More venomous snakes and spiders to appear in NSW homes

One state is being warned to watch out for snakes in the coming weeks, with half of all fatal bites happening in an unlikely location.

NSW residents can expect a boom in spider and snake sightings in the coming weeks as temperatures rise.

And it appears we’re not even safe in our homes.

St John Ambulance is warning that with continued wet weather, thanks to La Niña, snakes and spiders are being forced out of their natural habitat in search of drier areas, and therefore it’s expected that sightings within the home will increase.

More than half of deaths caused by snake bites in Australia occur in the home.

“Time is critical when it comes to venomous bites, and they should be treated as a medical

emergency,” St John Ambulance NSW chief executive Sarah Lance said.

“That is why we are asking people to brush up on the signs, symptoms and – most

importantly – the treatment of snake and spider bites.”

The eastern brown snake causes the most deaths of any snake in Australia. Picture: Wild Life Sydney Zoo

Australian Snake Catchers’ Sean Cade, who works in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, said call outs were already ramping up, averaging eight to 10 a day.

And the snakes are “much bigger” than previous years.

“The thing out of the ordinary compared to the last few years is the size of the snakes we’re getting … bigger, healthier, fatter snakes,” he told news.com.au.

“A couple of months ago I released a brown snake that was as thick as a beer bottle and he was six foot.

“The previous few years they were few and far between but this year they all seem to be consistently robust and a lot healthier snakes.”

Mr Cade said a common misconception was that the hotter it was, the more snakes were around outside, however they have an “optimum temperature”.

“A red-bellied black snake for example is kind of 24 to 28 degrees and an eastern brown snake is 28 to 32,” he said.

“If it’s 40 degrees or 36 degrees, it’s too hot so they can actually overheat and die from too much heat, so I find more so when it’s extremely hot, that’s when you find snakes in houses.”

Snake catcher Sean Cade says he has noticed snakes are much longer and fatter this year. Picture: James Croucher

The eastern brown snake causes the highest number of fatalities of any snake in Australia.

St John Ambulance training manager and former paramedic Lara Bisley said the most important thing if bitten by a snake bite is to immediately call triple-0.

“Ultimately you want to stop the venom from travelling, which means as you’re waiting for the ambulance you should keep the patient still, lay them flat and wrap a bandage over the site of the bite,” Ms Bisley said.

“Follow this with a pressure bandage – starting from the fingers or toes and wrapping upwards as far as you can go.”

Australian Reptile Park head of reptiles and spiders Daniel Rumsey recently told news.com.au a warm day with an afternoon shower was the perfect combination to encourage the movement of bugs, frogs and small mammals – making a good meal for a snake.

“You will still get an increase in spider numbers but I think the reptiles are really going to take advantage of the good times,” he said.

Australian Reptile Park captured its largest funnel-web spider last month. Picture: Australian Reptile Park

As for spiders, the funnel-web spider’s lethal venom can be fatal in just 15 minutes so anyone bitten by a “big black spider” is instructed to call triple-0.

Ms Bisley said she once knew of a man who was bitten eight times by a funnel-web through a gardening glove.

“Funnel-web spiders are very aggressive and certainly can puncture through clothing et cetera,” she said.

“That individual recognised what occurred and immediately called an ambulance, which is the right thing to do, and therefore was given the antivenene in hospital very quickly and survived to tell the story.”