Don’t tread on me: snakes seeking shelter

“Snakes are like us, they don’t like the hot weather, they want to find somewhere they can escape it,” Mr Davis said.

He said the reptiles would often be seen looking for shelter during the early morning and late afternoon.

Mr Davis said best way to avoid snake bites was to keep the backyard clean and tidy.

“A nice clean yard looks good and you can see a snake … the snake you can see, you can avoid, it’s the snake you can’t see which causes the trouble,” Mr Davis said.

“No where in town is immune from snakes.

“You can’t stop a snake moving into your backyard, if there’s a good source of food (and shelter), they’ll stay there.”

Mr Davis said the best way to keep them from moving in was to keep backyards clean and free of things that might attract ‘food’ like mice.

“Bird cages can be dangerous, the birds aren’t always the target, they can be sometimes looking for mice (looking for bird seed),” he said.

The majority of snake bites are below the knees or elbows, Mr Davis said, usually caused by snakes being disturbed or attempts at catching them.

“Most snakes are more scared of us,” Mr Davis said.

“If you leave a snake alone, it will leave you alone, if you corner them, they will defend themselves.”

Mr Davis has removed snakes from every corner of Wagga, from the CBD to each suburb.

“Most calls have been coming from the new developments on the fringes of the city,” he said.

Mr Davis said the snakes had been disturbed by construction and were seeking shelter and food – often wandering into houses.

He said one of the most unusual locations a snake had been found was inside a wardrobe in a Lloyd property and a kitchen in an Ashmont home.