Geraldton wildlife carer warns it’s peak time for snake contact in WA’s Mid West

A local wildlife carer is reminding the public to be snake-aware as the weather heats up. “We’re heading in to the peak time for contact with reptiles,” Michelle Jones of the Geraldton Greenough Wildlife Rescue said. “In the Mid West it usually lasts from September until around April.” Since September 1, the service has been receiving at least one call a day to help with snakes appearing in gardens, bedrooms and cars. “I had a lady call me about a snake under her house and she was actually quite pleased to learn it was a harmless termite-eater,” Mrs Jones said. “That one got to stay where it was.” But she said callers were always given the same advice. “Don’t go near them or pick them,” she said. “Most bites occur when someone is trying to catch or kill a snake. It’s safest to treat every snake as if it’s potentially dangerous and could kill you.” Mrs Jones stressed that many people wrongly identified snakes. “The most common snake in our area is the gwardar, or western brown snake and there’s 13 different varieties,” she said. “There’s so little variation between species, even I can’t tell sometimes.” Research recently published by Curtin University found the public’s inability to identify different snake species may contribute to an increase in the number of bites. In the study, only 58 per cent of participants were able to correctly identify the three most common reptile species found in WA. Most people are quite happy not knowing much about snakes,” Mrs Jones said. “All reptiles are exothermic which means their activity increases as the temperature increases.” She wants people to be conscious they’re around and if they’re going to call a snake handler her number one tip is keeping an eye on it. “They’re fantastic hiders, it’s very difficult to find a snake if you don’t know where it went,” she said. “Snakes don’t like to waste venom on things they can’t eat, but if you do get bitten remember it’s not the death sentence it used to be. “Stay still and don’t suck the poison out.”