Snake catcher issues confronting bin warning: 'Never thought about this'

A Victorian snake catcher has issued a helpful household warning which could help prevent an unwanted close encounter.

With the help of his plastic snake friend Barbi, Gianni Hodgson from Hodgson’s Snake – Rescue and Removal – Snake Catcher, posted a Facebook reel with a simple message to Aussies when it comes to storing your wheelie bin – wheels out.

How to avoid coming into contact with a snake under the bin

That way, he said, it’s easier to grab the handles to move your red, yellow or green-topped bins and should a slithery visitor be hiding underneath, the resident would not be in any danger of potentially provoking or stepping on it because the bin would be between the person and the snake.

In the video he said a lot of people store their bins with their handles against a wall and then when they push the bin away from the wall there's nothing between them and the snake.

Hodgson, who appeared in the short video demonstration, told Yahoo News Australia it wasn’t unusual for snakes to hide under wheelie bins to keep cool on hot days.

“It’s pretty regular, also gas bottles are quite a good hiding spot,” he said.

Why snakes hide in LPG canisters

He said the company serviced a large rural area in country Victoria where properties weren’t connected to gas and instead used LPG canisters which were great places for snakes to cool down on hot days.

“They’ve got a band and about four holes at the bottom so a snake can slide under them very easily,” Hodgson told Yahoo. “It’s compressed air so they’re generally quite cold.

“I’ve never known anyone to be bitten, it’s generally people stepping on (a snake) — no one has been bitten. This is what customers are telling us.”

He said an average day for a snake catcher could vary from one or two calls outs to six or seven, while it often depends on the temperature and the time of year.

On really hot days, snakes often find cool places to hide during the day and could be spotted at dusk, or have made their way into people’s homes through open doors or windows, Hodgson added.

• Snake catcher's dire warning as dangerous snake found in home: 'Don't do this'

• Venomous snake’s ‘clumsy’ manoeuvre cracks up Aussies: ‘Had a big one’

• 'Risky' detail exposed in footage of girl rescuing pet from snake

Warning after man stops a snake with saucepan lid

Last month, a Brisbane man got the shock of his life when he spotted a deadly eastern brown snake slithering across his kitchen floor while unpacking boxes, having just moved into the property.

Grabbing the first thing he could find, the man managed to place a large saucepan lid over the baby snake before immediately calling for help.

While Brandon ‘Giffo’ Gifford, from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers was impressed with the Queenslander's quick reflexes, he urged residents not to approach snakes and to always call for help rather than take matters into you own hands.

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