Illawarra Snake Catcher Glen Peacock reveals snake super highways

It's snake season and right now some of the most deadly snakes in Australia are being caught in streets near you.

"It's busy right now," Illawarra Snake Catcher owner Glen Peacock said.

Read more: Hand-painted Bluey rocks spark Wollongong search frenzy

Like many animals, snakes have a preference for where they like to hang out, and bushy areas near a water source are prime territory.

"Anywhere that's got a creek nearby, anywhere close to the escarpment, they follow the creeks," Mr Peacock said.

"Red bellies [black snakes] turn up anywhere, even in Wollongong train station. Train lines are like a snake highway."

Vegetation is often overgrown near train tracks and with little disturbance, other than passing trains, snakes often use these corridors to travel around the region, Mr Peacock said.

The ideal day for a snake is warm sunny weather, around 24 or 25 degrees is perfect. Anything hotter than 30 and snakes tend to hide away during the heat of the day.

Read more: Monster diamond python found on Mt Kembla doorstep

Illawarra is home to a wide range of snakes and in recent weeks, Mr Peacock has been called to remove red-bellied black snakes, eastern browns, eastern small-eyed and golden-crowned.

Non-venomous diamond pythons - which can grown up to three metres long - are also very common in the Illawarra.

"Along the escarpment you'll get a lot of them, they get into people's [bird] aviaries and into people's roofs. I've found clutches of python eggs in roofs," Mr Peacock said.

While tiger snakes are uncommon in the Illawarra, Mr Peacock has been called to five of these in the past two weeks.

"I usually only get two or three during the season," he said.

After seven years of working as a local snake catcher, Mr Peacock said there's not too many snake situations that leave him rattled, but he's more careful with some species that others.

"If you get bitten by a red belly you'll get sick and go to hospital, but if you get bitten by a tiger or an eastern brown, you've got a much higher chance of dying," he said.

Snake season runs from early spring until winter.

If you see a snake move your pets and children. Take a photo from a distance, but only if it's safe to do so, the photo will help a snake catcher to identify it.

Then, don't touch it or try to kill it.

"Snakes are protected species and 90 per cent of snake bites in Australia are when people are trying to catch or kill it," Mr Peacock said.

Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.