Snake Catchers and Snake Removal.
- Nature For You
- 11 minutes ago
- 13 min read
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We thought as summer was here and snakes are more commonly seen we would try to address some of the reasons why snake catchers charge. Many people get a shock that people don't offer this service for free (It is a government run service that is paid for in the Northern Territory, that the government pays a snake catcher(s) in regional centres to remove snakes for people at no charge). Hopefully this blog will help people understand why. I should probably add this is relevant for most of Australia. Different states and countries have different ways of doing things.
Relocation is often perceived as a simple, quick task: arrive, get the snake and leave. But the reality is very different. Understanding the realities behind snake relocation helps explain why there is a call out fee and where it goes.
Lately on social media we’ve noticed an increase of people expressing frustration about the cost of having a snake removed. It’s understandable that unexpected expenses can be stressful, especially in the current cost-of-living climate. No one budgets for snake removal alongside groceries, phone bills, traveling to and from work, etc. It’s an unfortunate and often not thought of cost, and one that many people don’t consider until they are faced with it. Like a burst water line or an electrical fault, sometimes you need to engage the services of professionals at a moments notice.
So why do snakes enter a property? Well the short answer is that snakes are found across Australia, even in the built-up inner urban centres of our largest cities. Snakes are common! In Australia, in some cities, snake population estimates suggest that there is a snake living in every second property.
Images courtesy of Mani Walsh, owner of Scaly Tails Reptile Relocation.
Mani removing an adult Carpet python, Morelia spilota spilota, and in another call out, Mani is removing an adult Red-bellied black snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus.
However, people go decades without ever seeing snakes because they are exceptional at remaining undetected. Their colouration and patterns are designed to hide them from both their prey and predators. Snake catchers, herpetologists and enthusiasts spend years developing ‘search images’ that help in discerning patterns from the natural surroundings. This in turn, assists these people in being better suited to seeing snakes in the environment or home.
Images courtesy of Cory Kerewaro, owner of Reptile Relocation Sydney.
This call out was to remove a a Red-tailed boa, Boa imperator. Unfortunately all exotic reptiles (non-native) here must be handed in to the authorities and are put down so the perceived risk of disease is contained*. Extremely unfortunate for the animal and rather selfish for the people knowingly buying illegal, exotic animals here.
So how does the homeowner or resident come across them? Well usually it’s one of five situations- they are cleaning up, they are tending to their livestock (both pets and others can attract rodents or birds), they are provided a ‘present’ from their pet dog or cat, or the snake is seen basking or an accidental encounter with a snake on the move. Snakes when moving are seen more frequently as their camouflage is more effective when they are still. This leads to snakes being more frequently encountered when hunting, during the breeding season or for other reasons such as habitat displacement, flooding, heat waves or fire.
Snakes, like all animals will move more during and after a natural disaster such as flooding and fire, as they too try to remove themselves from their current situation just like we do.
Here is where I stress that in Australia there is a hefty charge for killing wildlife and a possibility of jail time. It varies from state to state. It also needs to be said that many bites could be avoided by people not wanting to pay a professional snake catcher and using a shovel or shotgun instead.
Hopefully this will shed some light on what actually goes into a single relocation job.
Lets start with travel: On average, a single snake relocation takes around 2.5 hours from start to finish. This typically includes approximately 30 minutes travelling to the site, 30 minutes locating and safely capturing the snake, 30 minutes transporting and releasing it into suitable habitat, and another 30 minutes returning home. This is if you get a good run and it's not peak holiday time, no traffic jams etc. There are also those residences and businesses that are extremely hard to find and are not on the GPS. Allowing 30 minutes capture time may seem a lot to someone that has never required a snake removal. Some jobs you can walk in and scoop the snake up immediately (they are few in number) as the customer has kept an eye on it, other jobs can see you ripping up concrete, tearing down walls, digging up gardens and other "fun" activities as the snake is in an extremely hard to reach location.
Images courtesy of Cory Kerewaro, owner of Reptile Relocation Sydney.
These are just a couple of extreme call outs where the time has taken a lot longer than expected.
Imagine it being an extremely hot summer's day and it's midday - the hottest part of the day. The snake has shot under some concrete and the customer is adamant they want it gone as they are extremely scared of snakes. You're in the back yard in steel cap boots and your work gear. The sun is beating down on you and you now have to start to try to remove a snake that you know is not going to come out easily or quickly or be happy about the whole process. The customer is inside terrified so there is no chance of being offered a cold glass of water. You need to be professional, smart and quick, while you have enough sweat coming off you that you know your starting to dehydrate but you know you need to find that snake. They've told you where their jack hammer is and your expected to rip up the concrete to get this Red-bellied black snake. (Yes this happened to us. Well Scott, I wasn't keen on the jack hammer, so kept on my search in the surrounding area in the bushes and under the tin lying around and all the debris on their property. I came across a neonate Red-belly and an adult carpet while poor ole Scott was jack hammering away at the concrete slab.)
