Not everyone has to contend with learning how to deal with a garden snake, if that’s you, then, lucky you! We are becoming quite experienced in finding and preventing snakes in our house garden.
All of the snakes in my area are extremely venomous – all are in the top ten most venomous in the world.
Snakes need food, shelter and water.
Learn how to keep your garden free from mice, rats, frogs, water, ponds etc then snakes will go elsewhere. We spend a lot of energy making sure the house garden is free of any mice friendly places.
Check here to see a list of Australian snakes
Locate a Certified Snake Catcher
When we first realised they were so abundant we were very worried as we had no experience with them at all. I phoned the local Council and got the names of local Certified Snake Catchers and placed their names and phone details on the fridge – just in case!!!
Most people who get bitten by a common garden snake are in the process of trying to catch or kill it – take extreme care.
Snakes in Australia are Protected Species
There is a $5000.00 fine for killing or injuring a snake intentionally – with effective management there is no need to harm a garden snake, you just need to be organised in advance.
Be Prepared for Emergencies
Get the names of the Certified Snake Catchers and have their details always on hand, we leave ours on the fridge door. I found the guy who helped us to be really informative and he certainly gave us more ideas on making the place snake unfriendly which has reduced their numbers considerably.
Our pets and snakes
Check out the requirements for your pets and be prepared for that as they often get bitten first.
Our dogs and cat have encountered snakes while living here on this property. They have all reacted differently and you can see more of their snake stories below with these links.
Cat snake bite does not seem as deadly as dog snake bite here in Australia.
I am not sure if that statistic is true in other countries. It is now the last week of summer and our local Vet told me this week they are still averaging one dog and one cat arriving at the surgery each week. They have great success with the cats and not so great with the dogs.
Our main form of defence is prevention. But if the worst happens and one of our pets does get bitten by a snake this is our strategy.
1. We found out about using Vitamin C for dog snake bite. We will certainly follow this as our fist action.
2. We will also go to the Vet as quickly as our car can get us there.
For your own safety and First Aid
Check out the First Aid procedures and buy Snake Bite First Aid kits. We have one kit in each car and one at both the front and back doors. We NEVER go walking out into the open paddocks in summer without carrying one of the kits.
We are always on guard over the warm summer months, we NEVER take chances or risks with our own lives or that of our pets. See how we handled our first encounter with a snake. For us it was a day we will never forget.
You can live in the countryside and have a garden snake around so long as you become educated and make smart choices about your environment. Snakes are very much part of life in rural Australia, you have to accept that.
They certainly make an unusual garden pest and stories of our adventures with them keep our city friends enthralled – it might also explain why they prefer to visit us in the cold winter months.
I do hope this garden snake information part of my site is useful for you. It is the collection of a few years experience.
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