Eastern Brown on my driveway, now what?

glend (Glen) · #1 25-02-2019, 04:23 PM

I came home from the shops this afternoon to find a long Eastern Brown snake sunning itself on my driveway. At first i thought it was a tree branch, then it raised its head and looked at me. This was a significant snake, must have been two metres long, as it almost stretched across the width of the driveway. I ran the car at it to try and kill it but it took off like a rocket into the bushes next to the driveway, and my neighbor's fence. I discretely tried to see of I could find out where it went but no sign of it and I was not getting too close. I heard my neighbor's little Cocker Spaniel barking and thought oh S##t. I messaged my neighbor and he came home to join the hunt. The dog was ok.
So what do we do now? Neither one of us has any yard snake experience, well other than a small tree snake once. I did see a Brown Snake at Gunshot Creek on Cape York, but nothing local that could kill you. Our blocks back onto the bush, and it is pretty overgrown and needs a burnoff, so it probably arrived frtom there.
How do we find it and get rid of it? Can a pro snake catcher find it wherever it is hiding now? Should I find a Mongoose? I am afraid of walking up there now.

casstony · #2 25-02-2019, 04:34 PM

They will hide under sheets of tin, old furniture, shed floors or anything else close to the ground. It will probably move off on it's own though.
Maybe keep pets indoors for a day. Perhaps walk around the yard with a dog on a leash to see if they sniff something out - the dog will die quickly if bitten though.

Long pants and a shovel are handy items for dealing with snakes.

el_draco (Rom) · #3 25-02-2019, 04:36 PM

1. Its a protected species and an offence to kill it.
2. The number one reason people get bitten by snakes is because the human is the aggressor.
3. A snake will leave the area on its own, if you leave it alone.
4. This species performs an extremely important ecological role, like taking out rodents, so you should leave it alone to do its job.
5. Its a waste of venom biting a human, cant eat you so it will not strike UNLESS PROVOKED.
6. YOU ARE ON ITS TURF, show it a bit of respect.

GEZZUS bloody hell. When are people going to learn that we cant just exterminate anything that gets in our way????

Call a friggin snake catcher if you are frightened!

I have a dozen snakes on my block on a given day and have NEVER had an issue!

casstony · #4 25-02-2019, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by el_draco

I have a dozen snakes on my block on a given day and have NEVER had an issue!

That's fine if it's just adults in the yard who watch where they're walking.

xelasnave · #5 25-02-2019, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by el_draco

1. Its a protected species and an offence to kill it.
2. The number one reason people get bitten by snakes is because the human is the aggressor.
3. A snake will leave the area on its own, if you leave it alone.
4. This species performs an extremely important ecological role, like taking out rodents, so you should leave it alone to do its job.
5. Its a waste of venom biting a human, cant eat you so it will not strike UNLESS PROVOKED.
6. YOU ARE ON ITS TURF, show it a bit of respect.

GEZZUS bloody hell. When are people going to learn that we cant just exterminate anything that gets in our way????

Call a friggin snake catcher if you are frightened!

I have a dozen snakes on my block on a given day and have NEVER had an issue!

Don't get upset Rom not everyone is snake aware until someone like your good self helps out.

Main thing don't try to kill them with a shovel or stick as they will probably get you first.

And the weather is getting colder so he will move on.

Put ice on the drive

I was listening to the radio on my last trip down and the announcer told of having problems with his bike and when they took the seat off to look at something there was a brown snake under the seat.

They let it go but I would have demanded it be charged for ridding without a ticket.

alex

Imme (Jon) · #6 26-02-2019, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by casstony

Long pants and a shovel are handy items for dealing with snakes.

....perfect way to be bitten. I believe something like 95% of bites are a result of people trying to kill a snake.
Leave the thing and it will head off when it is ready.

casstony · #7 26-02-2019, 09:58 AM

There's theory and there's practice. I grew up on a farm and any snake in the yard was disposed of to keep pets and kids safe. We still lost a few pets and other animals to snakebite.

My father was also a timber worker and we just ignored snakes in the bush.

On a bush walking track recently a tiger got between my dog and I; the snake wouldn't move and I couldn't back off as the dog would run towards me but there was a handy stick nearby.

If you keep out of striking range and wear long pants you're fairly safe. I wear long pants in the bush even in hot weather.

glend (Glen) · #8 26-02-2019, 10:34 AM

My encounter followup reading suggested that many Eastern Brown bites occur on the thigh, as they rear up as they strike. The one on my drive certainly had its head up off the ground. I have been wearing knee high thick gumboots in the backyard and making noise since but as mentioned below, I believe it has moved on now.
I certainly won't be trying to kill it with a shovel, as I have seen how fast it can move. I just want to know it's gone, as now I am scared of any sort of yard work.

casstony · #9 26-02-2019, 10:55 AM

The hotter it is the faster they move and vice versa. Also on warm evenings snakes may curl up on open ground so always watch where you're walking.

leon · #10 26-02-2019, 11:03 AM

You saw that one, but there are many you don't see, it will be fine they just want to rack off when they see a human.

