With rain falling throughout Ladysmith, we spoke to local snake expert Fanie Cilliers and asked how the rain affects snake activity.
As the weather forecast predicts between 100 and 250ml of rain, Fanie says this will definitely see a rise in snake activity in the area, as all burrows get flooded and snakes have to find a new dry place.
They normally end up at our backdoor.
Snakes don’t mind water, as all snakes are just as comfortable in water as out of it. Most snakes live in burrows that quickly fill up with rain water, so they simply look for a warmer place. This makes people’s homes the ideal spot!
Most people take out their heaters when there is a cold spell, making their homes up to 25 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature outside. Snakes, as we know, are cold-blooded and need to bring their core temperature up, so they seek shelter in nice, warm, dry homes.
Not only snakes, but rodents, frogs and lizards stay in burrows and seek warm areas when it rains. This gives snakes something to snack on, as well as a place to stay.
“You need to remember that we build our homes on these animals’ homes and we, as people, make them move and find new homes. You need to have a greater respect for snakes, as they keep down the population of pests like frogs, lizards, rats and mice,” explains Fanie.
“This is so important, as rats and mice once almost wiped out humanity with the plague,” adds Fanie.
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He adds that, as these are the first rains, snakes will deposit their eggs in your compost heaps at the back of the yard or the area where you dump leaves and grass. Within 59 to 65 days, there will about 25 to 65 babies in your yard.
Fanie explains that this does not sound like much, but take a road like Daffodil Crescent, where he stayed. Now every third house in the street has that number, so now we are looking at between 100 and 350 new snakes.
He says that up until now, he has not removed any hatchlings over the past few months, but he has removed more than 300 snakes.
Here are some tips when you spot a snake:
Stop and stay calm, as it is not going to chase you and eat you. Get hold of your local snake removal team while keeping an eye on the snake. Remember that if you simply run away, you will not know where the snake is and where it’s moving off to, making the removal team’s work harder.
Do not try and sweep it out, as this will provoke it and it will then try to defend itself, leading to a bite or envenomation that could be life-threatening, so leave the snakes to the experts.
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