Snakes in the shed!

[Wild Dingo]

Now I dont know if I told yous blokes before or not but the other week I had first a wee feild mouse visit me shed followed very closely by a bloody great snake who made himself at home long enough to eat his fresh meal of said feild mouse under one of the stacks of Jarrah I keep in there and then buggared off... no big thing I thought and went my merry way :;

Now it seems that while I was away my shed got invaded by a couple of snakes.

Kids told me they had "seen a couple of big snakes in the shed dad" when I got back from the mine on Tuesday but I sorta took that with a pinch of salt since to them any snake is a BIG snake :roll:

Anyways there I was making a frame for my early birthday pressy from my sis yesty cutting the lengths of Oregon to size and doing a tad of routing then while at the table putting it together in the home made picture frame jig Ive devised... something rather large and heavy slithered across me bare foot!! :o Scared the living shyte outta me I can tell you! :C

So I looked down and theres this bloody great 5ft green snake sliding under the stack between the Jointer and the Bandsaw... BLOODY HELL!!! I thought... keeping a wary eye on the stack I continued putting it into frame when I cought a movement from the door next to me SHYTE!!! Another buggar was coming in!!! :o

Now this time I know there were no field mice running in front of either of them... so methinks they have taken up residence... I sat down and watched the second one disappear under the stack of Jarrah planks and wondered if that was it or were there more lurking in the dark recesses of me cave...

So I wandered around all sneeky like checkin in the scrap bin under the benches up on top of the cabinets and around the tools... whew! nothing... then I gathered up the ladder and clambered up to have a gander up in the loft shining a torch in there... I saw another one!! a tad smaller this time but comfy as all hell just turned and looked balefully at me with that bloody tongue whipping in and out... until I clambered back down... SHYTE!!! SHYTE!! SHYTE!!!

I mean snakes??? I MEAN THESE ARE FRIGGIN SNAKES IN ME FLAMIN SHED!!!

I dont like snakes... well I do... dead snakes that is... I can take dead snakes but live ones? NOT A BLOODY CHANCE!!!

So what did I do you ask? Well... I went up to the house and had a bloody beer!! What else does a bloke do when his sheds invaded by snakes eh? Yep I had several beers in fact and every time I considered going out there to sort the slithering things I had me anothery!! made a huge dent in the newly bought block of Colds I can tell yer! :;

Now today I figured I wasnt gonna be pushed outta me own ubeaut shed by a couple of cold feindishly evil slithering snakes! IT WAS MY SHED!!! :(( So I out there bright and early opened the doors and stood at the table... well on it in point of fact but hey its my bloody shed and I will stand anywhere I damned please!... and in me toughest voice I yelled "Its me shed you basturds not yours now buggar off!"... nothin...are snakes deaf? I thought... mmm maybe theyre still asleep... uhoh nope theyre awake an on the move... damn those things can move when they want!! :o

Anyway the two larger ones from under the planks were out and gone to the back of the shed in no time flash... still the other basturd up in the loft I thought "YER AN YOU TO YER FLAMIN MONGREL GERROUDAERE!!" now it was about this moment that her bloody highness decided to come out to find out who I was yelling at... saw me standin on top of the table and well... she cracked up!! Laughed her sodding flamin head off didnt she!! :(( Bloody women :~ Anyway with one glare at her she bolted back to the house where she belonds and I glared up at the planks in the loft "COME ON YER BASTURD!! OUT WITH YER!!" I was gainin confidence with every yell :cool: geez I was tuff :2tsup:

Anyway this small brownish black head slides over the edge of the board nearest me noggin and glares down at me... I duck weave and jump down to the floor "YER YOU!! GEDDOUDAERE YER MONGREL" it slithered further down... till it was half hanging over the edge a full 2ft of snake just lookin at me face to face... no fear whatever it was like "you reckon this is your shed dipstick? yeah right" tongue flicking eyes glaring coldly menacingly... DAMNED SNAKES I HATE THE BUGGARS!!! Really I hate the mongrels just the way it is with me an snakes...

Anyway I was just about to grab the bloody great sledge hammer I keep at the doorway and slug him one... when the other two came back!! bloody hell talk about gangin up on a bloke!... but they went straight under the stack again and as I took up the sledge and bought it up to give the sod in the loft the beating of its life... IT WAS GONE!!! bloody thing had slithered back again :((

So bein hte owner of me shed and the guardian of all that resides there I did the thing mum always said to do in these situations... discression mates! Discression bein the better part of valor I decided to use my discression and ignore the sods... yep just plain ignored them totally... well I tried!! consentration was a tad on the blink what with lookin on the floor up at the loft at the planks out the doors all the time tryin to get this flamin frame done RIGHT... talk about a worry... anyway I decided that if they leave me alone I'll leave them alone... but they slither just one time the wrong way and LOOK OUT!! BLAM with the sledgey right smack on the head... CRUNCH!... did I mention I like dead snakes? well I do :B

Anyway I got the frame all done today and now the picture hangs in pride of place in the living room...

Oh and the snakes? the two under the stack on the floor were around 5 -6ft in length with rounded heads green on top yellow underneath... the one in the loft? brown on top white underneath flat head... any ideas what they were? NO buggar it dont tell me!!! I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW!!! :o

Although Im sorta wondering how Im gonna get to that stack of timber up in the loft but for now the beers cold and its night so I dont have to think about it till tomorrow when the beer will be cold again! :;

Just thought Id let you know about the snakes in me shed :2tsup:

[DJ’s Timber]

Blooming heck Dingo, ya not having much luck lately are ya :doh:.

First the crook knee and the ballsup at work and ya missus been in hospital :no:.

