Heat brings a twist to snake hiding places

SUNRAYSIA residents are used to keeping an eye out for snakes at this time of year, but are now being warned about quirky hiding spots inside their homes.

That is the message snake catcher Steve Morrow is sending after a number of strange call-outs over the Christmas period, one of which involved an operation to remove an eastern brown snake from a CD rack in one home.

Mr Morrow said while this particular job was unusual, it was not uncommon for snakes to enter residential properties to seek refuge from the heat.

“It’s more common than people would like to realise,” he said.

“People have to remember snakes can’t actually regulate their body temperature … 90 per cent of the days they are in the shade.

“That heat will obviously keep them around shady areas and, if doors or garages are open, they will look for any relief from the sun and for their food source.”

Another recent call-out forced Mr Morrow to pull apart a Sunraysia resident’s vacuum cleaner to retrieve the snake.

“The vaccum cleaner was a funny job too,” he said.

“Quite often a lot of people do some vacuum cleaning around their curtain skirtings and will quite often suck up a young snake and see it go through.

“This one actually got into the electrical cord and in the end we had to split the vacuum cleaner apart and let him get out that way.”

Snake call-outs in Mildura had been “fairly” regular since August, according to Mr Morrow, who removed a large eastern brown snake from a toilet block at Apex Park moments before speaking to Sunraysia Daily on Friday.

“(In the) second week of August we got going pretty strong,” he said.

“We’re getting a few calls a day … some at people’s homes and others in public areas.

“The one I just removed was from the same amenities that I removed another one from the same time last year.”

Mr Morrow urged residents to properly seal their doors to help avoid unwanted snake encounters, particularly as the heatwave continued.

“It’s important to keep a half-decent seal on your door and to just keep the doors shut at all times,” he said.

“I also recommend during the summer to keep the dog and cat flaps shut.

“A lot of people seem to forget to about the internal door from the garage into the house … that needs to be kept shut too. Treat your garage as if it is an open area because accessibility for snakes is so easy.”