red belly in our house bricks

[kx500dude]

so we seen a red belly today called a catcher and watched snake with its head out of the wall enjoying some sun for about 40 minutes, 4 minutes b4 the guy shows up the good old red belly decides hes had enough sun and slowly pulls himself inside the brick crevice,so the catcher goes i cant get him ,any sugestions ?

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ohh and another question i know not a thing about snakes in the 40 minutes of watching him or her i didnt notice snake putting his tongue out not a single time yet he knew we where there as he occasionaly turned his head our way,will he try and strike if we walk past about 3 foot from where he hangs out of the wall? my uncle said he will probably do what a blue tongue does when disturbed and that is go backwards into the sheltered brick crevice,but if hes gunna hide everytime a catcher comes to relocate him its got me stumped how we are ever going to get him out of here,

 

[apprenticegnome]

Go to you tube and search snake traps. You will see funnel traps made of fly screen with an entry at each end. I assembled one with a hot glue gun, a roll of aluminium fly screen and a stapler. If you place one along a wall near where you saw him last or make an artificial wall and place some scent in the trap (rat/mouse used bedding etc) you have a good chance of catching him. Snakes will follow along edges of walls and if you block behind the trap it will be guided into the entrance. I've had good success with one of these. Just remember to keep it shaded and check regularly. You can call the catcher to come and collect if you catch the snake, just remember not to put yourself in harms way when setting up.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

And check it regularly (every 10 mins at least) if it's in direct sun, or the snake will die.

Jamie

 

[GBWhite]

Leave it alone and it will just move on when it's ready. No need to try and trap it or spend money on a snake catcher.

George.

 

[-Peter]

You are not permitted to trap snakes. Ignore it and it will eventually go away, ah I see George beat me to it.

 

[arevenant]

Yah, just let it be and it'll move on soon enough...

 

[Leasdraco]

Most likely you won't see it again. But 2 things you could do is keep your lawn short and control rodents around your place. Snake won't hang around when there is nothing to eat.

 

[kx500dude]

we have frogs lizards and mice our parrots dont help the mouse cause one bit

 

[apprenticegnome]

It will most likely move on but if it poses a risk or concern then I would trap and relocate. I don't worry about it being illegal to trap them as I would rather see a snake relocated than someone hit it with a shovel through fear or concern.

 

[-Peter]

It will most likely move on but if it poses a risk or concern then I would trap and relocate. I don't worry about it being illegal to trap them as I would rather see a snake relocated than someone hit it with a shovel through fear or concern.

Having seen the result of most traps I would prefer the swift shovel. Typically people who have little experience or those with a financial interest recommend traps. There are exceptions but they usually involve ignorance or hubris.

 

[apprenticegnome]

Break out the shovels 'O'pessimistic ones for the charitable are seeking money for blood and ego boosting..

 

[Bluetongue1]

While snakes generally do not tend to stay around houses, just how long a snake is likely to remain in any given area depends on a range of factors, such as availability food, water and suitable cover, the species, its age and gender, the time of year (which influences behaviour) and the degree of disturbance caused by human activities or domestic animals.

A few months back, my brother-in-law watched a RBB consuming a skink in their garden. A fortnight later they lost one of their two dogs to snakebite, which the vet felt was from a red-belly. This was quite possibly the same snake. I arrived for a lengthy visit just a few days later. There is an extensive bushy garden with a thriving population of small skinks, including water skinks. There is also a large planted fishpond in which I located four calling Banjo frogs (and a week or two later some developing frog spawn). Clearly this is an attractive environment for RBBs. The dog was about five years old and had lived there with its mum all its life. While my sister and her husband were devastated at the loss, they accepted it as part of life and have not changed the garden or access to the yard for the remaining dog, two cats, three chooks or themselves.

Like all Australian snakes, it will choose escape over confrontation if given the option. RBBs in particular are docile in nature and require a fair degree of provocation to actively defend themselves. Any obvious visible nearby movement invariably will cause them to seek cover. However, they can be approached more closely by stealth in keeping obvious movement to a minimum.

Understandably, if you have concerns over the safety of pets or children or anyone else, then capture and relocation would provide the greatest peace of mind. As has been indicated, trapping is OK if you know what you are doing. If not, however, then it may result in harm to the animal or endangering of self and would be ill-advised. You could try providing an alternative refuge a bit away from the wall. If the snake goes into the alternative refuge could quickly seal off the entrance to the house bricks with an old blanket or small, floppy sand bsg etc, then call the catcher again. Just be sure to keep watching where the snake goes until the catcher arrives.

Something like an old wooden door propped up a couple of centimetres at one end (maybe with a little bit of loose dry grass spread underneath). Alternatively, old house bricks, stacked to provide a funnel shaped entrance into a covered hiding space. Improvise with whatever suitable materials are available.

Good luck with it. It is great that you are seeking to relocate it rather than resorting to a shovel.

Blue

 

[apprenticegnome]

Whilst most move on quickly not all do as you have pointed out Blue, we have a collection of harmless snakes that are resident in our back yard and have been for some years. Whilst we are happy to have them there I did manage to trap and release a few trying to catch a redbelly that killed one of my dogs. I did this as we have a child with the curiosity of a young Steve Irwin at times and 1 remaining dog.