Hopefully if you keep up ya muttering and a bit of noise the blithers will get sick of ya and slither off to greener pastures :2tsup:

[Wild Dingo]

aaah DJ ol mate its all just the wonderous weave of the fabric of live at Dingo Creek :U :;

Actually I went down there this evening... to the creek I mean... and Im thinking Id better hire me one of them ride on slasher things and let rip down there... boy is it a snakes paridise down there!! :o lush green grass several feet high water trickling along mmm yep first thing monday!!

Interestingly I find life rather interesting even if a tad over the top at times... I reckon if it wasnt full of these sorts of trials an such it would be boring as hell eh? :q

[echnidna]

ya need pet ferrets Ding, they'll sort the snakes out quick smart.

[old_picker]

Dunno about the green fellahs but the brown one is eiher a taipan or brown. Both pretty ugly customers. I would be setting up to get rid of all 3 as the main shed project.

Sledgie is useless against snakes and you will end up getin bit for sure. I used to use a 5 foot long piece of heavy gauge fencing wire looped into a handle at one end. Use it like a whip and it quickly slices em into a wiggling mess. Very effective but you need room tio swing it and jump around. Another good one is a long handled spade used like a spear but stab it down on em and dont let go of it. [can be dangerouse see story below]. If usding a shovel the first hit must be deadly. Best tool is a 12 guage shottie or second best a 410 guage shottie. 410 for in the shed 12 guage outside. You got to have it loaded and nearby prolly not good if you lil tackers around.

When you hit the brown make sure the first hit counts as it will prolly go for you in a big way.

I'll never forget many years ago when i lived in a place infested with tiger snakes, my nieghbiour came over all white faced saying "where were you you b@st@rd??" I retorts "whadya mean?" He says "I been over there yellng me blo$dy head off for half an hour!!"
I thought mmm i do remember hearing someone shouting but I thought he was having a didng dong with the misses or the kids and never gave a 2nd thought. Apparently he'd been away for a few weeks and a couple of tigers had begun hunting mice in the house and had more or less taken up residence. So he gets back from his trip and bowls in to be confronted with a couple of very p1ssed off tigers who were snacking in the kitchen. One of them skedaddles pretty smartly but Tim bein an old bushy takes exception and clouts one of em a beauty with a spade he had in the kitchen [???] [dont ask nuther long story] The spade had seen many a days work and was a bit gummy you know the curve of the business end went slightly backwards so here he was with the tiger securely trapped under the spade but very much alive and very aggressiively attempting to wiggle free and attack him furiously. So Tim starts yellin for assistance. I never came and no one else did either. So there he was with a captive tiger snake desparately struggling to savage him at the earliest opportunity yelling his head off and keeping his legs away from the business end of the tiger when he spies a 12" length of railway line on the kitchen bench just a little too far away. Gradually he works himself slowly around and gets 1 mitt securely onto the railway line. He had one shot and it was a good one luckily for Tim. A 12" piece of railway line traveling at 60 miles an hour causes, as you could imagine, a lot of damage and luckily for Tim it hit the sweet spot disorienting the tiger long enough to take another deadly strike with the spade. He then began to hysterically leap around the kitchen whooping and yelling as he chopped the hapless tiger it into many 2" lengths.

So in other words be carefull eradicating your snakes.

They are protected species and if you dont feel up to tackling them yerself get the local ranger to organise a snake catcher to come in to get rid of em for you.. Then buy a terrier the best great guard against snakes they kill any animal smaller than they are that comes in your shed. So make a nice bed for the dog and he/she will be a good shed mate and keep out the rodents and snakes. Snakes won't come where a dog spends a lot of time. Thats why snakes love the chookhouse cos the dogs don't go there......

[echnidna]

I remember the old man used to say snakes were attracted by a saucer of warm milk.
Never tried it but if it works lace the milk with poison.

[JDarvall]

A good simple rule I've always used, that I got from my uncle whose was a farmer, and who came accross a snake everyday.

Just 'stay still Jake' ....he'd say.

' Doesn't matter if its the deadliest snake in the world and its sprung about to attack a foot from your face......just don't move......don't panic.. doesn't matter if your in a staring matching with it for 4 hours......it'll eventually just slide away'.

Used that advice with the few I've come accross and seemed to work. So, I never really understood blokes like Steve Irwin you see.

...just roll rocks and logs etc over from the far side with your hand. :D

[old_picker]

We had a hard and fast rule in the bush with snakes.

"Out in the bush leave em alone, around the house kill em dead as a stone"

[Eastie]

If you use the double barrel approach make sure you use the old lead shot and not steel - it'll ruin your blades. I've tried the stand still trick holding an irrigation pipe and the mongrel bit me fair and square just above the top lip of my blundstone.

Nowdays I always wear a hat and if I come too close to one I throw the hat towards it - this normally distracts them and hopefully triggers them to release most of their venom. From there it's your call, but I'd only ever see if he's whip shy if the head and most of the body is underneath a pile of posts or pipe as this stops them coming back on themselves.

The worst I've come across is down a mine. They tend to fall down the blower and air shafts or under the tin covering the main shaft at night. You need to be a good shot with the a moil or hammer to hit one in tight confines!

[jaspr]

Not a taipan - only occur far north.

Best to treat them all as dangerous unless you know for sure, anyway.

I just dug out my old reference book to see if I could work it out for you.

Most snakes don't climb - except pythons and tree snakes. At least I don't think so. But you do get brown snakes in that part of the country. Brown on top (may be light or dark), cream belly, but usually has some black markings - either head and nape, or dark bands across back. Flattish head. Or could just be a Children's python - which is a climber and does occur in SW WA. It's described as light brown above, lighter on the lower sides with dark blotches along the back. A dark streak through the eye. Pythons also have flat heads.

