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More than 100 red-bellied black snakes found in Sydney backyard (www.bbc.com)

submitted 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) by otter to c/offbeat

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Key details

When his colleague arrived, he discovered 40 red-bellied black snakes - four of which gave birth to more live young once he had placed them in a removal bag.

Red-bellied black snakes are one of the most common venomous species in Australia but have not caused any human deaths on record.

The five adult and 97 baby snakes are currently under quarantine and will be released into a national park once the weather cools.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Key details missed out one big one - were they being kept by the person (illegally, I would assume?), or did they just really fancy their back garden, infest it, and were a complete surprise to the human residents?

[–] otter 6 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

Found another article with more info

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/06/totally-amazing-102-red-bellied-black-snakes-found-in-sydney-garden

A Sydney man has said he was “totally amazed” when snake catchers removed a bumper haul of 102 venomous snakes from a single spot in his backyard.

David Stein called in snake relocators after seeing what he estimated were six red-bellied black snakes on a large mulch pile on his property in the western Sydney suburb of Horsley Park on Friday.

After Stein’s dog was bitten by a juvenile red-bellied black in December, he said it was a “relief” the snakes were no longer making his yard their home, but also happy “they’ll be released into the wild in a safe environment and preserved”.

As for why they were all in his yard:

He said it was common for female red-bellies to share birthing sites, “but actually being there and the babies being born, I haven’t seen anything like that. It’s a highlight”.

Bonus:

He said the final tally would climb from 102 because one female was yet to give birth.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Thanks!

I wonder if they'll be able to stop it from happening again, sounds like the sneks found a spot they really like lol

Feel bad for poor doggo though..

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 hours ago

I've never seen the red bellied blacksnake in OP but I have battled copperheads and rattle snakes on our property.

There's a number of things that can repel snakes in the short term. I find pretty good success with packets of strong smelling stuff like clove oil and peppermint oil.

Long term, we have to co-exist with nature, so I try to make it generally less hospitable in areas where there is more likely to be kids or pets playing. I reduce clutter and remove debris from the areas I trim, etc.

I also teach my kids not to reach into anything with their hand if they can't see what is there. Iirc, the most deadly snake bites are in a hand or wrist. Dont be dumb. Look before you reach in. Or better yet, use a stick instead.

Learn how to survive a snake bite. Treatment time matters a lot, here. If in the field, I would use a sharpie to circle the bite location and write the time. Or take a picture. Remove clothing that could constrict the limb when it swells, even if you have to cut it off. Elevate the limb and get to a hospital immediately.

https://wildsafe.org/resources/ask-the-experts/venomous-snakebites/