Western suburbs housing developments force snakes out of hiding
A Werribee reptile catcher is answering up to 12 callouts a day from panicked people spotting snakes on the loose. He’s revealed where and why numbers are climbing — and ways to snake-proof your home.
Wyndham Leader
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Scores of snakes are being nabbed slithering around Wyndham each week, and the hot weather isn’t helping matters.
Professional reptile relocater Stewy ‘the snake catcher’ Gatt told the Wyndham Leader he received about 12 calls a day to remove snakes — mostly eastern browns and tiger snakes — from homes and businesses in the area as the serpents sought shelter from the sun.
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He said Werribee and Point Cook had been hotspots this year, largely around new housing estates.
“When houses go up the snakes that were in the paddocks have to go somewhere,” he said.
But Mr Gatt said sneaky serpents had also been found in some strange places recently, including behind an air conditioner unit and stuck in industrial adhesive tape at a Point Cook building site.
“Just before Christmas I was called to get a snake out of (sporting goods store) Anaconda, ironically,” he said.
He said the eastern brown had made itself at home inside one of the display tents in the camping section of the Hoppers Crossing store.
“The staff were quick to rope off the area until I got there and relocated (the snake),” Mr Gatt said.
According to Mr Gatt, about 400 to 500 tiger snakes are found in Melbourne’s western suburbs each year, as well as about 50 to 100 eastern brown snakes.
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Point Cook and Werribee were rife with tiger snakes, Mr Gatt said, while Truganina was a popular spot for eastern brown snakes.
“Tiger snakes are usually found around swamps, lakes and rivers because their main diet is frogs, whereas eastern browns like grassland because their main diet is field mice,” he said.
STEWY’S TIPS FOR SNAKE-PROOFING YOUR HOME
— Don’t leave doors or windows open on hot days, as snakes will be looking for somewhere to shelter from the sun.
— Don’t leave rubbish and debris lying around the house as it provides a hiding spot for snakes.
— Keep grass and gardens manicured, it might not stop snakes entering the property but it will make it easier for you to spot them if they do.
— Snake-proof your yard as best you can by blocking off any gaps in the fence.
— Consider enrolling your pets in a snake avoidance course to ensure they keep calm and keep their distance.
— If you do see a snake, give it plenty of space — it’s more scared of you than you are of it — and call the council or your local snake catcher to relocate it.
Snakes are protected under the Wildlife Act and it is illegal to capture, kill or harm them.
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