local yard. Best $200 I ever spent. It sucked everthing straight to a dumpster outside so I didn't track dust trough the house. Wear a full Tyvek suit and a P100 respirator, not just a cheap mask. Even if it’s not asbestos, that old rock wool is like breathing needles. Once it was bare, I found gaps around the chimney I never knew existed. Sealing those with fire-rated foam before blowing in new stuff finally killed the drafts.

Listen to the guys about the P100. Back in the 70s, we'd just tie a bandana over our noses and shovel it into burlap sacks, but my lungs pay for that now. If it’s grey and clumpy, it might be mineral wool. Does it feel like wet dog hair or more like dusty paper? If it’s mineral wool, that stuff is itchy as all get-out. Watch out for any 'white powder' under the fluff too. Sometimes folks used to sprinkle lime or boric acid to keep the bugs down, and that'll burn your throat worse than the dust. Don't go cheap on the mask.

While the health risks are paramount, you shoud also observe the degree of settling, as 1960s-era loose-fill often loses significant loft over fifty years, wich fundamentally compromises its R-value and reveals the gaps in your top plates where conditioned air escapes into the attic. These thermal bypasses create the exact warm microclimates that attract snakes to your electrical conduits in the first place, so simply replacing the material without utilizing a high-quality polyurethane spray foam to seal those plate-to-drywall junctions is a missed opportunity. If the material feels particularly dense or crusty near the joists, it has likely absorbed significant hygroscopic moisture over the decades, which further facilitates the degradation of the fibers and necessitates a complete extraction.

Quick update—renting that insulation vacuum was a lifesaver for the grey stuff, thanks for the tip. But as I got deeper, I found a layer of those pebble-like granules someone mentioned. I’m worried it’s the vermiculite. Is there a reliable way to test just that bottom layer myself, or shold I stop everythign and call an abatement pro now?