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Deter snakes from your house and yard

But for another homeowner in Yandina Creek, this is exactly what he found when after a period away he went to the garage to get some tools and instead found a massive brown snake next to his tool bag.

Rhys Chapman from Rhys Chapman Wildlife Services said the man dashed upstairs to call him.

Snake catcher Rhys Chapman with the massive eastern brown snake. Picture: Rhys Chapman Wildlife Services | Facebook

He stayed on the stairs while on the phone and watched the snake disappear into the back corner of the garage.

“It was definitely unnerving not knowing where this big animal was but a minute or two after looking he poked his head out from underneath a bit of timber,” he said.

Mr Chapman put down a board to stop it escaping and as it turned, he quickly scooped it up.

“The tendency for a snake to run is very, very high, particularly in an open area like that.

“I was lucky more than anything,” he said.

The snake, thought to be at least 10 years old, was then relocated.

Snake catcher Rhys Chapman says as more and more houses are built, snakes are running out of their natural habitat and seeking refuge in people’s yards. Picture: Rhys Chapman Wildlife Services | Facebook

It is the second six foot brown snake to be relocated from Yandina Creek in a matter of weeks.

Recently, another family discovered a monster brown snake on top of their fridge. It then slithered down into their shoe rack.

Mr Chapman said this time of year snakes are looking for mates and browns in particular have adapted well to our suburban areas.

“It’s the time of year when they do come out.

“And we have been seeing more snakes around homes because with more developments there is nowhere for them to go except for the areas between homes.”

Mr Chapman is urging everyone to be vigilant and has these suggestions on how to snake proof your yard, what to do if you see a snake or find one in your house.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR YARD LESS SNAKE FRIENDLY

Mr Chapman said the biggest deterrents when it comes to snakes is a nice clean yard, free of debris, rubbish and freshly mown lawn.

“Keep your yarn very clean.

“If you have building material, store it up off the ground. If you can’t, keep it away from the house.

“Don’t store firewood next to the house or the chook pen. If you’re creating essentially a hide where they’re safe and warm, you’ll be encouraging them.”

Mr Chapman said a snake’s main prey is rodents.

“Aviaries and chooks bring in rodents and in turn this brings in snakes.

“Put chook pens at the back of the home.

“Feed your chooks just what they eat and be conscious that there is known to be snakes in this area and take precautions.

“Have a stick with a mirror on it that you can hold to see around the corner into the chook pen and under roosts.”

He also suggests keeping your lawn very short.

“It makes them very uncomfortable if they can’t hide and 95 to 100 times they’re going to pass straight through.”

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ENCOUNTER A SNAKE

Mr Chapman said if you are in close proximity to a snake stand completely still.

“Snakes will react to your movement. If you stand still they can’t see you.

“If you’re not too close, keep looking at the animal and back away.

“Do not ever attempt to go near or catch the animal. Take a photo and send it through it to us and we can point you to the right path as to whether it needs to be relocated or not.”

Mr Chapman said they get a lot of calls out of panic.

“Once we get them to calm down and send us through a photo sometimes it’s a snake that’s just going to keep moving, like a common tree snake.

“Most of the calls we receive are for identification.”

But for relocations, Mr Chapman works with other snake catchers on the Coast so they can have someone there within 15 minutes.

“I’m in Coolum and we have catchers in Nambour/Woombye and Noosa that we work with.

“Depending on situation we want to get to a client as quickly as possible for relocating or monitoring.

“And we all have the same passion and care for the reptiles.”

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A SNAKE INSIDE YOUR HOME

“If you’re unfortunate enough to have one inside the house, isolate the room,” Mr Chapman said.

Do this by closing the door and putting a towel down.

“In an open area, put a piece of ply or something high down to stop it escaping.

“If you can’t, call a snake catcher and try keep an eye on it if you can.

“That snake is freaking out, it can barely slither across tiles and there is commotion going on.

“It is best to keep calm, get on the phone to a snake catcher and we’ll come attend the situation.”

Mr Chapman said snake catchers also do more than just relocate snakes.

“We’re not just here to catch a snake and remove it. We’re here to help the general public.

“So if anyone is concerned or wants to know what they can do to make their yards less snake friendly, give us a call.”

You can see the treatment for a snake bite above and make sure to complete a first aid course so you are prepared.

Compulsory first aid training for L-platers

First Aid Training Canberra. Nationally Recognised Training. Experienced Trainers. Excellent North Canberra Location. Free Parking.

All learner drivers in NSW should be required to do first-aid training in a bid to reduce the state’s road toll, a parliamentary committee on road safety has been told.

Learner drivers should be required to do five hours of first-aid training as part of their 120 hours of driver training, St John Ambulance has proposed in a submission to the Staysafe Committee’s review of road safety issues.

Learner drivers should be required to do five hours of first-aid training as part of their 120 hours of driver training, St John Ambulance says.
Learner drivers should be required to do five hours of first-aid training as part of their 120 hours of driver training, St John Ambulance says.

The first-aid training would focus on the three leading causes of death in a road accident by teaching new drivers how to control bleeding, clear airway obstruction and perform CPR, and could save more than 50 lives every year.

There have been 376 fatalities on NSW roads in the past 12 months and nearly 11,600 serious injuries in the 12 months to March.

Chair of the Staysafe standing committee Greg Aplin said the St John submission is one of 34 it received in response to a call for ideas from the community on ways to improve road safety.

“We made this call because we were conscious of stakeholder interest in the issue and we thought this was something unusual we could do in NSW to see the topics emanating from the community,” Mr Aplin said.

“There were topics raised that we’re very familiar with, there are always those things that irritate the public like people not keeping to the left in dual carriageways, but two submissions stood out.

“One was that the people who are first on the scene of a crash are often other drivers and compulsory first-aid training for learner drivers definitely has road safety merit, other countries including Germany and Australia already have that as compulsory.”

Mr Aplin said that how much training is needed and whether it is a practical proposal would need to be examined by the government but that the idea has merit.

“We believe that saving lives and reducing the impact of injuries is important and we need to look at whether this is a means of achieving that,” he said.

There have been 376 fatalities on NSW roads in the past 12 months and nearly 11,600 serious injuries in the 12 months to March.
There have been 376 fatalities on NSW roads in the past 12 months and nearly 11,600 serious injuries in the 12 months to March.CREDIT:MARINA NEIL

St John Ambulance said it already provides first aid training to more than 55,000 people every year and has 3000 volunteers available to roll out the initiative.

“The First on Scene training course would be delivered using the latest technology combining both on-line and practical learning techniques to [fully] engage the 16-24 target audience,” the submission states.

“We believe that the introduction of first aid training in key trauma areas for all learner drivers offers
the NSW government the most significant and cost effective opportunity to reduce the state’s road
toll and save over 50 lives each year.”

Mr Aplin said another noteworthy submission, from young driver educator Blue Datto, proposed more targeted campaigns to address local road issues, especially in regional communities.

Other submissions called for more local road funding to reduce fatalities, the improvement of crash investigations and changes to the heavy vehicle industry.

“One of the things that I personally hope will happen out of this inquiry will be that the government will see the areas of concern and follow those up,” Mr Aplin said.

Book in to a first aid training course near Gungahlin with Canberra First Aid.