The green and yellow ones are interesting. Could be Dugites - grey, olive or brown above, head lighter, belly olive or yellowish. Found in a narrow coastal strip,of SW WA. I'd describe their heads as round - from the book - I've never seen one myself.

In any event, treat them as dangerous. Remember that most snake bites happen when people try to kill snakes. They are faster than the average human.

We have had good help from National Parks people in the past. They virtually had to dismantle a set of kitchen cupboards to extract a large brown snake that had taken up residence. Hey, that's reminded me - that area is now my workshop!

[Harry72]

Mate, crank the music up with lots of bass(sic subwoofas moit)... they don't like it for obvious reasons.

[Buzza]

GREEN!:D

Dingo have you been at the pain killers prescribed for the knee or is your shed really infested with the O'RILEY Python?

What I know about them is this. Once they have established a nesting spot, you can kill them off, but another will soon take its place . . Try Jack Russell instead of Jack Daniels cobber.

Rodent bait by a pest company is stronger than shop bought stuff, and that will kill off the mice, and the snakes that eat them. They want your meeces.:oo:

[Wild Dingo]

Green mate definantly green... now I know Im color blind but even I can tell a green snake when I see one the other up top was brown definantly with a whitish underbelly darker coloring on the head and just back didnt care to look much past that as the damned things eyes had my attention :eek:

I'll get onto someone tomorrow and see if they'll come get rid of them for me... damned things give me the heebie geebies

[MurrayD99]

Green mate definantly green... now I know Im color blind but even I can tell a green snake when I see one the other up top was brown definantly with a whitish underbelly darker coloring on the head and just back didnt care to look much past that as the damned things eyes had my attention :eek:

I'll get onto someone tomorrow and see if they'll come get rid of them for me... damned things give me the heebie geebies


It'll be a green mamba Dingo. Swum across from Africa. Please keep it where it is. I couldn't deal with that in my shed... UUUggghhhhhhhh.

[Vernonv]

We get a lot of black snakes and the odd brown and tiger, around our place. If you have a local WIRES mob, give them a call - they might be able to get someone out to remove them.

Next best thing I reckon (even better than a shotgun) is a 22 with rat shot.

Very effective at immobilising a snake. Then dispatch them with long handled shovel.

As far as only tree snakes and pythons climbing - I had a black snake climbing in my shed. It got caught in some yabbie nets (that I had hung up) and died. Took me a while to figure out what the smell was:oo: .

[Bluegum]

Just reading this and my birds started to scream. So out i go and I found another damn brown snake a bit smaller than the one that killed our dog a few weeks back. this makes 3 browns in just on 5 weeks. mate of mine ai a snake catcher and is on he way out to see if he can grab it. i wasn't quck enough with the shovel and its dissapered on me.:~

[glock40sw]

G'day.

My Grandfather used to use a saucer of milk with sulfur mixed in it.
The RB blacks would swell up and die in no time.
Seen it work with my own eyes.

[rodm]

Shane,
Asked a couple of Zoologists today and the green ones are likely Dugite and the brown a python. All will bite of course but Dougie the Dugite will make you feel a bit crook - well a lot crook.
Dugites have a lot of variation in colour so as long as it is not a bright green then this is the most likely species without other features to identify it.
If it is bright green then somebodies private reptile collection has gone for a stroll or standing behind it is a pink elephant and it is time for you to hit the detox clinic. :D :D
Oh yeah remove the food source and problem gone.

[bsrlee]

The solution: send Wongo an airline ticket to come & visit you - he wants a holiday & is a good cook. Seems snake tastes a lot like cat :2tsup: (or Crocodile)

[Wild Dingo]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Did I NOT say DONT TELL ME!!! :((

And there yer go tellin me! :~ Man its bloody hard sometimes :doh:

1) I have snakes in me shed
2) I dont like snakes
3) I dont CARE what type of snake they are
4) I WANT THEM GONE!!!

gawd shyte mates I dont want to know... see if I know what they are they may be harmless... then the hoons are gonna wanna name em... then they'll get attached to them... then when I kill them which I will do if someone doesnt come get the sods the hoonberrys will hate me! :o

I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW!!! :roll: :C

an here I thought yous mob were me mates too :(

[rodm]

Here you go, here is a list of snake removers for WA.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~bush/WASABUST-2.htm

[Jonno L]

Gday guys,

I keep over 150 snakes, mainly venomous species. I co-own a business called Educational Reptile Displays.

There are snake catchers in every part of Australia. Most of their contact details can be found on the internet. If not, call your local National Parks and Wildlife office or even the police. They will be able to put you in contact with someone.

As someone mentioned earlier, all Australian snakes are protected and deserve one thing - respect. Snakes do not attack, they do not chase people, and they are not aggressive. The reason there are snakes in your shed is because you have created a perfect environment for them. Clean up a bit, get rid of the rodent problem, and the snakes will move on.

There have been some very ignorant comments in this thread, as per usual. Most peoples fear is based off lack of knowledge. People fear what they don't know.

Snakes will not drink milk - they are lactose intolerant.

Cheers,

Jonno

[Ivan in Oz]

Wild D,
Phone the local Vet;
they 'usually' know the local Wildlife Keepers/Carers and Snake charmers etc.:cool:

Out here People [read farmers] are most often glad to have Montys in their Sheds:2tsup:

[rodm]

Jonno L

Your statement about all snakes being protected infers you are not allowed to kill nuisance snakes. The legistlation was drawn up to protect snakes and other species from reptile collectors collecting and selling native species.

The law is pragmatic on this issue and I can't see a person being prosecuted for dealing with a snake in their back yard.

