Snake catcher issues terrifying warning for parents as kids return to school

“After two months of not much activity in schools, snakes definitely could have made themselves quite comfortable.”

Alexandra Feiam

3 min read

February 2, 2024 - 7:09AM

Family Life

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Gianni Hodgson, a snake catcher from Ballarat, is no stranger to sneaky reptiles.

He has seen them in almost every circumstance and can easily spot one through a shroud of shrubby bushes and well-trimmed grass.

But can you?

The Victorian snake catcher is urging parents to pay attention to the ground near them as kids head back to school after a deadly snake was spotted hiding in a popular walking spot.

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The copperhead snake was hard to spot. Source: HodgsonsSnakes/Facebook

“Snakes are going to pop out a lot more regularly”

Gianni, the owner of Hodgsons Snakes, took to social media to share how easy it is to miss the deadly reptiles while making the daily walk to and from school.

The post, dubbed “Spot the Snake”, was a somewhat unassuming photo of a grassy hill with a few twigs in the front. At first glance, you wouldn’t see anything wrong.

However, in the second photo, Gianni highlighted a venomous copperhead snake hiding through the blades of grass.

“These games are to help you realise how complicated it can be to spot them out in your environment, to raise awareness of the importance of being alert,” he said.

This is especially important as kids go back to school, he continued, as pathways that kids would normally trek every day have since become untouched for several months during school holidays.

“Because schools have been out of action for the last couple of months and no one’s actually been at the schools, except for maybe a gardener or maintenance person, schools have pretty much been very quiet, very protected areas for snakes,” he told Yahoo News.

Reptiles, with the freedom to move wherever they want, will start to move “willy-nilly” and not pay attention to the dangers of people walking past.

“And now suddenly you’ve got like 100 or 200 people there in a matter of a day, so snakes are going to pop out a lot more regularly,” he said.

Parents have been urged to stay vigilant while walking kids to school. Source: iStock

Snakes getting “comfortable” in playgrounds and walking paths

As a precaution and to prevent deadly snake attacks, Gianni recommends that gardeners keep the grass and hidden bush areas pruned back.

This way, snakes have fewer places to hide and are less likely to be stepped on and aggressive. “When kids are running along the pathways, there's plenty of opportunities for things to be spotted before the kids step on something,” he said.

Another tip he has issued to Australian teachers is to take a good look at the school’s playground before kids rush out to recess and lunch, as there are sneaky and potentially deadly places for the reptiles to hide and stay cool in the hot sun.

Some of the popular spots he recommends scoping out include under slides and landing platforms on the play equipment.

“If you’ve also got logs around, just check under those before kids start sitting on them,” the snake catcher continued.

“After two months of not much activity in schools, snakes definitely could have made themselves quite comfortable.”

While it’s not ideal, if you do end up running into one of these slithering animals, Gianni urged people to “walk away from it, facing it but walking backwards.”

Once you have moved a safe distance away from the snake and checked it hasn’t followed you, it’s the right time to turn around and get away.

“Look, snakes aren't out to hurt you at all,” he clarified, adding their main objective is to get away from the person as best and fast as possible without putting themselves in danger.

“The only real danger is if you’ve got one cornered or you just simply don’t know it’s there and step on it accidentally.”