SNAKES have killed three dogs and put an elderly Cranbourne resident in hospital during a series of attacks in Cranbourne.
A tiger snake latched onto Barbara McDougall’s leg when she went to put her bin out on Wednesday 13 January.
“I knew they’d be around but it still gave me the fright of my life,” the Dalray Court resident told Star News.
“It didn’t just bite and go.
“As I moved the bin out it jumped at me and I didn’t want to touch it.
“I tried to shake it off but it wouldn’t let go.”
After what “seemed like a long time” the snake let go and Ms McDougall was taken to her GP before being rushed to Dandenong Hospital by a neighbour who heard her calls for help.
Ms McDougall has fully recovered from the bite but said her entire court of eight houses is on high alert.
“I have lived here 39 years and I’ve seen a few snakes in that time but never heard of anything like this,” she said of the series of attacks.
Dalray Court, which backs onto bushland adjacent to Cranbourne racecourse, is also near the Cranbourne Royal Botanic Gardens.
And neighbour Shane Burton, who lost his Jack Russel to a tiger snake in December, said he’d like to see the bush land cleaned up to prevent more dogs from being killed.
“I think the snakes are looking for water but the botanic gardens is going to become a real problem in a few years’ time because there’s a lot of snakes breeding in there,” he said.
Mr Burton has warned his neighbours to watch where they’re walking and to tidy up their yards.
“Over nine years we’ve had four snakes at our home – it seemed to be a lot this time,” he said.
Mr Burton’s dog Zeppi died from a snake bite within six hours, putting a dampener on Christmas and scaring his two other dogs.
“I have made some changes to the backyard to prevent snakes getting in but my dogs now wait for me to go outside. Before they used to be out there all the time,” Mr Burton said.
Another Jack Russel and Staffordshire bull terrier recently died from snake bites in the court but Snake Catchers Victoria’s Barry Goldsmith insists that there is “no snake plague” in Cranbourne.
Even though his phone has been running hot with calls to remove snakes, Mr Goldsmith said: “I know for a fact it’s not a snake plague, it’s just more people coming into contact with snakes.”
“There are fewer snakes now than there ever was, but they have fewer places to live.”
“Over this snake season I’ve removed 70 snakes from people’s properties in the south-east, which is not unusual,” he said.
Since the attack Mr Goldsmith visited Ms McDougall to advise her on possible snake hideouts to help prevent another attack.
“If Barbara had have been wearing pants it wouldn’t have happened.”
“In Barbara’s case she accidentally dropped the bin on top of the snake and startled it, and the snake reacted in self-defence.
“Venom is used by snakes on prey not for self-defence,” he added.
Mr Goldsmith advises anyone who is confronted by a snake to slowing step away to avoid being bitten.
