Warm weather has snakes on the move across Queensland

Snakes are slithering across Queensland as temperatures heat up ahead of summer, with nearly 700 people already bitten this year and more expected as we head into the festive season.

SNAKES are slithering all over Queensland as temperatures heat up ahead of summer, with latest data revealing nearly 700 people have been bitten so far this year.

Queensland Health statistics obtained by The Courier-Mail show to date 661 people have been bitten this year, with 62 of the bites from a venomous snake.

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Latest Queensland Ambulance Service figures also suggest the state could be on track for a bumper year for bites, prompting warnings from authorities to take care.

Already paramedics have attended 626 reported snake bite jobs as of October 31 — with more expected to come as November to February are the busiest months for bites.

Statewide, QAS attended 658 reported snake bite jobs in 2015, this figure increased to 739 in 2016 and then 769 last year.

Rhys Chapman with the massive eastern brown snake. Picture: Rhys Chapman Wildlife Services | Facebook

QAS Clinical Director Tony Hucker said snakebite deaths were rare and only two people a year died from a venomous bite nationally.

“Snakes won’t deliberately bite us, they only bite if they’re provoked, so if you see one just stay away from it,” he said.

Gold Coast professional snake catcher Tony Harrison and Sunshine Coast catcher Stuart McKenzie both said they have caught more than 300 snakes each since mating season in September, and could be called out to as many as 15 jobs a day.

“September was a very, very busy month and October too; a quiet day was six or eight call-outs and some days up to 14 at least,” Mr Harrison said.

Snake catcher Tony Harrison says he was getting uo to 14 call-outs a day during the busy September and October period. Picture: Nigel Hallett

He said the number of call-outs will pick up in December which is a crazy time for catchers in Queensland.

The most common non-venomous snakes caught in southeast Queensland were carpet pythons, tree snakes, keel backs and the most common venomous species were eastern browns, yellow-faced whip snakes and red belly snakes.

“I think over the whole year the carpet pythons are easily the most common snake that we catch, lately though I’ve been catching a lot of brown snakes, they are probably 50 per cent of our work at the moment,” Mr McKenzie said.

Snake catchers believe 90 per cent of the time snakes slither inside homes is when people leave doors, windows and garages open all day.

Jensen Harrison, 3, with a jungle python. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Brisbane snake catcher Stewy Lalor said carpet pythons were the most common catch in his patch as people were worried about their small pets or have a general phobia of the snake.

“I find Eagleby is pretty good (for call-outs), we get a lot of browns and red bellies there, so that’s one of my favourite suburbs to head to,” he said.

“We catch a lot of pythons around Manly and bayside suburbs, and in around the airport as well we get a few eastern browns and red bellies.”

Mr Lalor said any suburb around the Brisbane River and Logan River was prone to eastern brown snakes and red bellies.

QAS REPORTED SNAKE BITE JOBS (JAN-DEC)

2015: 658

2016: 739

2017: 769

2018 (up to Oct 31): 626

MOST COMMON SNAKES CAUGHT

VENOMOUS

1. Eastern Brown snake

2. Yellow-faced whip snake

3. Red belly snake

NON-VENOMOUS

1. Carpet python

2. Common tree snake

3. Keelback snake