It would be fair to say that snake numbers have been on the rise over the past 3-4 years. The absence of drought conditions and abundance of food - mice in particular have been in plague proportions - you might say snakes have never had it better! Many SSSAFE clients throughout the Hunter and Sydney's west report daily sightings of mainly brown snakes and red bellied blacks. And it is not only snakes we are seeing, only a few weeks back a contractor was bitten on the neck by a funnel web spider as he brushed past a paper bark tree while whipper snipping! Another man received a serious bite in the blue mountains not long after. Safety staff who engage SSSAFE can feel confident that staff will leave the training armed with the knowledge to correctly deal with a snake or spider bite. Article below indicates that the Southern States are also hotting up - recording a number of recent snake bites...
Snake bite prompts warning from paramedics
Matt Murnane, THE AGE October 28, 2011
A 29-year-old man is being treated after being bitten by a snake, Victoria's second snake bite victim in three days.
Paramedics were called to a surgery in Healesville at 12.15pm today after the man was bitten by an unidentified snake on the leg.
He was then airlifted to Northern Hospital where he remains in a stable condition.
"The man was bitten by a snake on the leg and he suffered considerable swelling and pain as a result," an Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said.
"Thankfully though, he's a stable condition."
The bite follows a similar incident in Rosebud on Wednesday, when a 27-year-old man was bitten by a brown snake as he was walking through a scrubby area near the beach.
He was taken to Frankston Hospital in a stable condition.
Ambulance Victoria has called for people to watch out for snakes as the weather gets warmer heading into summer.
"Now that we are heading into warmer months and snakes are more active, it's important to be aware of what's around you and have some basic first-aid knowledge," the spokesperson said.