NSW snake catchers share tips, tricks, predictions and wild stories for 2022/23 summer

We’ve had floods and a mice plague and now snake season is coming, with some expert snake catchers saying conditions are ripe for a mega rise in parts of NSW. Read their tips and craziest stories.

From being called out to catch a snake in the middle of a funeral service to having a snake crawl out of a coke can, these NSW snake catchers have seen it all.

Snake catchers from across the state have shared their tips and tricks for the summer ahead, and reveal what impact the recent floods and heavy rainfall could have.

One of the snake catchers says the recent rain and mice plague have laid the groundwork for a huge rise in baby snakes this summer, but others aren’t so certain and some are predicting a quieter season than usual.

Read about their wild encounters with snakes and find out what to do when faced with the terrifying experience of having this slithering creature pop up in your own home.

Matthew Stopford, Central Coast Snake Catchers

Matthew Stopford from the Central Coast Snake Catchers.

Central Coast snake catcher Matthew Stopford says the recent rain and mice plague are perfect conditions for a rise in the number of baby snakes.

“We may have a bit of a rise because we did have the mouse plague last year and we’ve had a lot of water too, so conditions have been favourable for baby snakes,” he said.

According to Mr Stopford, snakes are incredibly good at hiding from the wet — he once even pulled a snake out of a coke can.

Matthew Stopford.

In the Central Coast, the most common snakes Mr Stopford encounters are diamond pythons, green tree snakes and red-bellied black snakes. The only brown snakes he’s had to deal with was at North Entrance.

But before moving north, Mr Stopford cut his teeth catching snakes in western Sydney – there he said about 80 per cent of his calls were about brown snakes and, in peak snake season, he would encounter about four or five a day.

One moment that stands out in his mind is when he caught a massive brown snake out in western Sydney, hiding in a Plumpton back shed.

“All I could see were some scales underneath so I just grabbed it, started walking out and as I held it, its tail was hitting me in the head,” he said. “I had a handful of snake, it’s tail was hitting me in the head and the snake’s head was still on the ground”.

“Everyone else there just jumped the fence or ran up the driveway to get out of there and I was left with the snake.”

Cory Kerewaro, Reptile Relocation Sydney

Cory Kerewaro with a red-bellied black snake. Picture: Angelo Velardo.

Cory Kerewaro lives in the Macarthur region but catches snakes all across greater Sydney — anywhere from Hornsby, to Chatswood, to the south west and out to the Illawarra.

But Mr Kerewaro said with the mice plague not affecting Sydney as much as other areas in NSW, he wasn’t expecting snakes to come out this summer “in plague proportions”.

“It’s not going to be an invasion of snakes or anything like that,” he said. “There will be no more than any other year, (and) with the La Nina flooding out a lot of things, many snakes did cop it from that.

“If anything it (snake sightings) will probably be about the same if not less this year.”

One of the snakes caught by Cory Kerewaro. Picture: Angelo Velardo.

Mr Kerewaro said by far the most common snake he encountered were red-bellied black snakes but he also receives many calls for brown snakes — and although they are around, these call outs were often a result of misidentification.

“I get non-stop call out about brown snakes but it often ends up being a blue tongue lizard or something completely different,” he said.

The strangest encounter he has dealt with over the course of his career is when he was called out to catch a snake in a grave in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Leppington.

“When I was called for that I thought the snake was in the cemetery but it was actually mid service — they were lowering the coffin and the snake was in the grave,” he said. “The service was halted and I had to get in the grave while everyone was there. That was pretty bizarre.”

Mr Kerewaro’s number one tip for people who spot a snake is to stay still and don’t move if you are in proximity to one.

“Snakes react a lot to movement, so the more you move, the more they perceive you as a threat,” he said. “The best thing to do is to stay still … they’ll see you’re not a threat and they will calm down.”

“If you are in a short distance away from it and you can move safely, just make slow movements away … the faster you move, if you make jagged movements, they’re going to start thinking you’re trying to hurt them.”

Shaun Armstrong, Shoalhaven Snake Catchers

Shaun Armstrong from Shoalhaven Snake Catchers.