[Farm boy]

Hi dingo
i just sent you a greenie that is the best snake yarn i have read in ages:D
if you want to eat them dont cook straight away as the snake muscles have not had time to relax and they do a rap dance in your frypan when you put them in (they taste like chicken)
best wishes in solving your problem
greg

[Jonno L]

Jonno L

Your statement about all snakes being protected infers you are not allowed to kill nuisance snakes. The legistlation was drawn up to protect snakes and other species from reptile collectors collecting and selling native species.

The law is pragmatic on this issue and I can't see a person being prosecuted for dealing with a snake in their back yard.


I like the term "nuisance" snakes. On the contrary, I think we should refer to ourselves as "nuisance humans".

The WA legislation you refer to was brought in a few years ago, as it was the only state/territory in Australia that didn't have a permit system for the keeping of native Australian reptiles (it was deemed illegal). They now have a draconian system involving various species that can be collected for the pet trade, with no restriction on numbers and massive fee's for anyone who actually breeds any species - it is simply another government based revenue raiser with little regard for wildlife management. It is responsible for the local extinction of species such as the Stimsons Python.

Whilst most of the laws relating to venomous snakes do have a clause which allow someone to dispatch them if the person or bystanders are in danger (this makes no sense to me), this is very much open to interpretation. People have been prosecuted in QLD for unecessarily killing snakes.

The Northern Territory has a fantastic system where they provide the community with a free snake catcher. The catcher gets paid a small fee, but the bonus is that any animals they catch on call outs, they get to retain and sell into the pet trade. This is a fantastic example of the sustainable use of wildlife.

[Bluegum]

Good read Johno,

The bloke that came out to see if he could grab the snake here on monday just gone was telling me there is no real insentive for snake catchers. in fact he even claimed that many will not come out if you tell them that the snake could be a brown as they do not want to mess with it. I now keep a number of items here at home for just in case I come across a snake that wants to hang around. i have had enough of them after losing a loved family pet last month and I am happy for them to be relocated or dispatched. Either way it makes little difference to me.:~

[Jonno L]

Gday Bluegum,

I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and say that the snake catcher was named John, has long hair and owns a reptile shop?

You're right about there been little incentive for us snake catchers. First of all you have to put up with all the stories of people killing snakes, and the storytellers get all uppity when you give them a bit of a mouthful. Secondly, they think that we don't need to put food on the table, or it doesn't cost us anything to drive 45 minutes to their house to catch a carpet python, because they really don't like it when I say "That'll be $100 thanks, ma'am". They'd have no problems forking over a few hundred for a plumber or sparky to come out in an emergency, but they really hate it when we ask for a bit of compensation.

But we still do it!

Cheers,

Jonno

[HiString]

Snakes do not attack, they do not chase people, and they are not aggressive.

Jonno,

That comment sounds like a kneejerk reaction to some earlier posts in this thread :rolleyes: .

Snakes will attack, snakes have been known to "chase" a person and snakes can be aggressive............however, this is not the norm and is usually the result of the snake feeling threatened, unfortunately the vast majority of people have little real knowledge and rely on the plethora of urban myths regarding snakes and their behaviour.

About 6 weeks ago we caught and bagged a 2ft red belly in a local shopping centre car park, the only logical way it could have got there was to have been up under a car, a couple of calls to Nat Parks and a local snake catcher confirmed that possibility, anyways, the next day I released it well out in the bush where it had a better chance to survive. However, in different circumstances I might just have easily sent the little bugger off to meet God.

Many years ago on the family property, an uncle shared his workshed with a bloody big carpet snake (a long term resident), he knew it's habits and liked having it around but God help any black or brown that ever tried to get too close.........my grandfather's 12 gauge was always nearby :wink: .

:cool:

[silentC]

I'm sorry but if something capable of killing one of my kids comes within cooee of my house, as they have done in the past, then I'll have absolutely no hesitation in rendering it as dog food, protected, misunderstood, or otherwise. I'll sort the ethical dilema out later after it's dead. You can call me what you like but I don't give venomous creatures the benefit of the doubt.

[Eddie Jones]

One thing that works well is to toss a bit of petrol on 'em. Apparently burns like buggery! They nick off quick smart. Of course if you follow it with a match, it DOES burn like buggery. Prolly not to good for the shed though - having a blazing snake thrashing in and out of the burnable bits!

[Vernonv]

I'm with you SilentC.

If they are outside the house paddock, then I leave them be. Inside the house paddock is a different story.

I understand that they may only be protecting/defending themselves, but I don't want to take the chance that one of the kids (or the dog) might accidentally step on it, or do something else that might cause it to think that it needs to defend itself.

[Jonno L]

Snakes will attack, snakes have been known to "chase" a person and snakes can be aggressive...

Sorry, but no. They do not attack, they don't chase people (it would make my life a lot easier if they did, I wouldn't have to look so hard for them!), and they are definitely not aggressive animals.

They will bite if threatened, but it's not in a smaller animals interest to take on a larger animal, it just doesn't work that way. I work with over a hundred venomous snakes a day, and used to work in a venom production facility with over 700 venomous snakes from all over the world, including every "deadly" species in Australia, and have never had a snake chase, or attack me. Yes, they have tried to defend themselves in what they perceive as another animal trying to harm them. No, I have never been bitten.






About 6 weeks ago we caught and bagged a 2ft red belly in a local shopping centre car park, the only logical way it could have got there was to have been up under a car, a couple of calls to Nat Parks and a local snake catcher confirmed that possibility, anyways, the next day I released it well out in the bush where it had a better chance to survive. However, in different circumstances I might just have easily sent the little bugger off to meet God.

I highly doubt the snake had hung on for the ride. Chances are there was a local creek nearby, or it had come up through the stormwater/sewerage system. They can travel a long distance. They have been found at Southbank in Brisbane, and on the second floor of the Convention Centre aswell. I won't even get into the negatives of relocating wildlife, except that it has no positive results for wildlife in most cases.

