Joondalup and Geraldton are the most likely WA locations to happen across a snake, a experts warn that more will slither back into the public eye as spring temperatures rise.
Longer, warmer days help re-energise a snake’s metabolism, heart rate, and digestion to make it more active after having spent the cooler months is a state of brumation — a bit like hibernation, but for cold-blooded animals.
It’s also the time of year that West Australians are more likely to lap up the conditions and head outdoors, further increasing the chance of a run-in many would prefer not to have in the bush, on the footpaths and even at the beach.
A new study found Joondalup recorded the highest number of venomous snake sightings in the State with 1057, while Geraldton is in the top 10 locations nationwide for the highest number of recorded sightings.
Brown snakes, desert-banded snakes and whip snakes are the most common around Geraldton.
The national list was topped by country music town Tamworth in NSW, where brown snakes, red-bellied black snakes and black snakes are plentiful.
The study, by off-road equipment business OCAM4X4 Accessories, also took into account how many snakes slither into places where people like to go camping.
While Geraldton and its eight camping locations topped the WA charts with 185 sightings, closer to Perth Gidgegannup and Joondalup ranked fourth and fifth in WA.
Marcus Cosentino, who runs Snake Catcher Perth, told The West Australian that snakes were “quite common” across the city and can be found all around Perth.
“It’s usually just out of sight, out of mind for most people,” he said.
“When I have someone say to me ‘this is the first snake we’ve had on our property in 30 years, I always say, ‘no, this is just the first snake you’ve seen’.
“They are very good at avoiding people.”
He said snakes were common in three types of habitat across Perth — coastal dunes including Rottnest Island, the Cockburn coast and the northern coastal suburbs; dense native bushland such as Canning Vale and Perth’s eastern fringe; and wetlands including Herdsman Lake, Yanchep and Joondalup lakes.
One of the most common misconceptions he hears is that snakes will chase people — especially tiger snakes.
“A lot of people commonly refer to them as being aggressive. But I’ve honestly never met an aggressive snake,” Mr Cosentino said.
“We can have mums with kids and dogs walking around Herdsman Lake and tiger snakes aren’t flying out of bushes trying to bite them.
“They’re all just staying away. They don’t want to get into confrontation.”
Mr Cosentino said there was often fear-mongering about snakes, with false assumptions such as they form nests, or live in groups in Perth backyards.
“Snakes don’t have a set home and they also don’t have families,” he said.
“So if you see a baby, there’s not going to be a mum or dad hanging around. If you see a little one, there’s not going to be siblings.
“From the day they hatch they’re by themselves unless they’re in an act of mating.”
Mr Cosentino said if you encountered a snake this summer you should give it space, keep pets and small children away and monitor it until an expert can safely remove it.
“Avoiding movement will help to keep the snake calm and it gives us time to get out there,” he said.
“If you get the snake removed then you can have peace of mind that it’s gone from that area, rather than losing sight of it in the bushes, or not being sure if it slipped through a gap in the fence or something.”
Mr Cosentino said sensible precautions for campers included wearing appropriate footwear, using torches at night, carrying snakebite bandages and having a reliable way to contact emergency services.
“Communication is always a big one. Keeping your campsites tidy so that there’s less places for snakes to hide around and you can actually see what’s going on when you get out of your tent,” he said.
“We should be encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors this summer while taking sensible precautions . . . snakes are a natural part of the environment.
“We can coexist with them without the need to interfere or kill them.”