A Border snake catcher is warning residents to be on the lookout for snakes with temperatures starting to climb.
Tristan Hamilton from Border Snake Rescue had three call-outs in one day last week.
One was at a Tallangatta nursing home where a two-foot red belly black snake had been hiding out in the communal laundry area.
Then he attended a Leneva home where a six-foot brown snake fell off a retaining wall and onto pavers near a pool.
“A woman called to say she saw the snake fall from their retaining wall and onto pavers while her daughter was swimming in the nearby pool,” Mr Hamilton said.
“She was quick to call and even grabbed a video of the snake.”
Brown snakes, red-bellied black snakes and tiger snakes are the three common snakes found around the Border, although Mr Hamilton said the tiger snakes were mostly spotted around the Kiewa River.
“In the past 10 years, I have only had three call-outs for tiger snakes because they are not coming into town,” he said.
Please be careful when out and about, especially in areas with longer grass on warmer days.
There are a few things that you can do to stay safe:
Stay vigilant
If you see a snake, stay still or move in the opposite direction
Do not try and catch or kill a snake
Reduce the chance of a snake visiting your backyard by getting rid of outdoor rubbish piles, don’t leave food scraps around and keep lawns short
Snakes are protected and it is illegal to catch or kill the reptiles.
Residents are urged to keep a close watch when snakes are spotted and call a catcher.
“Don’t corner it, just keep an eye on the snake from a safe distance until a snake handler arrives,” Mr Hamilton said.
“It’s much quicker and easier for us if you know where it is because if you take your eyes off them they will make an escape and go into hiding.”
The council has an online interactive map that gets updated when snakes are reported to us via Facebook.
View our online, interactive map here.
For snake catching and relocating, call the numbers below:
Noel Crossman (Wodonga) – 0412 576 541
Tristan Hamilton (Wodonga) – 0431 530 057
Darren Campbell (Yackandandah) – 0438 623 497
Tom Nicholson (Bright) – 0481 285 576
Michael Gibson (Bright) – 0413 378 809
Michael Whipps (Mt Beauty) – 0408 123 801
Jarrod Payne (Mt Beauty) – 0408 126 990
