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Snake catcher's ingenious Facetime trick to land deadly eastern brown

A Queensland snake catcher has employed a clever and time-saving trick to catch a deadly snake burrowed underground.

Ipswich-based Andrew Smedley, who runs Andrew's SNAKE Removal, was called to a property in Plainland, after residents saw an eastern brown snake poking its head out near their pool.

Mr Smedley says it's common for just the snake's head to be poking out of the ground on his callouts, meaning he's forced to play a waiting game to get it.

"It's a waiting game until he comes back out which can be any time as they dictate how that works," he told Yahoo News Australia.

When a snake is burrowed in some kind of hole, the snake catcher will have to wait in a spot where they can see the snake, but if the snake spots you, they will wait until it's safe to come out.

Pictured is the eastern brown snake after Andrew caught it.
An Eastern Brown snake was hiding in a hole near a pool in Queensland's Lockyer Valley Region. Source: Facebook/Andrew's SNAKE Removal

So Mr Smedley decided to get crafty with his latest catch.

Using FaceTime, he set up one phone at the spot where the snake was and walked away, out of sight, and watched the snake poke its head in and out of the hole from another phone.

"I was actually talking to him on the phone, snakes are deaf so they can't hear you say so you can make as much noise as you like," Mr Smedley laughed.

"I was telling him to move his ass and hurry up!"

The FaceTime trick ended up proving successful, and after about quarter of an hour, the snake came out of the hole and slithered around to where Mr Smedley was hiding.

"Couldn't have worked better," he said, adding it was the first time he had used this trick, though he plans on doing it again.

"If we can do that more often that just increases the chances a lot more of getting a result and catching it because the minute something scares it, they dart back down the hole and stay there for hours," he said.

Pictured is snake catcher Andrew on facetime with the snake
Snake catcher Andrew from Andrew's SNAKE Removal caught the snake by setting up a video call. Source: Facebook/Andrew's SNAKE Removal

Eastern brown snakes 'not as bad' as you think

The snake Mr Smedley caught was an eastern brown, which he said are extremely common in southeast Queensland and account for at least 80 per cent of his calls.

Though eastern browns are extremely venomous, Mr Smedley says people often have an "over the top" reaction to them.

He says they are harmless, so long as they are not provoked or harassed.

"You give him a wide berth, they honestly move anyway," he said.

"A lot of people will think they will be chased, well, I've been doing this all this all my life — why haven't I been chased?"

Eastern brown snakes are venomous, but Andrew says they will generally leave people alone. Source: Getty Images, file
Eastern brown snakes are venomous, but Mr Smedley says they will generally leave people alone. Source: Getty Images, file

Mr Smedley said we should be embracing what is in our backyard here in Australia and educate ourselves about our wildlife, including snakes.

"They're (eastern brown snakes) just not as bad as they're made out to be," he added.

Previously, Ranger Jackie, from Hands on Wildlife told Yahoo snakes are often misunderstood and insisted they are "actually quite amazing animals".

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