Snake Sightings Around The Home Print E-mail
This section covers situations you may find yourself in around the home. The following suggestions may be helpful to you.

Backyards

Most snakes move around in the metro area in search for food or safe havens due to their natural habitat having been cleared. When lo9oking for a safe and secure place to hibernate they may end up in your backyard. If this happens, here’s what to do...


1. MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE, KILL OR CORNER THE SNAKE IN ANY WAY.
2. Watch the snake from a safe distance to see where it goes. Get someone else to watch it while you phone for help. (Armadale Reptile Centre 9399 6927).
3. Remember. Where a mouse can go, a snake can usually follow.

PEOPLE USUALLY GET BITTEN WHEN THEY ATTEMPT TO KILL A SNAKE, AN INJURED SNAKE WILL BE ANGRY AND FRIGHTENED. IT’S ONLY DEFENCE IS TO BITE.

If your backyard is clean without mice or rubble etc, it will be totally unattractive to snake and it will find a way out, possibly never again to be seen.

Causes

1. Rubbish, wood piles, sheets of tin etc. lying around
2. High grasses, weeds and overgrown gardens.
3. Overgrown rockeries etc. which attract mice.
4. Mice population due to seed and food left lying around.

Prevention

1. Ensure your backyard is completely free of rubbish.
2. Clean up birdseed, chook food etc. which may attract mice.
3. DO NOT leave sheets of tin, asbestos, wood piles etc. lying around.
4. Cut any long grass, weeds etc.
5. If you have a mouse problem, get rid of them. MICE ATTRACT SNAKES.

HINT: If you think a snake may be hiding under something (eg. Sheet of tin) smooth the ground around the hiding place if possible. You can then see by the tracks if the snake goes or if in fact there is one. If there is a hole in concrete near the house, pathetic, place sand around it and tracks will usually be seen.

Inside the house

If a snake is inside the house, it doesn’t take long for it to realise it has made a mistake. It will try to find a way out by following the walls, which is probably how it got inside. Snakes have poor eyesight and they follow the walls along. If there is an opening they venture inside. Warm nights and days enable snakes to move around more often. In some cases snakes have been known to come in through open windows without flywire. Our venomous snakes as a rule, do not like to climb, however Tiger Snakes are known to sunbake reasonably high off the ground. People always panic when they sight a snake inside the house and usually they fail to keep an eye on it. It is VERY important to watch where it goes as in most cases it will go out the same way it came in. Snakes do make mistakes, like humans, and become very vulnerable in unfamiliar surroundings. They will soon try to correct their error. DO NOT UPSET THE SNAKE AT ALL. A FRIGHTENED SNAKE IS MORE LIKELY TO BITE THAN ONE THAT DOES NOT FEEL THREATENED.

Causes

1. Large gaps under doors, broken flywire or open doors or windows.
2. Laundry doors are the most common entry place.
3. Sliding doors left partly open
4. Cats bringing small snakes inside

Prevention

1. Make sure that all doors and windows without flywire are always closed.
2. Repair any broken flywire
3. Most gaps can be filled by attaching rubber strips to the bottom of the doors.

Hint: If you are CERTAIN there is a snake in the house, sprinkle talcum powder or flour over the area then seal it off. Leave the closest door to the outside open, and sprinkle more powder to the inside and out (eg. back door, laundry door, side door). If the snake is inside the tracks will be seen on the powder and you can see in which direction it has gone. Remember: if you have sighted a snake inside the house and lose sight of it there is a good chance it has returned outside. If you know positively that a snake is inside, ring the authorities for assistance, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CATCH THE SNAKE YOURSELF.

Aviaries

Young snakes often manage to get through bird wire to feed on mice and then cannot get out again due to their increased girth. If a snake is sighted in your aviary, do not panic. In most cases the birds will not be harmed if the snake is not upset. If you upset the snake it will strike at any movement and may injure or kill the birds.

Causes

1. Excessive mouse population in aviary

Prevention

1. Keep mice down. Eradicate if possible.
2. Place very small wire or solid material (eg. Plastic sheeting, asbestos etc.) around the base of the aviary.

Hint: If a snake is sighted in the aviary, approach quietly. Quick disturbances will send the snake back into the mouse hole, hollow logs, rocks etc. Cut a small square out at the base of the aviary, large enough for the snake to get out through, then back off, watching from a reasonable distance, say 2-3 metres away. You can then see when the snake goes and ensure no birds escape. We sometimes have to have a lot of patience when snakes are concerned. You may want to seek assistance by calling a professional reptile remover, (Armadale Reptile Centre 93996927)

Swimming Pools, Rockeries etc.
It is extremely difficult to catch and remove any reptile that has made its home in a rockery or swimming pool lip. In most cases these areas are only used on a temporary basis while the snake is still on the move. Hot days and warm nights may encourage snakes to come onto a property where water is available, It has a drink from the pool, gets disturbed and slithers for cover. Usually the exposed lip of the pool provides a quick haven. If a snake is sighted near or under the lip of the pool, use common sense. DO NOT try to spray it with water as this will only frighten it more and it won’t move away until it is quiet and safe.

Causes

1. Extreme heat encourages them to come in for a drink.
2. Rockeries encourage safe and secure areas for hibernation and are a haven for mice.

Prevention

1. In hot weather, it may useful to place a container of water in the furthest corner of your block from the house, whether it be front or back. This only applies in very dry, bushy areas where water is not readily available. This water would also be appreciated by Bobtails, birds and other wildlife.
2. Rockeries are more difficult to maintain, however keep it clear of all weeds and high grasses. Fill any holes with cement.

Hint: If a snake goes under a swimming pool lip, sprinkle sand all around and leave the area. The sand will show tracks when the snake decides to move on. Fill in all holes and crevices found.

Sheds, Haysheds and Haystacks

These locations are always a haven for mice. We usually place all our rubbish, bird seed and other animal foods in there and thus attract the mice.

Sheds – Causes

1. Storage areas always kept untidy with lots of hiding places for rats and mice.
2. Open flooring or gaps give easy access to reptiles.
3. More often, doors are left open.

Prevention

1. Keep most of the storage off the ground, giving clean floor space.
2. Eradicate mice if at all possible.
3. Close off small and large gaps. Keep doors closed.
4. Keep areas around the shed free of litter, high grasses etc.

Haysheds and haystacks: It is more difficult to close off this type of area as it is constantly used by horse owners etc. Rake all loose hay to the outside of the shed and burn it or use it as extra feed for stock. Ensure the outside is free of high grasses and weeds. If possible, bales should be stacked off the ground. Order small amounts at a time to enable easier cleaning etc. (this may be costly and impractical)

Hints: If a snake is seen in a shed DO NOT attempt to find it. Once you start moving things around the snake will be on the move. Sprinkle flour, sand or powder in the shed and watch for tracks. In most cases, if there is an exit, the snake will find it.

Watch to see where the snake comes out to sun itself. Ring appropriate authorities for assistance. (Armadale Reptile Centre 93996927). Keep a watch on the snake.

If young children are around, place a notice during the summer months to take extra care and ensure they wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE, KILL OR INJURE THE SNAKE YOURSELF. Remember in winter, sheds haystacks and haysheds could be used by reptiles for their hibernation.
 
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