Surprising snake bite data for Darling Downs revealed

He’s been bitten and hospitalised three times on the job but not even that can deter this Toowoomba snake catcher from getting back to work. Read about his interesting career choice here.

Few people can say they have a career as adrenaline-filled as Gunter Glaser, who has been catching and releasing snakes across the Darling Downs for more than two decades.

The owner of Darling Downs Snake Catchers 24/7, usually receives upwards of five calls a day during Springtime but said this year had been one of the quietest seasons.

“Every year people think it’s worse than it was the season before, but this has been the quietest snake season for us – we’re averaging one to three calls a day,” Mr Glaser said.

The snake catcher said the erratic weather could be the cause with cooler temperatures and windy conditions causing movement which frightens or deters snakes from emerging.

Darling Downs Snake Catchers 24/7 owner Gunter Glaser on the job. Picture: Contributed

Over the course of his interesting career, Mr Glaser has been hospitalised three times on the job after he was bitten by black snakes in Toowoomba, Warwick and Kingaroy.

While his last hospital stay was just six months ago, not even that could deter him from returning to work.

“I’ve made mistakes before like grabbing their tail too close to their head, especially with Brown snakes because they jump around so much,” he said.

“But it’s always a little bit exciting and keeps your adrenaline going.”

Darling Downs Snake Catchers 24/7 owner Gunter Glaser on the job. Picture: Contributed

Despite it being a slower time than usual for the snake catcher, he caught a 2m long Eastern Brown in recent weeks, but his biggest catch has been 4m long Carpet Pythons.

Mr Glaser said snakes liked to hide in quiet and warm spaces such as garden sheds, barbecues, washing machines, inside shoes and underneath car bonnets and hedges.

His tips for minimising the unwanted visitors is to regularly maintain the lawn and to keep a gap between garden hedges and the ground.

But he said even these measures wouldn’t stop snakes from lurking regardless of if you’re in the bush or the middle of the CBD.

“It’s always amazing when I catch a four-foot Brown that’s about four-years-old and the homeowner says ‘that’s the first snake I’ve seen in 10 years,’” Mr Glaser said.

“Even if your place doesn’t have rats, mice or chooks, snakes follow fence lines and may wander into a quiet house before it heads off into its original destination.

“Chances are they visit your place once a month and have done for the past 10 years but you’ve just never seen them.”

Mr Glaser said to always provide snakes with plenty of space to avoid an altercation as they are generally frightened and looking for an escape route.

Darling Downs Snake Catchers 24/7 owner Gunter Glaser on the job. Picture: Contributed

Darling Downs Health snake bite data

With summer just around the corner and temperatures starting to heat up, more and more snake sightings are being reported by the residents of the Darling Downs region.

Despite snake catchers’ phones ringing off the hook, data released by Darling Downs Health revealed there have been fewer snake bites sustained so far this year, when compared to 2021.

Residents of the Darling Downs have been reminded to apply caution with more snake sightings expected as temperatures start to rise.

This year 109 patients have presented with snake bites to emergency departments in the Darling Downs, 10 less than the number recorded up until November last year.

Numbers broken down per month are also lower this year, excluding September which interestingly saw a double in presentations.

The most common species to inflict bites include brown, black, tiger and taipan snakes.

DDH executive director rural Dr Christopher Cowling said members of the public who came across a snake should not pick it up but instead back away and maintain a safe distance.

“While snakes can be encountered any time of the year, we know that more people present to our emergency departments with snake bites during spring and summer,” he said.

“It’s a timely reminder for residents to be on the lookout for snakes, and the best advice is to leave them alone.”

Residents are encouraged to treat every snake bite as an emergency and follow the below recommendations:

• Help the patient to sit or lie down, remain as still as possible and stay calm.

• Check the person’s airway, breathing and circulation.

• Start CPR immediately if the patient has collapsed.

• Apply pressure to the bite site by turning a rigid object into a splint and bandaging the entire limb.

• Do not attempt to suck out or wash off venom, cut the bitten area or use a tourniquet.

• Call triple-0 or transport them to the closest hospital emergency department.

See the full list of data online at thechronicle.com.au.

For more information about what to do in the case of a snake bite, visit health.qld.gov.au.

Originally published as Surprising snake bite data for Darling Downs revealed