Snakes in the shed!

[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,

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" .

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.

[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 )

Mick