Cheers,

Jonno

[Jonno L]

I don't want to come across as being arrogant guys, unfortunately the internet does not portray context.

However, I do find it terribly ironic that both silentC and Vernonv would kill a snake they presumed was venomous to protect their children, yet they both own dogs. Dogs are far less predictable, and definitely WILL attack your children, despite how big/small/well trained/lazy/sooky they are.

No doubt most people wouldn't think twice about putting their kid on the back of a horse with a helmet on, not realising that 5 times as many people die each year from horse related accidents.

I think I had better make a woodwork related post soon!

Cheers,

Jonno

[Jonno L]

One thing that works well is to toss a bit of petrol on 'em. Apparently burns like buggery! They nick off quick smart. Of course if you follow it with a match, it DOES burn like buggery. Prolly not to good for the shed though - having a blazing snake thrashing in and out of the burnable bits!


I find this despicible. Sorry, but it is. If I was to make a post about throwing petrol on a dog and setting it on fire I'd end up with the RSPCA on my door - yet people think it is not only OK, but FUNNY to do this sort of thing to a native animal! What a role model for your children.

[Groggy]

Gents, before this spirals out of control I'll ask that you draw a breath and use the thread to learn about how to handle/remove a snake from the shed.

Jonno L, can you suggest what should be done for Wild Dingo's problem?

I am not too sure what I'd do, but if one was between me and an exit, or near one of my kids - well - I can't say that I'd know how to react any different to some other suggestions...knowledge is everything.

I guess what would be useful to know, is there anything that can be used to deter snakes from entering a building?

Groggy
Moderator

[Lignum]

And after you have told us how to get rid of the snakes, do you have a recomendation on how to get rid of Bindi whats her name:~

[HiString]

.

Sorry, but no. They do not attack,.................. they are definitely not aggressive animals.

They will bite if threatened, :rolleyes:

Unfortunately Jonno, you chose to omit or ignore the next part of my post which said I believed such behaviour was not the norm and if snakes don't become aggressive and/or attack when they feel threatened, how come they bite people................maybe we should refer to it as a "defensive attack" or maybe "aggressive defence" :wink: .

Also, your opinions as to how "our" snake got where it was, as well as your opinions on relocation are in direct conflict with both the local Nat Parks rangers and local snake handler/catchers.

:cool:

[Jonno L]

Unfortunately mate, National Parks are simply another government body. I deal with them on a fairly regular basis and it normally results in me explaining stuff to them.

Recently I moved from South Australia to Queensland, and sent QLD NPWS a list of my animals so I could obtain an import permit. I received a phone call, and then spent 45 minutes explaining to them what various species of animals are.

Don't even get me started on snake catchers. There's a new one in the local area that recently posted a photo of a snake he caught, asking whether it was an Eastern Brown or a Coastal Taipan. I have no idea how he got his permit.

For good advice, contact your herpetological department of your states museum. They employ real herpetologists, who actually have a clue. Alternatively, if you guys would like any sort of information, whether it's identifying a snake from a photograph to partaking in one of our venomous snake handling courses, please email me at [email protected].

Groggy,

My apologies, I should have explained that earlier on. Snakes only hang around because it's a nice environment for them. A regular blokes backyard normally has the two factors a snake needs...

Shelter - Woodpiles, corrugated iron, general crap laying around, rock walls etc

Food - If you've got a shed, chances are you have rodents. If you have chooks/rabbits/hamsters/ferrets/birds outside, you definitely have rodents!

The best way to get rid of snakes is to remove the reasons they are there. So guys, get out there and clean up your backyard! Stack your timber in racks, store your firewood in a raised cabinet, do a trip to the dumb, and keep your grass short!

With regards to the rodents, DO NOT USE RAT BAIT. It should be illegal! It ends up not only killing the rodent, but also the snake that eats it before it dies, the birds that will eat the carcass (including beautiful ones like Wedgies) or anything else that comes across it. We prefer the use of live traps, which can be purchased for $5-20 from your local pet store or agricultaral store. Bait it with peanut butter or a wet fruit like mango or rockmelon.

If you guys do come across a snake, the ONLY thing you need to do is stand dead still. This is a tried and tested method. Whenever I am doing snake pit shows, I get a 1.2 metre legally wild caught Eastern Brown Snake nice and angry, so he is sitting up with his mouth open (he is cornered). I then stop moving all together, he immediately sits down and cruises right between my legs and to the other side of the pit. I've had people burst into tears whilst watching this (especially when he once pushed his nose into my bare leg infront of a few hundred people), but it reinforces the fact that if you stand still, snakes will not see you as a threat. Yes, it can be very hard, especially when it's a 2.4 metre Coastal Taipan you are doing it with! (Don't ask)

Hope this helps guys,

Jonno

P.S. Learn snake bite first aid. It would have saved the kid who died in Sydney!

[Jonno L]

Also HiString, there have been numerous studies on the benefits of relocated wildlife. One was done in the states on rattlesnakes, and another in Sydney on Diamond Pythons, authored by Richard Shine and David Slip. I believe over 90% of relocated Diamond Pythons died.

[woodbe]

If you guys do come across a snake, the ONLY thing you need to do is stand dead still.

Fair enough. That worked for me in the bush a week or so ago when I came across a 6' brownsnake on the walking track I was on. I'm not sure that the kids would sit still if the snake was coming towards them in the same situation though, and that's where everything gets messy.

Kids or pets and snakes don't mix.

[Jonno L]

Gday woodbe,

Part of my business involve doing educational talks at schools. Our big emphasis is education (hence been called Educational Reptile Displays). Take your kid to a local reptile display, or to the zoo, and let them pat a snake. Doing this takes most of the "I wonder what..." curiousity away from the kids. Whilst doing this drum into them that this is a tame, captive snake and that if they see one in the wild, stand still. Kids are surprisingly smart...it's the adults that are the dumb ones.