There are also these types of callouts - people who are adamant that the snake they saw last week could still be there, and expect the catcher out, and out to their place straight away. With no snake in sight this now involves a search, and the property is expected to be searched thoroughly. Many snake catchers are happy to do this for their customer to ease their minds, but the time can stretch out. Lets not forget climbing onto roofs, inside manholes, tight and dark spaces. The list of uncomfortable situations these people put themselves in goes on. We should also add snake catchers have their own fears. Heights and enclosed spaces are common phobias shared with millions across the globe. A close mate who is a snake catcher is terrified of spiders, I have the same fear with cockroaches. Having to grab a snake whilst your own biggest nightmare is in close proximity is not a great time!
Translocating the snake to a safe and suitable habitat is the ideal outcome, but sometimes the callout involves a snake that has an injury, whether it has been trapped in netting or attacked by a predator or family pet. This then means the snake catcher will take the injured animal to a wildlife carer or vet. That will blow the 30 minute tame frame we spoke about above well out of the water, especially if there is no reptile vet or wildlife carer anywhere near you that is able to take a venomous snake.
On top of that, there is at least 15 minutes of mandatory record keeping, which the government requires - the time for this will grow the busier the catcher is. Now add to that another 15+ minutes for additional tasks such as cleaning and disinfecting equipment. The cleaning and disinfecting is an important process as you don't want to carry forward pathogens you were unaware of. Whilst doing this, it also enables the catcher to inspect their equipment for signs of wear and tear. The last thing a catcher needs is to discover the hard way their bag has a slight tear in it and the neonate Eastern brown (Pseudonaja textilis) is not were they thought it was, and they are in peak traffic on a highway.
You also need to remember to charge your gear, this is your phone and also your mobile card reader and your headtorch. Not having a card reader is unheard of these days, as it stops the "I don't have cash, sorry" line people have tried after the snake has been caught.
You need to refuel vehicles, and prepare for the next call-out. A busy snake catcher will have their days' requirements done at the beginning of the day or the end of the day as they generally don't get time to go home between call outs. These snake catchers also go without breaks in peak times, sometimes running around between different jobs 15+hrs a day. If you are thinking here "well they chose to do that" - it's more than than that for most snake catchers. They do it because they love reptiles and animals, and they know that many will be killed if they do not go to the job. We all know when we go to work for someone else, nor only do we know that we are not going to be asked to put ourselves in harms way, we know that a working day that long is not legally allowed, nor is skipping breaks or not having lunch. That is a luxury for a busy snake catcher. This leads to periods of tiredness and exhaustion- just what you want to avoid when trying to capture fast moving, venomous snakes!
That time commitment of the actual job is only the beginning. There is a lot of time spent learning also. Whether it be reading field guides to better your knowledge, time on Facebook in identification groups, or spending time with a more experienced person learning all you can so you can educate the customer and future customers on what snake they have in their residence and how to best cope living alongside them.
Behind the scenes, there are ongoing costs that most people never see: training and upskilling, vehicle purchase and maintenance, fuel, specialised equipment, insurance policies, licensing, advertising, reliable work gear ranging from boots all the way up to eyewear and hats. A snake catcher will spend countless hours and money fulfilling these critically important aspects of the job.
Like any legitimate business, there are also obligations such as sick leave, annual leave, bookwork, superannuation, and general business overheads. People may get upset at that $150+ call out fee, but when the call out takes an unexpected turn, a stay in hospital not only can be costly, it's also not paying your bills. Here in Australia, we are extremely lucky to be able to been seen free in a public hospital in an emergency, but other countries aren't that lucky. There's also those things that no one thinks about until it happens. Like rushing to a snake call, being caught in a freak storm and copping hail damage.
Images courtesy of Cory Kerewaro, owner of Reptile Relocation Sydney.
A freak storm hit whilst rushing between jobs.
Then there’s the nature of the work itself. Snake catchers are routinely called out late at night, extremely early in the morning, on weekends, on public holidays, and during peak seasonal periods when demand is high and workloads are intense. During summer and spring, a successful snake catcher cannot plan anything and generally has no life other than work, eat, sleep and repeat.
Add to that the many unpaid phone consultations—“What snake is this?”, “I saw one last week”, “Is this dangerous?”—and it becomes clear that someone is absorbing the cost of that time. That someone is the snake catcher. Some may be extremely quick calls or messages, but a lot of people have a deep rooted fear of snakes, and those phone calls can take a lot of time - the customer can range from calm to hysterical and not making sense - getting their address can be a 10 minute job alone while you trying to calm them down.
