Be aware!! It is already a snakey season

WITH THE recent sunshine and warmer spring days snakes are coming out of hibernation to bask in the sun, search for food and find a mate. 

As people are also getting outside to enjoy the warmer weather, their paths may be more likely to cross that of a snake. 

After almost a decade of considering becoming a professional snake catcher, an opportunity for Jake Condotta aka Jake the Snake Catcher arose last year when the local snake catcher moved out of the area; prompting Jake to do the course, get his licence and permits to start catching professionally. 

“Last season was my first season. It got busy pretty quickly, but this season is already busier.” 

Jake caught 80 to 100 snakes last season and has relocated 27 snakes in the past six weeks. 

Since he was a kid, Jake has loved the bush and had an interest in snakes and reptiles and was spurred on by watching Steve Irwin. 

“I started doing it (catching snakes) when I was younger, probably when I shouldn't have been, bringing Red Bellied Blacks home and things like that. Mum was always pretty stressed about it.”

While Jake sees a variety of snakes, including Eastern Browns and Red Bellied Black snakes, the most common are Tiger and Lowland Copperheads, all of which are highly venomous. 

Jake covers from Lang Lang to Wonthaggi and surrounding areas, with the majority of calls coming from Loch and Poowong.

Places with natural and abundant sources of water, and those in back yards including fishponds, dog bowls, and leaking taps attract snakes.  

“Snake love water, because if they've got something to drink, they've got rats and mice coming into the water to drink. They've got frogs everywhere and that sort of thing.”

Jake picks the snakes up by the tail and guides them with a hook, into a bag, which goes into a locked box on his ute.

The snakes are then relocated to bushland or reserves away from public areas. 

“I didn't realise how many snakes have so many different personalities. Every time I go somewhere the snakes act completely different,” Jake said. 

Snakes will become aggressive if they’ve been cornered or if they’re being harassed by pets or magpies, because they’re trying to defend themselves. 

They are generally shy and prefer to keep away from people and hence, snake bites are fairly rare. 

“The biggest thing is, you’ve got to respect what they're doing and try to read their body language,” Jake explained. 

Snakes can move and hide quickly, and Jake commented that the best thing people can do once they’ve placed a call to a snake catcher is keep an eye on it from at least five metres away, and if it takes off into a paddock, let it go. 

Jake also advised clipping the bottom of shrubs, avoiding mass planting next to the house, keeping lawns short and remaining aware that snakes are attracted to piles of rocks, timber, building materials and water.