Where i am now it is very dry and we do see many snakes, mostly pythons but the odd other species.

Sleep well it will be fine.

there is no need to kill a snake, unless it has you in a strangle hold or the like.

Leon

AndyG (Andy) · #11 26-02-2019, 11:21 AM

Glend - good to see your new guest has most likely shot through.

My Folks had their new cat get bitten last year. She was only 6 months old. We sat with her in intensive care for 2 weeks. $5k later she's 100% (We love our cats). They live on 5 acres, with 3 of that well tended to.

I was interested in the possiblity of Snake repellant devices. Mowing the lawn, not piling up junk, keeping rats under control, etc, are obvious in denying habitat to snakes. All that is done as best they can. I'm wondering if any of these "thumping" or ultrasonic devices are of any use.

Anyone here have experience with these?

Examples:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/sureguar...-pack_p0012979

https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/10-pack...repeller-bndl/

xelasnave · #12 26-02-2019, 11:43 AM

There is a brown living near where I set up my gear up North.
It killed my daughters dog a while back (although that is a guess as it could have been another snake I guess).
It worries me and even though I am fanatucal about stray light when imaging have got over that and use my little head light, not in red mode either☺, when I walk out or back from the mount.
At worst I could damage a 30 second capture but strangly I have not noticed any defect in those particular images..cause I specifically check the last and first to see if using the light caused problems...but he is always on my mind.
And with the drought one needs to be more careful as the house area becomes one of the few temainig water sources and that bring in both preditors (snake) and prey ( mice and frogs).

Anyways my point I supose is I onow this brown has been around for a long time, maybe he comes and goes, but we have only ever seen him twice.

I recall another event.
We were fixing a large bird cage and were climbing up and down through most of the day fixing the roof..on our last trip down we noticed a huge (biggest I have ever seen) brown curled up not two feet from where we were stepping..in grass but sickenly close..I say the last time down cause we never went around that side ever again☺.

Long pants...if going thru bush I wear trackies and jeans over good boots and long sleeves. .. after a while you dont notice the heat but I dont want to cop a bite ever.
Alex

casstony · #13 26-02-2019, 11:57 AM

A couple of years back a guy in Orbost was bitten on the forearm while weeding and he died even though he received prompt medical treatment. It seems the antivenene only gives a chance for survival - it's no guarantee.

Terriers are good for dealing with snakes around the house - they win most of the time.

xelasnave · #14 26-02-2019, 12:16 PM

He would be a first I think since they introduced the anti venom???
I thought it was pretty effective.

I am sure that I read that since the anti venom has been around there had been no fatalities...someone may know?

I had a great snake dog (they were all good even the big one)... but she would grab the snake and throw it up in the air a long way...so whenever she started in on one you tended to run away fast☺.

Alex

LewisM · #15 26-02-2019, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by casstony

.410 shotguns are good for dealing with snakes - they win 99.999% of the time.

There, fixed it for you

Had a brown here recently (see another thread). They certainly DO rear up quite high to strike (neighbour threw a shoe at it to try to scare it - it reared up well before the shoe came near it). They've disappeared for now, but I did find some egg shell remnants in long grass about 200 metres from home.

Saw another on the road just 2 days ago, thoroughly dead. He/she was rather long.

xelasnave · #16 26-02-2019, 12:24 PM

A goggle does not confirm re no deaths etc so ????
Alex

pmrid (Peter) · #17 26-02-2019, 12:24 PM

You won’t stop snakes coming into your yard. But you can take steps to make the area less attractive to them.
Suggestions all center around keeping rubbish off the ground -and that includes trees, shrubs etcwith a tendency to hug or cover the ground. Prune up and keep ground under plants open and free of debris.
Also, snakes will follow a food source so try to limit wet areas in your garden. These attract small rodents etc and they are fair game.
You probably know all this stuff. It’s more common sense than science.
Peter

casstony · #18 26-02-2019, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xelasnave

A goggle does not confirm re no deaths etc so ????
Alex

I think there are a few deaths each year on average. There was a recent case near Warragul where a person at a music festival died of suspected drug overdose. At autopsy it turned out that he'd been bitten by a tiger snake but wasn't aware of the bite.

Part of the problem with antivenom use is lack of expertise in treatment since any rural hospital will only rarely deal with a bite. They give the victim a jab of antivenom then fly them to the city where there is more expertise, but that all takes time.

AndyG (Andy) · #19 26-02-2019, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xelasnave

A goggle does not confirm re no deaths etc so ????
Alex

Not sure if this is truth or Snake Oil, but here goes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...of_snake_bites

xelasnave · #20 26-02-2019, 01:47 PM

Yes I read about that case of the suspected drug overdose.
No doubt drugs are getting blamed for deaths actually caused by snake bite☺.

The thing with a brown, or so I believe, is even a small one can kills you.

I was at Mallanganee when a lady was bitten..its a wonder she did not die..they brought in the helicopter and yet took ages to get her to the landing spot and take off...U could not help think I could have driven her in faster...just weeding in her front yard...shows how dangerous gardening really is.

She survived but it was a great day for all with folk running around spreading the news etc.

Alex