By Alesha Capone
Prepare for snake season.
Stewy the Snake Catcher has warned residents of the west that snake season has started, with several slithering reptiles already spotted in suburbs including Wyndham Vale, Point Cook, Williamstown and Altona.
The Wyndham-based snake expert, whose ‘real’ name is Stewart Gatt, said although snake season officially began on September 1, he and his team had already received several call-outs from the western suburbs.
Mr Gatt said that during August, he received four calls about snakes in Wyndham Vale; three each from Point Cook and Williamstown and two calls from Altona.
He’d also had calls from areas including Laverton North, Keilor East, Kings Park and Bacchus Marsh.
Mr Gatt said tiger snakes were the most common breed of snake found in the west.
“Second would be the eastern brown snakes, followed by the little whip snakes, white-lipped snakes and very rarely red bellied black snakes and copperheads,” he said.
“If you see a snake, make yourself safe, remove any pets and children from the immediate area and call a snake catcher –follow any instructions they give you until they arrive and you will be safe.”
He said to help prevent snakes from accessing properties, yards should be kept clean, grass short and garden beds clean of low-lying coverage.
“Debris should be removed from next to your house, if a snake has nowhere to hide, then it won’t feel safe on your property and less likely to hang around,” Mr Gatt said.
“If you have any gaps or holes in your boundary fences, block them up so that snakes can’t enter your property, and on really warm days, don’t leave your doors open, as snakes will enter looking for a nice place to cool down.”
Under an arrangement with Wyndham council, another snake handler covers call-outs for snake removals in Truganina and Tarneit.
Visit facebook.com/Stewysnakecatcher for details.
