It’s that time of year where the weather is warming up and snakes start to come out looking for love. 

Not everyone is a fan of snakes, and that's okay, but these often-misunderstood animals do play an essential role in the health and balance of our ecosystems. Serving as both predator and prey, snakes are a vital part of the food chain and help significantly to control pests like rats and mice. Some research even suggests that snakes play a key role in seed dispersal.

So, if you’re heading outdoors, it’s important to know what to do if you encounter one and to learn a little more about these important slithery creatures.

Snake safety tips

• Please leave the snake alone. Most bites happen when people try to kill or capture them. Back slowly and gently away to a safe distance and let it move away.
• If bitten, call an ambulance on Triple Zero (000) immediately.
• Don't panic and don't move a bitten person or animal.
• Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage and splint.
• Don't wash, suck, cut or tourniquet the bite.
• Learn more from Health Direct.
  

How to deter snakes from making your backyard their home

• Keep lawns mowed and vegetation trimmed.
• Remove things snakes may shelter under such as piles of wood, old building materials or vegetation waste.
• Leave bush rock in the bush where it belongs and don’t bring it into your yard.
• Enclose chicken coups or other small animal hutches with fine mesh.
• Keep water features away from your home as snakes are attracted to water.
  

If you find a snake in your yard or home and would like it relocated, please call either:

• Sydney Wildlife Rescue on 9413 4300 (24/7)
• NSW WIRES on 1300 094 737