If you live on acreage, the question is not whether you'll see a snake this season. It's whether, if you're bitten, you'd be able to respond in the first ten minutes.
You don't need convincing that snakes are around. If you're on a property, you've seen them: in the wood pile, along the irrigation lines, under the water tank, sun-baking on the track at 4pm. One of our customers wrote to us after she scooped an eastern small-eyed snake into the back of her car with an armload of firewood, twice, without knowing it was there. That's what living in snake country is. Mostly uneventful, occasionally a close call or worse.
This guide covers where the risk actually sits on a property, when it peaks, and what to keep where, so that if the day comes, the first ten minutes go well.
When the risk peaks
Snake season in most of Australia runs from September through February. Snakes become active as the weather warms, and early season is when encounters spike. But "season" is a guide, not a rule. On warm winter days snakes move too, so the setup below is a year-round setup.
The risk zones on your property
Think like a snake: cover, water, food. That means the wood pile, sheet iron and building materials on the ground, rock walls, long grass along fence lines, around dams, troughs, tanks and irrigation, in and under sheds, and anywhere mice are, which means feed sheds and chook pens. Aviaries and bird cages draw them too. Keeping grass down around the house yard, storing materials off the ground and controlling mice is the real snake control on a property.
Most bites don't happen to people who never saw the snake. They happen during interaction: moving the wood pile, clearing the shed, working the irrigation, or trying to kill or relocate the snake. Leave it alone, keep pets and kids clear, and if it needs moving, call a licensed snake catcher.
What to keep where
The distances on a property are important to consider. The house kit does nothing for you at the back dam.
Near the door: a full first aid kit and a snake bite kit where everyone knows to find them. Not in the back of a cupboard.
In every vehicle: the ute and the tractor. A bite while fencing three paddocks out is a vehicle-kit scenario, not a house-kit scenario. Our customers routinely buy one per vehicle for exactly this reason: "The snake bite kit is now in both vehicles", as one of our reviewers, Jennifer, put it.
On you, when you're working away from the vehicle: slashing, fencing, walking the lines. A small kit with pressure bandages (or the pressure bandages at a minimum) beats the best kit that's 400 metres away.
If someone is bitten: what ANZCOR says
The Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation (ANZCOR) sets the national first aid guidelines. For Australian snake bites, follow these steps:
- Ensure safety. Make sure the snake has moved away before approaching the person.
- Stop and stay still. Reassure the person, keep them calm and still, and call 000 for an ambulance. Movement can help venom spread through the lymphatic system.
- Apply a pressure bandage. Starting at the fingers or toes of the bitten limb, firmly bandage upwards, covering the entire limb and the bite site. Apply the bandage over clothing if this is quicker. The bandage should be firm, but not so tight that circulation is unnecessarily restricted.
- Splint the limb. Immobilise the bitten limb, including the joints on either side of the bite, and keep the person completely still until medical help arrives.
Do not:
Wash the bite site.
Cut or suck the bite.
Apply a tourniquet.
Attempt to catch or kill the snake.
Keep the person at rest and follow the emergency operator’s instructions until help arrives.
ANZCOR's guideline recommends elasticised bandages 10 to 15 cm wide over ordinary crepe, because crepe struggles to hold the right pressure. Getting the pressure right is the hard part, which is why our SMART Bandage prints indicators on the bandage itself: stretch until the rectangles become squares and you're at optimal pressure. It takes the guesswork out of it.
Call 000 first, always. Every suspected snake bite needs hospital assessment, even if the person feels fine; symptoms can be delayed. What you manage on site is everything before the ambulance arrives: the immobilisation, the bandage, the splint. Effective first aid is critical, and with the right kit in the right spot, it's a job anyone on your property can do.
The SURVIVAL Snake Bite KIT was developed in conjunction with medical and snake experts and is used across rural Australia. Trusted by over 100,000 Australians, backed by 13,000+ five-star reviews and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
More on snake bite first aid: what's actually in a proper snake bite kit, the evidence on pressure bandages, what to do for kids and pets, and why there's no suction pump in our kit.
Frequently asked questions
When is snake season in Australia? Roughly September to February, peaking as warm weather arrives, though snakes can be active on warm days year round.
Where do snakes hide on a property? Wood piles, ground-stored materials, long grass on fence lines, around water points, in sheds, and anywhere mice are.
What do I do if someone is bitten? Call 000, keep them completely still, apply a firm pressure bandage from the fingers or toes upward covering the entire limb, splint the limb, and wait for help. Never wash, cut or suck the bite, and never apply a tourniquet.
Sources
Australian Resuscitation Council / ANZCOR Guidelines 9.4.1 (First Aid Management of Australian Snake Bite) and 9.4.8 (Pressure Immobilisation Technique). Customer quotes: verified Okendo reviews and customer correspondence, anonymised.