Fun Fact with Angus Burns: Why is there so much snake activity at the moment
As we head into Autumn, snake activity will peak and then reduce substantially with the colder weather:
Over the last few weeks I have received many calls to rescue snakes from peoples gardens.
On one day alone I had 4 calls to assist and on each occasion the snakes I captured where either harmless or mildly venomous (and thus of no consequence to humans).
Why is there so much snake activity at the moment?
Quite simply the generally warm weather and abundance of prey (rodents, lizards and so on) is drawing them out whilst they do what they are naturally inclined to do (which is to hunt for their food which coincidentally is often found around peoples homes).
In South Africa the vast majority of our snakes are harmless/mildly venomous with only a small percentage being venomous and an even smaller number being particularly dangerous for a few behavioural reasons.
As we head into Autumn, snake activity will peak and then reduce substantially with the colder weather. Please be aware of where you walk to avoid encountering them if they frighten you.
The key here is to remember that snakes play a vitally important role in our environment in terms of pest control and no matter how many are killed, there will generally always be more to fill the void.
Its important to understand which snakes are dangerous and which ones are not. Fear of them is often caused by a lack of knowledge which leads to people wanting to kill what they don’t understand.
I completely sympathize with those that have genuine phobias regarding snakes but there are many snake experts who can assist and plenty of resources to draw on as a means to increase your knowledge about them.
One resource in particular that I recommend downloading is the African Snake Institutes smartphone app. It is free, user friendly and has a wealth of information contained therein to assist you.
I have been so heartened by the number of people who chose to ask for assistance with snakes rather than killing them. This is very encouraging behaviour and I thank them for this.
For those who believe all snakes should die, I ask that you reconsider this approach and rather seek help when a snake is spotted in your vicinity.
What can you do to reduce the chances of finding snakes in your garden? Here are a few tips…
- Remove old garden refuse so that the habitat for snakes is reduced in your garden
- Cut back overgrown bushes / shrubbery to reduce natural habitat for them
- Don’t leave garbage or food outside that will attract prey (which will then attract snakes)
- Remove old building rubble/bricks/tiles to reduce habitat and prey availability
Don’t: - Use snake repellent (it has been proven that it doesn’t work)
- Try to kill snakes – many snake bites happen when people try to harm or injure a snake
- Believe superstitious stories about repelling snakes (such as hanging a dead snake in your garden, placing a horse hair braid at your doorstep or sprinkling salt everywhere) – none of these beliefs / old wives tales repel snakes
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