The Department for Environment and Water (DEW) is warning residents in regional and urban areas to watch out for snakes as the warm weather signals the start of the reptiles’ breeding season.
Principal Ecologist of Wildlife Management for DEW, Karl Hillyard said that with increasing sunshine, snakes had already started to slither out of brumation, a hibernation-like state, looking for a meal and to breed.
Dr Hillyard said there were snakes all over the State, including metropolitan Adelaide.
“Just because you’ve never seen a snake on your property doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” he said.
“Eastern brown snakes are found everywhere, but each region has its local specialty.
“Adelaide Hills has the red-bellied black snake, the River Murray and South East has the tiger snake, Eyre and Yorke peninsulas, especially near the coast, are known places for death adders, with Kangaroo Island having copperheads and mulga snakes up north.”
Dr Hillyard said snakes were generally shy and would not attack unless provoked, so it was “best to leave them be’.
He said residents could avoid snakes by keeping yards clear of long grass and removing rubbish so the reptiles had nowhere to hide.
He said snake safety tips included: Keep well away; don’t try to catch or kill it as this was when most bites happened; if inside a home, watch where it goes, keep children and pets away, then call a licensed snake catcher; if the snake was outside and heading towards bushland or a field, leave it alone; and if a person is bitten, call 000, wrap a pressure bandage tightly over the area of the bite, then use a second bandage and splints to immobilise the limb.
Further information can be accessed at this PS News link.