Shoalhaven snake catcher Shaun Armstrong has one key piece of advice: “The only dangerous snake is one that is interacted with.”

“If you encounter a snake near your home, bring pets and children inside away from the snake and give your local licensed snake catcher a call,” he said. “It is best to keep a visual of the snake from a safe distance if possible, so you can point the catcher in the right direction when they arrive.”

For Mr Armstrong, the most common snakes he encounters are the red-bellied black snake, followed by diamond pythons but they do have tiger snakes in some parts of the Shoalhaven.

Shaun Armstrong.

He doesn’t think this year’s rainfall will lead to a spike in snake sightings but further rainfall could see more snakes.

“I do think that the effect of another La Nina this summer will have a flow on effect for snake populations over time,” he said. “With more water around, insect populations will rise which will in turn provide more food for frogs and small lizards.

“An increase in frogs and small lizards means there is more prey items for the snakes. Well fed female snakes will usually have healthier offspring that will have plenty of food available. So maybe in a couple of seasons we may see the result in a larger population of snakes.”

Colin Shoemark, Lake Macquarie Snake Catcher

Colin Shoemark from Lake Macquarie Snake Catcher.

Colin Shoemark thinks the rainfall around Lake Macquarie will see a rise in snake numbers this summer, as well as new and unusual snake sightings as they find dry places to hide.

He puts this down to the heavy rainfall resulting in longer lawns and the mice plague.

“When you’ve got an influx of rodents, you’ll have more snakes”, he said.

“The snakes and reptiles will be displaced, so they might be in spots they would not normally be.”

Mr Shoemark encountered this recently when he was called to an industrial park in Mayfield after heavy rain.

“There was a garden bed and a little hole under a concrete gutter where they said there was an eastern brown (snake),” he said. “I put a hose in there, turned the water on and waited because eventually the snake will come out.

“But out of that hole came a green tree snake and a brown snake which you wouldn’t normally see together because those sort of snakes don’t habitat together.”

Colin Shoemark.

The main snakes Mr Shoemark says are in his area are red-bellied black snakes and, at night, the golden crown which is a nocturnal snake.

But one encounter which sticks in his mind is a call out to an elderly woman’s house. The woman told him she had objects being knocked over in the house recently and she couldn’t work out why until one day, while watching daytime television, a red-bellied black snake poked its head out from under the television set.

“Once I was in the house, I estimated the snake had been there for weeks,” he said. “There was a six foot red-bellied black snake, crawling up and down the stairs without her noticing.”

Mr Shoemark’s keys tips are ensuring building materials in the backyard are stacked vertically, disposing of rubbish and keeping a well-maintained lawn.

Max Walker, Murwillumbah Snake Catchers

Max Walker from Murwillumbah Snake Catchers.

Snake catcher Max Walker says he doesn’t expect to see more snakes around and about this summer but he says the heavy rainfall has changed where they shelter.

“With the rains, it was very quiet,” he said. “The only thing that was different was I went to a number of venomous snakes that were in positions that they are not normally are in.”

“So, for example, normally the red-bellied blacks and the eastern brown snakes get around on the ground and I ended up pulling them out of places that were very high up in houses because they had taken shelter. They’d swum in and then the water had come in and they’re stranded up on the second floor.”

The most common snakes Mr Walker encounters around Murwillumbah are coastal carpet pythons, but he also catches a fair few eastern brown snakes and brown tree snakes.

A recent carpet python caught by Max Walker.

One of his tips for people who encounter a small snake in their home is to drop a towel or a blanket over the top of it.

“The snake is scared but the moment you drop a towel or blanket over it, you’ve provided it with somewhere to hide,” he said. “And it will sit there so it is easy when the snake catcher turns up.”

“If you don’t do that, it will try and dart off into the bedroom, or another part of your house, and it can be amazingly difficult to then find the snake — and sometimes you just can’t, you just don’t end up finding it.”

He also says the tried and tested rule of staying still is key because snakes do not have great eyesight and will only react to quick movements nearby them.

“If you stand still, an eastern brown snake could come up to you and go across the top of your foot and would never even know you were there,” he said. “It would just keep going.”