Cape Town - This snake season is living up to its name for some residents in Strandfontein as various snakes have been spotted in properties in the area.
Residents said they have spotted a couple of snakes since December, one identified as a mole snake, and a skin of a cobra and its fresh poo was also found on January 17, with no success in catching the two as yet.
"I was outside when I saw a black snake slithering through our passage I alerted my wife, and called my neighbour to say, ‘look, be careful there's a snake in your yard’. I stood there to make sure it didn't come back, as my wife put the dogs away and enclosed every possible entry," said Brandon Heunis, a resident.
"We then went to look, and in two to three minutes, it was gone. But then a skin of a cobra and a fresh poo was found by the neighbour's pool pump.
“That was scary, but we couldn't call for help as we had no idea where the two snakes disappeared to," he said.
Three days later a mole snake was found curled up between the garage two doors away from Heunis’ house, and not the yard it was seen slithering into.
Heunis added that as much as snakes were common around this time in the year, the possibility of having them in your property was scary.
“We can't even let the kids out or open doors and windows. And not much information is available to know what to look out for or how to handle the situation. We're just on a 24-hour alert mode, searching everywhere in the house before we go to bed or when we get back home," he said.
A neighbour, Candice Thompson said she called a snake catcher for assistance after spotting a snake on her property.
"We saw it in the garage and immediately called a snake catcher. Unfortunately it wasnt found as we lost sight of it while waiting for the guy to arrive. The thing is, my garage is full and we have a fridge and a freezer in the patio so it could have hidden anywhere there, but the snake catcher didn't want to scratch for it. He only told us to call him if we saw it again and that the snake was more scared of us that we're of it. What a disappointment, as I had paid R200 for help. I have children, dogs and a cat to worry about and none of us is clued up about snakes,” she said.
Juanita Eitkenhead, snake handler from Pet Health Care, confirmed that the boomslang, puff adder, and the mole snake are common in Cape Town, but warned that there are many non-venomous snakes that have similar markings and colours to venomous snakes.
"It is important to research the species of snake before attempting to handle it. Remain calm, snakes are more likely to flee if they feel threatened. Do not try to catch or kill the snake. This can be dangerous and may even be illegal in some areas.
"It is ideally best to keep an eye on the whereabouts of the snake to help the snake catcher to find it as soon as possible.They do not always charge a fee, it often depends on how far they need to drive to assist people and snakes. Donations are always welcome and often overlooked. I would recommend always giving your snake catcher a donation," Eitkenhead explained.
Nick Evans, a snake rescuer based in Durban said it was impossible to prevent snakes from accessing a property unless it was fully enclosed.
Regarding the snakes seen at these properties, Evans said it was near impossible to know if they were still around.
“Snakes don't move far very quickly, they hide, especially if they are at places they feel threatened,” he said.
He advised keeping your space "clean and tidy“ and to be careful around your plants, since snakes go there for shelter.
“All you can do is to be vigilant and call a snake catcher if you see one,“ he said.