[John Saxton]

Gday woodbe,

Part of my business involve doing educational talks at schools. Our big emphasis is education (hence been called Educational Reptile Displays). Take your kid to a local reptile display, or to the zoo, and let them pat a snake. Doing this takes most of the "I wonder what..." curiousity away from the kids. Whilst doing this drum into them that this is a tame, captive snake and that if they see one in the wild, stand still. Kids are surprisingly smart...it's the adults that are the dumb ones.

Good onya Jonno, for giving this heads up (excuse the pun) on dealing with snakes which are prevalent this time of year however people will still react differently where they feel as if they're threatened because they still feel as though snakes offer an unknown factor in how they also react.

Read today of a young lad in NSW who was killed by an eastern king brown ...there's going to be a lot of anger in that community about snakes so the understanding still has to be promoted about snakes broadly across the public sector and this is where the various education dept's could really play a part on all venomous creature activity.

Cheers:)

[Jonno L]

Gday John,

It's unfortunate that the kid died. However, it does highlight what can happen if you don't follow the very basic steps of pressure immobilisation first aid. Just to clarify, he was bitten by an Eastern Brown Snake, not a King Brown - they are from two totally different genuses of snakes.

I just saw on the news that some young kid was raving on about been bitten by a "King Brown" on the Gold Coast. This kid is going to be famous, as he found a Kingy about 300km's from their nearest previous record! (King Browns don't occur anywhere near the Gold Coast.) My guess is it was either a carpet python or a Red Bellied Black, and going by what the kid said, he was stirring it up!

One thing I try and convince teachers of, is to include a snake bite first aid component into one of their P.E. classes in early Spring. No doubt this would have saved the young kids life.

Cheers

Jonno

[journeyman Mick]

Jonno L,
snakes do hitch rides on vehicles, a mate had to have a very large python removed from around his car's tail shaft years ago. The snake was pretty much dead of course after spinning around at a few thousand RPM and getting his head smacked against the underbody. I've also had the misfortune of having a snake get chewed up in my ute's fan belts (not nearly as misfortunate as the snake of course:rolleyes: )

Mick

[woodbe]

One of our customers was looking after a friends Python, and the snake escaped into the dash of the car. It had to go into BMW and have a very expensive remove/replace job done to get it out...

[Jonno L]

Gday Mick,

You're right, they do hitch rides, however it's very uncommon for them to do so, and even more uncommon for them to survive (as you have seen).

I only know of one case of a snake surviving, and it was a Green Tree Snake which came out from underneath the bonnet of a soccer mums four wheel drive, here in Brisbane. She snapped a photo of it going over her windscreen whilst driving down the highway. Now that I think about it, I believe she pulled over and called a snake catcher, who couldn't find the snake, so maybe it didn't survive afterall?

Cheers

Jonno

[silentC]

However, I do find it terribly ironic that both silentC and Vernonv would kill a snake they presumed was venomous to protect their children, yet they both own dogs. Dogs are far less predictable, and definitely WILL attack your children, despite how big/small/well trained/lazy/sooky they are.
Dogs aren't venomous. Have you got stats on fatal family dog attacks vs fatal snake bites? Would be interested to see them.

If I thought there was any chance of our dog inflicting an injury on any kid, it would meet the same fate as the snake, don't doubt that. But don't stop there, I also drive a car and the kids have much more chance of dying in one of them than of being bitten by a snake.

Now maybe you can also explain how you get a pet dog or a 5 year old kid to stand still while a brown snake moves on? Even if I could explain it to my son to the degree that he would understand what he had to do, there's no certainty that he will remember or obey my instructions if the situation ever arose. I'm not taking the chance.

[Vernonv]

Jonno,

What you say about dealing with a snake when you come across one is all well and good if you see it first. My kids (as most do) run around the house without taking much notice of whats in front on them. Now I would expect that if one of them was approaching a snake, at speed, it would cause the snake some distress and hence it might perceive the need to defend itself.

Now I would rather that not happen, so I do what I need to do to keep "my" environment safe.

On the other hand, when the kids are out in the paddock (or the bush), we drum into them to look where they are going and to stand still, if they see a snake (which has happened on numerous occasions). But in this situation we are in "their" environment and must respect that.

[Doughboy]

I for one would rather see a snake than a spider.... not the average Joe spider like a redback or huntsman but the really snarky ones like funnelwebs and whitetails these are better dead than alive.

Mind you a snake can make the heart quicken if you happen upon one in the wrong habitat, (ie curled up on the kitchen floor around your workboots!) Was a mexican standoff the snake won... I backtracked grabbed my runners and went to work in a commercial kitchen with runners on instead of my boots, chef was unimpressed!

Pete

[Buzza]

I submit that Johnno is an expert and a very good one at that. There are few such people on this continet, which is full of snakes, and most of us see the danger in having a venomous snake near us. :)

"There never was a cowboy that couldn't be throwed, and there never was a horse that couldn't be rode". Almost all snake handlers eventually get bitten, and then go back for more of the same. Of course I don't wish this upon Johnno or anyone else, but we humans do get older and slower. I knew Joe Bredl and saw him handle lots of snakes, but he got bitten just because he put himself among them for a good part of his time. :(

I think this year holds some sort of record for snake biting humans in Australia. Clean up those yards, sheds and keep pet areas especially clean.

[dazzler]

What a great read.

Top story Mr Dingo.

So I spose the lesson is if we live near snake country have a medical kit and first aid notes handy and do a practice run with the family. If we sees one (or 3) we leaves him alone (stand still) and calls the snake people to come and get him or just watch where he goes.

