Tiger fright for Ballandean grower ends in hospital trip

A local grower has joked that his quick reflexes saved him from a painful fate after copping a bite from an unwelcome visitor.

ON THE LOOK OUT: Ballandean farmer Michael Simpson copped a scare on Sunday after being bitten by a snake. Picture: File

A LOCAL grower has joked that his quick reflexes saved him from a painful fate after copping a bite from an unwelcome visitor.

Simpson's Produces' Michael Simpson was going about his usual chores on Sunday when he began to feel a stinging sensation he's likened to a green ant bite.

"I was just riding my motorbike down the paddock heading to the creek to check the water. I just thought it was a stick - you know, sometimes when you're on your two-wheeler a stick comes off your front wheel,” Mr Simpson said.

"So I kept going, went down, checked the water, come back, unloaded some tomatoes and thought to myself, it's still stinging.”

A quick scan of his leg and he saw what appeared to be two puncture marks.

"There was two good marks visible. My wife (Lee-ann) drove me and we flew into town and went to the hospital.

"They quickly got onto it, wrapped it up and did a swab test and it came back positive for a snake bite.”

Tests showed that he'd fallen victim to a Tiger snake.

He was transferred to Warwick Hospital where he was kept for observation overnight.

"They did blood tests to see if there was clotting and they check you every half hour and do blood tests every two hours.

"I was probably lucky it seemed to be a dry bite. So it bit me but didn't inject any venom.”

Mr Simpson said he's not seen Tiger snakes on his Ballandean property before, but will be keeping a watchful eye out in future.

In Australia, Tiger snakes have killed four people since 2005.

"Must have been too quick for him. Put the wind up me a bit for a while. Think I was very lucky.”

Originally published as Tiger fright for Ballandean grower ends in hospital trip