If you are operating as a professional business, your time has to be charged at a sustainable rate. Using the average hourly rate of a licensed trade —around $130 per hour (example being used on a fully licenced and qualified trade running their own business ) —multiplied over a 2.5-hour job, plus operational costs and a modest profit margin, the true cost becomes obvious. In that context, a $150 call-out fee is not excessive; it is, quite frankly, closer to charity than a viable business model. It’s also worth remembering that the overwhelming majority of people would not be willing to do this work at all, let alone do it at a financial loss.
There are few experiences quite like receiving a phone call at 2 a.m., leaving your home after next to no sleep, to respond to a potentially dangerous situation, and then being verbally abused for having the audacity to charge a fee for your service, despite making that abundantly clear on the phone. (I don't know a snake catcher this has NOT happened to!) There are quite a few services that charge after hours fees that people don't blink at. If anyone has ever had the unfortunate luck of having to take a pet to an after hours vet they understand the cost involved there. Why should snake catcher's be any different, especially as the job could be a dangerous one.
Admittedly we haven't offered snake catching as part of our services for quite some time now. It’s important to explain why we made the decision not to offer snake relocation services as part of our business. Our decision was based on the well-documented low survival rates of translocated snakes in Australia. After reading many papers on translocation of venomous snakes across the globe almost all have shown extremely high mortality rates. This mortality is due to disorientation, lacking the ability to find appropriate shelter sites and increasing the exposure to predators, and to other factors that result in the death of the snake such as road kills, and people killing them.
If you are in need of a snake catcher and have never needed one before, here is what to expect.
Ring the number of a reliable snake catcher. If you have a phobia, save their number under snake catcher in your phone, you will not remember their name if you are panicked.
They will ask you if you can see it, and if you know what it is, or are able to take a picture from a safe distance. Mobile phones have an extremely good camera these days, with a very good zoom. If you are not sure, take a photo zooming in from a good 8 meters away and send it to the snake catcher. Avoid taking a video the resolution is much poorer.
If it is a python or harmless species, most catchers will try to talk you into leaving it there. Snakes will move on, Before they go however, they will hunt and eat any vermin in your yard. So really, they are doing you a favour. It has been proven that snakes don't fare well after removal. If it's not a venomous snake and you have no worries about small children or animals, the snake will have a much better chance of survival if you just let them go about their business as nature intended. They are more scared of you than you are of them.
If you are adamant you would like it moved on, they will ask for your address and then they will ask you to keep an eye on it from a safe distance. This means the removal is much quicker, and you will have the snake gone much sooner than the catcher having to go through your house, yard or place of business. Some charge a flat fee, some charge by the hour if it takes a very long time. The charge is a call out fee usually. This means if you change your mind after calling them its a bit too late, it's a call out fee. A decent snake catcher will offer you at least a weeks grace if the snake was not found. Meaning if you see the exact same snake within that week they will come back free of charge and remove it as you have paid the call out fee. It is the responsibility of both parties to ensure you understand what you are getting for your fee.
A lot of snake catchers do this as a living. If you were happy with their service, take their cards, hand them to your neighbours, family etc. Whilst they might be busy over summer and spring, they can get exceedingly quiet (and broke) over the colder months.
Lastly be fair! Only call one catcher to attend a job, by all means shop around but remember cheap does not mean good and not all snake catchers are equal. If you insist on getting two catchers to attend the same job - be willing to pay them both as its not a competition- you engaged them to attend it is not unreasonable to expect payment in full for the service you requested.
* The perceived risk of disease in exotic reptiles in Australia is often over-estimated as many species of illegal exotic reptile species are kept on the black market. It is likely that 99% of exotic reptiles caught by snake catchers were actually born in Australia either in the wild or escapees from illegal, unlicenced facilities.
We would like to thank Cory Kerewaro and Mani Walsh, two snake catchers who provided us with photos for this blog.
Cory owns Reptile Relocation Sydney. He is a professional snake catcher, licensed by NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service. Cory offers a fast, safe, & reliable 24/7 service
Cory can be reached on 0455 570 000.
Mani is a fauna spotter and owns Scaly Tails Reptile Relocation. Not only does he offer professional snake catching as part of his services he is a rehabber and cares for injured animals. Mani can be reached on 0474 042 691.
For further reading on husbandry and ecology on Australasian Elapids invest in the book Australasian Elapids. https://www.wildlifedemonstrations.com/product-page/australasian-elapids-husbandry-captive-care-and-ecology
For all your identification and field needs with Australian snakes, invest in A Field Guide to the Snakes of Australia
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