Take caution if swimming or fishing in lakes or rivers after heavy rain. Water snakes can have lethal bites.
Snakes can bite you underwater, but usually only if they're provoked or if they feel threatened. In the Tropical Journal of Medicine and Hygiene, researchers studied 100 sea-snake bite patients who visited a local hospital. They found that over 80% of patients were fishermen who had been in the water.
Eleven species of sea snake and one species of sea krait have been recorded in New South Wales waters. Most of the sea snakes recorded from New South Wales are seen very infrequently and are vagrant individuals that have strayed from their core tropical populations.
Olive sea snake
This relatively large species has an olive-grey body in eastern Australia, but is bright orange to salmon pink in the west. It is one of the sea snakes most commonly seen by tourists. It is seemingly curious and social, often swimming towards and interacting with snorkellers.
It's rare for Australian snakes to strike. It's even more uncommon for the fangs to penetrate clothing and the skin.
Brown snakes hunt by actively looking for prey and searching in likely hiding places. They have good eyesight and once prey is detected they will give chase and subdue the prey using both venom and constriction.
Yes, they can. The good news is that not all snakes have fangs strong enough to go through rubber boots. When snakes strike and the fangs sink into their target, they don't necessarily know whether they've broken skin or pierced a boot.
It's a common misconception that snakes are attracted to chlorinated pools. In fact, just the opposite is true! Snakes are repelled by chlorine and will avoid it at all costs.
Add mesh hardware cloth around your home to prevent snakes from getting close to your home. Add hog fuel or other rough landscaping materials to your garden. Snakes don't like to move through this type of material as it can hurt them. Plant marigolds around your home, they tend to deter snakes.
South Australia
Sand dunes are common breeding grounds for snakes of this region. Most of the venomous tend to be in this area. This is because it receives large amounts of sun but at the same time allows for enough cover for protection.
In Australia, snakes sometimes slither into suburban backyards and homes. When the weather gets warm, they lounge in the sun. When it gets hot, they seek cool places: a wall crevice, under a refrigerator, under a barbecue grill, behind an air-conditioning unit.
In the rain, snakes are known to try and find cover and have been located in schools, houses or home gutters and pipes. Damanschke said looking at snakes from a distance is safe, if they aren't in the home, but issued a reminder to keep children clear.
Because snakes require a stable temperature to regulate their bodies, snakes spend the winter underground to keep their bodies at around 25 degrees. When the weather is colder, snakes will burrow in the ground or sleep under a log and emerge only to eat, drink or metabolise.
Sea snakes are are generally not agressive and will not bite unless provoked. Even then they tend not to use their venom, and their short fangs cannot penetrate a neoprene wetsuit.
A snake can readily enter the drainpipe, the shower, or the toilet after gaining entrance to the ventilation pipe." Of course, snakes don't have limbs or opposable thumbs, but they're still excellent climbers and can scale anything from lattices to drainage pipes to adjacent trees.
Rule Number 1: Don't Try To Outrun A Snake
Not because your kid can't — they probably could! The very fastest snake, the Black Mamba, can slither at about 12 MPH, and a truly scared human (even one with short legs) could probably exceed that.
There are many scents snakes don't like, including smoke, cinnamon, cloves, onions, garlic, and lime. You can use oils or sprays containing these fragrances or grow plants featuring these scents to deter snakes from coming close to your property. This works as snakes also rely on smell to move around.
Ammonia: Snakes dislike the odor of ammonia so one option is to spray it around any affected areas. Another option is to soak a rug in ammonia and place it in an unsealed bag near any areas inhabited by snakes to deter them away.
Natural repellents including sulfur, clove and cinnamon oil, and vinegar may help repel snakes. Pour these substances around the perimeter of your property, any place you have noticed snake activity.
Some snakes such as eastern brown snakes are active during the day, others prefer to hunt in the evening, while some species are more active at night during the hotter months. Many snakes have excellent eyesight, but it's not usually the main sense they rely on when hunting.
What months are snakes most active in Australia? Snakes are most active during snake season, which typically begins around September and runs until April.
EnviroBug offers the strongest, most effective, most reliable battery-powered snake repellers you can buy to protect you from deadly Australian ground snakes. 8 out of 10 snake bites occur when people try to pick them up, scare them, corner them or accidentally step on them.
Snake chaps are a type of clothing worn over your pants to protect against snake bites. They're made from snake-resistant fabric, like nylon and Cordura, that helps prevent the fangs from penetrating and biting you. Snake chaps protect your legs and calves while being flexible enough to allow movement.
Do NOT incise or cut the bite, or apply a high tourniquet. Cutting or incising the bite won't help. High tourniquets are ineffective and can be fatal if released. Do bandage firmly, splint and immobilise to stop the spread of venom.
Rattlesnakes can bite through tight-fitting low-quality jeans made of thin material. Heavy denim or canvas offers better protection, especially if they are loose-fitting and not tight against the skin. Wearing sturdy, closed-toes boots and making your own snake-proof material will protect you better against bites.