As spring gets under way, bringing with it warmer days, Bendigo’s reptile population is coming out of hiding.
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Snake catcher George Moore said he had recently seen a spike in the number of snake sightings he is called out to deal with.
“They’re out and about everywhere,” he said.
“I’ve had a couple of sightings of brown snakes and I’ve caught one brown snake just near One Tree Hill.”
Mr Moore said spring was usually the time of year when snakes were most active.
“Usually at the start of October they’re all over the place because they’ve just woken up out of hibernation and it takes about two or three weeks for them to settle down,” he said.
“The hotter it gets probably the less you see of them except maybe in the evening because in the heat of the day they like to keep out of the heat and stay in a cool place.”
But Mr Moore said the particularly hot conditions expected this summer could actually increase the number of snakes encroaching on residents’ properties.
“I’m predicting this year I may be a little bit more busy because they’re predicting a hotter summer and with a hotter summer the undergrowth dies off and usually snakes come into people’s backyards where the lawns are green and they’ve got the dog bowl sitting around – and they love swimming pools and all that sort of stuff.”
Mr Moore’s advice for anyone wanting to steer clear of uninvited wildlife on their property is simple.
“The best thing is if you do find a snake, you just back away from it and let it go, don’t try and interfere with it or you could get bitten yourself,” he said.
“Usually if people can keep their grass and lawns mown, and if they’ve got chook pens and things like that try and keep them tidy because they attract mice and that’ll attract the snakes.
“And if you do come across a troublesome reptile, just call a snake catcher like myself.”