Despite claims by Melbourne snake-catcher Raymond Hoser that a bumper snake season lies ahead across the country, NSW Mid North Coast-based snake-catcher Brenton Asquith isn't convinced that'll be the case.
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If anything, Mr Asquith of Taree, believes it may be quieter than usual, depending on how big an impact last year's bushfires have had on a region's snake population.
"It'll be interesting to see how active it is this year because last year with the bushfires was so bad," he said.
"What happened last year may have caused damage that'll take four, five, even 10 years to recover."
Last week Mr Hoser was quoted as saying that with more people at home because of the coronavirus, and their lawns and gardens likely to be better maintained as a result, "we've got a perfect storm where people will see more snakes".
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Mr Asquith says while there's some truth in Mr Hoser's claims, environmental factors will still have the biggest influence on how many snakes are around.
"Early on in the corona lockdown period we did see an increase in sightings because people were at home, but I don't think it's going to be as bad as people think," he said.
"I'm not convinced we'll have mass amounts of snakes because with the drought and the bushfires and then the flood later on, we just haven't had any chance of an increase."
Mr Asquith said he had expected to be called out to a lot of snakes during the bushfires last year, but it wasn't the case.
"I don't know if that was because they'd left before the fires came through or if they were killed in the fires," he said.
Currently Mr Asquith is being called out to around one to two snakes a week, but he expects that will pick up over the next month as the breeding season comes on.
However, he says there's no truth to the claims that snakes are more aggressive or venomous at these times.
"Snakes through breeding season aren't like people portray them; they don't become aggressive or protective - their minds are on one thing," Mr Asquith said.
"There's no time when their venom is more potent."
Still, with a bushwalker being airlifted from Seal Rocks over the weekend after being bitten by a death adder, Mr Asquith said it was important people took appropriate precautions.
"When you're bushwalking you should be wearing leather boots and long pants and carry a snake bite kit," he said.
"If you see a snake, keep as still as possible. If you need to move, move very, very slowly."
