6 ways to stay safe during snake season

While September, the month that ushers in Spring in South Africa, is a sign of renewal in nature, it is also the beginning of the country’s snake season.

Since snake activity is starting to pick up, Nick Evans, snake catcher and conservationist, has shared some insightful information on what residents should do if they encounter a snake.

Below are answers to some of the most common queries Evans receives:

• 1. Firstly, don’t bother with repellents. None work. That includes Jeye’s Fluid, commercial repellents, various plants, garlic, vanilla essence- there’s many. The best you can do is to keep your yard clean (no piles of wood, rubble, bricks, etc), and hope for the best! Cutting down trees won’t help, rather keep them, but if you have branches growing against your roof, trim them back.
• 2. Lock pets away, if you discover a snake first. Cats kill a lot of wildlife, including snakes. However, they usually know to leave the larger, venomous snakes. Dogs will go for any snake, and this often results in them being bitten or spat at. If you see your dog attacking a snake, do whatever you can to get it away from the snake, apart from putting yourself at risk. If a pet is bitten by a snake, please get it to a vet as soon as possible.
• 3. Do not attempt to capture or kill the snake yourself. The snake may well be harmless, but rather confirm this with a snake-catcher, by sending a photo, before picking it up. Killing snakes, especially large ones, like a black mamba, can easily result in a person being bitten. The snake is terrified of you, and just wants to be left alone, with no intention or desire in biting anyone.
• 4. If anyone is bitten by a snake, please rush that person to the nearest hospital. Do not take the snake with you. If you can send a photo of the snake to a snake-catcher for identification, great. If not, go to hospital.
• 5. If you are going to phone a snake-catcher, please phone when you see the snake. This might sound obvious to you, and it should be. But almost every day in summer, I get calls for snakes seen hours, days, weeks or months ago. People phone me, often after hours, in a panic, or almost in tears, for snakes seen days ago. I will never understand it. I don’t know any snake-catcher that will rush to your assistance in such cases, unless paid a lot of money.
• 6. If you call a snake-catcher out, please watch the snake from a distance, at least 5 metres. This is important, because if the snake disappears before he or she arrives, they are unlikely to find it. Contrary to what some believe, we don’t have snake-detectors. Also, if you call a snake-catcher out, be decent please. There’s no need for rudeness.

Evans went on to explain that snake-catchers may charge a call-out fee, or in some cases even just a small donation, to cover expenses such as fuel.

“The government does not fund snake-catchers. These fees also help when one needs to go out and help those in informal settlements or rural areas for emergencies.

“Some people get unhappy with this; however, snake-catchers need to survive somehow too. It isn’t a lucrative business whatsoever, barely profitable,” he said.

Evens, who is also collecting data on reptile activity and sightings, whether alive or dead, in the Greater Durban area, has urged residents to contact him on 072 809 5806 or nickevanskzn@gmail.com with information.

He said the African Snakebite Institute app is very useful with a lot of information, as well as a snake-removers list that’s nationwide. Just search ‘ASI Snakes’ on the app store on your phone.