I like snakes....they kill dumb cats and I just looooooooooove a dead cat :2tsup: .

Here puss puss puss.

[silentC]

If we sees one (or 3) we leaves him alone (stand still) and calls the snake people to come and get him
What do you do if he stands still too? :wink:

[rona]

Hi Dingo,
Good story, although to be on the other end a bit scarey too.
Was just thinking last night after reading story, something that n one mentioned, it is obvious they have not just taken up residence and have been there for a while; which means they may be male and female and have a nice nest with about fifteen or sixteen healthy eggs in there! Now if this is the case they could become very protective overnight.
A couple of mates of mine who live on farms have tried a different method of catching them and that is to leave a coil of wire netting rolled up on the ground flattened out a bit in a couple of spots; leave near their main access so they can crawl /slither through it until it becomes tight around their head and body when they have to stop and try to back out, but thats when the trouble starts, the scales raise up and prevents them from moving back.
After two or three days they usually die.
I would not attempt to shoot them in the shed, if you make a boo-boo the snake may have the advantage and get you cornered.
The brown one, I would be more concerned with, could drop down on you when you are working and get you by surprise..................... a little bit
of professional help I think is now required.
OK, there endeth my snake stories for this year, take care and don't take any chances with them because at the end of the day they are bloody fast.
All the best,
Kind Regards,
Ron.

[Jonno L]

Rona,

Please read what you just wrote. Imagine been caught up in wire for days, weeks on end, trying desperately to escape...for no good reason at all? Simply because someone didn't understand you?

Generally if the snake is up high, it's not venomous. On the east coast there are a few arboreal (tree dwelling) venomous snakes, but they shun disturbed habitat.

silentC - I do have some figures around here somewhere. I know that from Jan 1, 2000 until around mid 2006, there were 8 deaths attributed to snake bite, and 40 to horses. I believe it was around 20 to dog attacks, but don't quote me. I will try and find the figures somewhere. You also mention that dogs aren't venomous...maybe not, but they will probably cause more harm than a venomous snake!

I don't understand your comment about keeping your environment safe. If you spot the snake before the kids get to it, you should be able to keep the kids and pets away from it long enough for it to move on, or for a snake removalist to take care of it?

Gday Buzza, You're definitely right about most handlers been bitten! A friend of mine, who you may have seen on TV before, has over 25 bites to his name! He now has to carry injectible adrenaline and antihistamines with him, everywhere he goes, because if he gets bitten by another snake, he only has a few minutes before the acute allergic reaction commences, his throat will tighten and he'll be dead. I carry similar equipment, but only as a precaution.

I have yet to be bitten, which I attribute to 99% good management, and 1% stupidly good luck (had a Coastal Taipan bounce off my forearm a few weeks ago).

dazzler - I'm glad someone detests cats as much as I do! You know, it's no coincidence that cat traps fit perfectly inside a wheelie bin full of water...(this is a joke, I wouldn't do it!)

silentC - If he stands still too, you stand still longer!

Cheers,

Jonno

[silentC]

I don't understand your comment about keeping your environment safe. If you spot the snake before the kids get to it, you should be able to keep the kids and pets away from it long enough for it to move on, or for a snake removalist to take care of it?
That was from Vernon but I'll tackle it. I suppose you could liken it to a pre-emptive strike. A snake that has come into my yard once may do it again and if I go inside to call someone and wait for them to arrive (could be hours here in the bush) it will probably have moved on. If I leave it alone and something happens down the track, I wont forgive myself.

For the record, we've only had one brown snake turn up here in the last year. A labourer was digging a trench for a phone line. He heard a sound behind him and turned around to see the snake coming down the trench behind him. According to witnesses he actually screamed and his second reaction was to belt it over the head with his shovel.

You might be able to correct a couple of myths. Typically we see two types of snake here, one brown and one red-bellied black. The blacks are bigger than the brown but the brown has a reputation for being more aggressive when confronted. People around here say that if you see a brown, kill it, if you see a black, leave it alone because they keep the browns at bay. Now laying aside your obvious aversion to killing them at all, do you reckon there's any truth to any of that?

We used to see black snakes infrequently at my last house, which was about 500m from the surf but backed onto bush. The dead brown was the only snake I've seen here at the new place so far. I see snakes infrequently in the bush but always leave them alone because I figure they have as much right to be there as I do. The last snake I saw in the wild was a diamond python.

[davo_scuba]

we have chickens one side and caged birds the other also have seen rodents in the garden and snake skins at the top of the garden, the other day while cutting the grass came across a 2 ft brown snake about 1 inch in dia, with a 1 year old child who is starting to walk, I just kept on walking with the mower, there is no way I can change what the people are doing either side of me that is attracting the rodents, but at least if i see a snake in my garden it's goonnne!!!!! children are curious at the best of time and i would not like to two to come into contact till they are much much older (or my wife for that matter).
Don't have any pets and are looking to get any, we enjoy the fauna in the back garden (but not the snakes sorry)

[davo_scuba]

we do have a snake at work, out the back here's a pic for you all, we are just happy to look at him every lunch time. he's about 8ft and 80 mm in dia around the middle.

[Jonno L]

That was from Vernon but I'll tackle it. I suppose you could liken it to a pre-emptive strike. A snake that has come into my yard once may do it again and if I go inside to call someone and wait for them to arrive (could be hours here in the bush) it will probably have moved on. If I leave it alone and something happens down the track, I wont forgive myself.

For the record, we've only had one brown snake turn up here in the last year. A labourer was digging a trench for a phone line. He heard a sound behind him and turned around to see the snake coming down the trench behind him. According to witnesses he actually screamed and his second reaction was to belt it over the head with his shovel.

