f617e2fa858f776610b58c768181d5eb
Friday, 21 March 2025
Menu
Snake tips
1 min read

Snake catcher Ahsien Nelson says copperheads are generally shy and as long as they’re not prodded or provoked will leave people alone.

If you spot one, stay still, take a few steps back and walk around it, giving the snake a wide berth.

“They will do anything to stay away from you,” she advises.

If bitten, call Triple Zero (000), and avoid panicking to keep blood flow low. Apply a pressure bandage to the area and then bandage above the region and ideally splint with a stick.

Ahsien says there is no anti-venom for copperheads, but hospitals use red-bellied black or brown anti-venom and even then people who have been bitten require up to a year of rehabilitation “because it messes with your nervous system and thickens your blood, making you very ill”.

She says it’s virtually impossible to prevent snakes in a backyard, but to minimise the risk keep gardens clean, lawns mowed, with no wood piles or tubs of water “or anything to attract frogs”.

Read more: Snake season started early this year.