In summer, snakes, including venomous species such as tiger snakes and brown snakes, are typically more active very early in the morning, late in the evening, or during the night when temperatures are not too high for them.
Snakes are most active at night and during early morning and late evening hours, the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension says. One of the most common species of snakes isn't venomous at all.
Snakes like to warm their bodies in the sunshine. Hiking in the evening or early in the morning helps you avoid their favorite part of the day.
Snakes are at their most active when it's cool out. They move around most in the early morning and around dusk. Snakes hunt in tall grass, weeds, and other sources of vegetation. Around your home, they'll seek out shady or dark places where they can rest and cool down.
The brumation period can last anywhere from one to eight months, depending on a variety of factors such as air temperature, reptile size, age, and health. In Australia, snake season typically runs from September/October to April, depending on region or state.
South Australia
Sand dunes are common breeding grounds for snakes of this region. Most of the venomous tend to be in this area. This is because it receives large amounts of sun but at the same time allows for enough cover for protection.
Some snakes such as eastern brown snakes are active during the day, others prefer to hunt in the evening, while some species are more active at night during the hotter months.
There are many scents snakes don't like including smoke, cinnamon, cloves, onions, garlic, and lime. You can use oils or sprays containing these fragrances or grow plants featuring these scents.
Do Snakes Sleep In The Same Place? In the wild, snakes choose different locations to sleep and rarely ever stay in a place for long, as doing so would make them easy targets for predators. As you probably know, several animals prey on snakes, and like other animals in the wild, snakes have to actively avoid predators.
Most people don't realize snakes don't have ears which makes them deaf. It doesn't matter what kind of noise you make to scare the snake away, it won't hear you either way. It is actually the vibration of the noise that frightens the snake. There are many different ways to scare snakes into slithering away.
Research has shown that cinnamon oil, clove oil, and eugenol are effective snake repellents. Snakes will retreat when sprayed directly with these oils and will exit cargo or other confined spaces when these oils are introduced to the area.
Food and water sources attract snakes and their prey – mice, rats, and insects. Keep pet food inside. Feed pets indoors to deter rodents and snakes from gathering outdoors around an easy food source.
Snakes cannot thrive when temperatures drop below 65 degrees Fahrenheit. With the weather still ideal and an abundance of rain from late summer storms and hurricanes, fall is prime time for snakes to be active. Falling leaves in the fall also provide ideal camouflage for snakes.
Do Dogs Keep Snakes Away? Yes, big dogs especially can be a deterrent to snakes. They bark loudly and are much larger than snakes, so they will typically choose to stay away.
In addition to hiding in tall grass, snakes will hide in yard debris. Tall grasses and shrubs are two ideal hiding spots for these reptiles. They also tend to hide away in storage sheds, piles of wood, or in fallen branches and limbs.
"A snake may burrow into bedding to seek warmth. If you have a vent under or near your bed, snakes will likely hide there for warmth and to feel safe." And since snakes are such skilled hiders, the first sign that one is cozying up under your bed may come from your ears tipping you off that they're hiding out.
Dogs can smell many things. Their sense of smell is so finely tuned that they can smell termites underground, rats hiding in tunnels, and snakes slithering in the bushes.
Snakes can 'see' in the dark thanks to protein channels that are activated by heat from the bodies of their prey. Vipers, pythons and boas have holes on their faces called pit organs, which contain a membrane that can detect infrared radiation from warm bodies up to one metre away.
A sleeping snake will stay in one position for hours — though this is also the posture a snake can assume while hunting. Or you might notice that the constantly flicking snake tongue isn't engaged in its usual activity, or that they don't react when you open the top of their cage or otherwise move around the area.
Ammonia is a common snake repellent. Snakes hate the smell of ammonia and won't come near it. Soak rags in ammonia and place them in unsealed plastic bags. Leave the bags where you usually see snakes to keep them away.
Use Natural Predators
Snakes have a few natural predators that can help keep them away. Common snake predators include cats, raccoons, pigs, turkeys, guinea hens, and foxes. Keeping any of these animals around your home will help deter snakes from coming near.
Actually, a whole bunch of different animal species kill snakes, including a ton of birds - owls, hawks, falcons, herons, etc. And many, many snake species eat only other snakes. So mostly, birds and other snakes are the most common predators of snakes. But plenty of mammals get in on the action too.
Do snakes come out in the fall? Snake activity picks up as temperatures fall in late summer and early autumn before they go into hibernation, which can be as early as September or as late as December.
Snakes can be found all over Australia, not only in the Outback. However, you will hardly see them. On all my trips I only saw a few snakes and I nearly stepped on one when I was walking along the Eyre Highway, see the picture above (at least I thought it was a snake at that time). But this won't happen every day.
In the United States, snake season extends through most of the spring. March or April often constitutes the beginning, but snakes will often continue to be active well into the fall or even winter if conditions are right for hunting.