You might be able to correct a couple of myths. Typically we see two types of snake here, one brown and one red-bellied black. The blacks are bigger than the brown but the brown has a reputation for being more aggressive when confronted. People around here say that if you see a brown, kill it, if you see a black, leave it alone because they keep the browns at bay. Now laying aside your obvious aversion to killing them at all, do you reckon there's any truth to any of that?

We used to see black snakes infrequently at my last house, which was about 500m from the surf but backed onto bush. The dead brown was the only snake I've seen here at the new place so far. I see snakes infrequently in the bush but always leave them alone because I figure they have as much right to be there as I do. The last snake I saw in the wild was a diamond python.

There's a lot of myths about snakes, everything from whip snakes milking cows (seriously, come on!), to female brown snakes protecting their nests, to Browns and Carpet Pythons cross-breeding.

One of the most common though, is that if you kill a snake, your property is snake free. Unfortunately that's not the case. Nature works like the ocean, if you take a bucket of water out of the ocean, there's isn't a bucket shaped indent left behind...the rest of the water takes it's place. It's exactly the same with snakes, if you take one away, another will take it's place tomorrow. It's also the same situation with relocating snakes...if you put a snake into a different environment (a "full ocean"), it will upset the balance and "overflow", normally resulting in the relocated snake or animal dying.

I tried to make that as easy to understand as possible.

Like I said earlier, the two most important things are educating everyone about snakes, what to do in case someone is bitten, and what to do to avoid a bite. Take your kids to a local zoo or reptile show and remove the curiousity about what they feel like, how they move etc.

The second is making your backyard an unwelcoming environment for snakes. Humans don't live on Mars because the main factors for human survival aren't present. So, try and make your backyard Mars for snakes!

Cheers

Jonno

[silentC]

if you see a black, leave it alone because they keep the browns at bay
What about this bit though? Is that true or is it bollocks?

I understand your point about the bucket of water in the ocean. What you're saying is that if one snake leaves it's territory another one will take it over. My point is that if the next snake comes into my backyard, he will likely suffer the same fate as the last one :wink:


So, try and make your backyard Mars for snakes!
I like that :)

[Jonno L]

Mate it's more so because of habitat preference than anything. Yes, Red Bellies do include other snakes in their diet, but the biggest reason is because Red Bellies are predominantly a frog eater, so they tend to stick around water courses and swamps, whereas an Eastern Brown will eat whatever it can fit down it's mouth and is a lot hardier than a Black, so it occurs everywhere apart from dense rainforest.

I have a challenge for everyone...instead of freaking out next time you see a snake, just stand there and watch it. Not from a safety point of view, but just check out how amazing they are. They really are a beautiful family of animals. If you want, swing me a few photos and I'll tell you what species of snake it is - we have over 130 in Australia!

[TassieKiwi]

We saw a 5' Tiger across the road recently, and I was face to face with one in the bush last year. Both just went on their way.

Interesting read. So Dingo - how are you going to deal with your slithery friends?

[Wild Dingo]

Mate seems they got bored with me and headed elsewhere :2tsup: maybe I talked them witless and they decided that the sanity of bein just a snake was better than listening to this curley haired wild eyed manic woodwhisperer and bolted!

Then again we did move the seatainer down behind the shed over the weekend so maybe they just buggared of under that? who knows but I havent seen them for a few days now so...

ALLS GOOD!!! :2tsup:

And yeah theyre cool lookin creatures if a tad cold and dead in the eyes looking... but I just cant abide the things :no:

[WoodyKnot]

I remember the old man used to say snakes were attracted by a saucer of warm milk.
Never tried it but if it works lace the milk with poison.


Mate, milk works a treat although it has to be full cream stuff and not that skim milk. Powdered milk is best to use 'cause ya can make it creamier. :)

[Buzza]

Woodyknot, Johnno says snakes do not drink milk (page 4) as it gives them the "runs", and we all know snakes don't have legs don't we? :U

Ive seen Stumpy Tailed lizards drink it up though.

[WoodyKnot]

Woodyknot, Johnno says snakes do not drink milk (page 4) as it gives them the "runs", and we all know snakes don't have legs don't we? :U

Ive seen Stumpy Tailed lizards drink it up though.


G'day Buzza,:)

Mate it depends on how many bottles of scotch one drinks b4 hand and particularly if one has eaten those "magic" shrooms by mistake. :doh:

[Purpleheart]

S.L.Jackson.

"I am so sick to death of these M#th3R F*cki#G snakes, onthis M#th3R F*cki#g Plane. (Snakes on a Plane)



Wild Dingo

I want these M#th3ER F*cki#G snakes out of my shed.

(Yet to be released movie - Snakes in a Shed)

:D

[woodbe]

Funny thing happened today.

A bloke from 'Snake Away' called at the door. Turns out he was at the wrong house, but he did drop that he could spray around the place to deter snakes. Wonder what they use?

woodbe.

[Jonno L]

Nothing that would be effective, that's for sure. The only thing that is effective at deterring snakes is not giving them anywhere to hide, and eliminating the food source.

[Harry72]

Or lots of vibrations...

[Feralbilly]

Might as well get my two bob's worth in.
The area round here (on the Atherton Tablelands) is noted for Taipans. A couple of weekends ago, a neighbour found a taipan in the house. The woman is a panic merchant for a start and reckons that this taipan chased her round the house. She was screaming and crying fit to bust. Eventually the taipan holed up under a kitchen bench and after even more eventually a wildlife bloke took it away. Two days later, the house was on the market (not sold yet).
I know that Taipans have a reputation for being aggresive buggers, but I reckon it was simply looking for a way out and the woman happened to be running in front of it in the direction it thought of as "out".

After being bitten some four years ago, I have a healthy respect for snakes and work on the principal of " you leave me alone and I'll leave you alone, just bugger off."

Bill