SNAKES and toddlers..... (and spiders)

[Proudofmy3Babies]

Hi...

We are not moving to a "remote" area as such but we are considering moving to a rural area on a small (or probably tiny compared to some of you) acearage closer to my husbands parents and because we cant afford it near where we are now....

And I LOVE the idea of my kids growing up in a rural area and being able to run and play safely in their own environment....HOWEVER at the moment they are only 2.5 and 16mths and I have another due in Dec and I am TERRIFIED of Snakes and Spiders....

I was hoping some of you could give me advice on how you let your kids play comfortably outside while not watching every single step they take incase there is a snake or spider lurking?? Ive heard if they get bitten by a brown snake they will die instantly??

The property we are looking at is heavily shrubbed and Im soo scared of the possibility of them being bitten.....

And advice on how to deal with snakes and toddlers and spiders would be greatly appreciated before we take this huge plunge into the unknown!!

Thanks.....

[trouble]

we live on acerage, it is more grazing no bush, but we have a fenced house yard, that I keep clean and tidy, I have 4 year old, 2 year old and 7 month old kids,

They cant get out of the house yard, it is really secure because Im more worried about my DD1s confidence in swimming and the many dams we have. But Im always outside with them,

But saying that, you wont see every step, so we have had the talk about if you see one, leave it alone, and tell mum or dad, and I alway bang and check there boots before they put it on, and to be honest, I havent seen any close to our house, only out in the hay shed.

[Proudofmy3Babies]

Thank You trouble....do you stress about it though?? We wouldnt have the money to fence around the house straight away..and the house that we are looking at is quite heavily shrubbed around the house?? Would this encourage them closer to the house?? And if they are in the house than what?? I know my DD is scared of snakes...but my DS would definately try to touch one if he saw it.......

[summerly]

I grew up on a farm and we were taught from a very early age not to walk in long grass, pick up stuff off the ground or stick our hands into holes, etc because you never know what might bite you. Even to be careful in winter because snakes are very sleepy and cranky and will still bite. We learnt to watch where we put our feet, before taking a step. And mum also showed us what to do if we saw a snake and how to treat a snake bite as well. And whenever we went out to play our dogs came along with us. They bark like crazy when there's a snake around. And my mum's current dog has saved her twice from stepping on tiger snakes in the past couple of years by letting her know there was one there, even going so far as to pull on her clothing to get her to step back.

But, having said that, when my brother was 18 months old we went to the zoo and were allowed to hold the pythons there. So a couple of weeks later at home on the farm, mum goes outside to see what the dog is going off at and finds my little brother standing there patting a sleepy dugite which is curled up in his arms. I can still remember how my mum screamed. but fortunately nothing happened and the snake went off into the grass by the side of the house. mum went grey very quickly after that. And she bulldozed and burnt all the surrounding grass and bush near the house and made my dad fence it better.

This is probably not what you want to hear with little ones. The only thing I can advise is teaching them, watching them, and maybe train your dog as well? Learn about the types of snakes and spiders in the area as well. At the old farm we had lots of redbacks, dugites and brown snakes, whereas at the new one there are heaps of tiger snakes. And tiger snakes are known to be territorial so shifting them out doesn't help because they just come back again. Good luck!

[Proudofmy3Babies]

Thank You Summerly...thats very informative...but still very scary for me lol....
What is a "dugite" are they deadly?? That terrifies me because I can see my son doing that...he loves all animals....

So as the mum...who is scared herself....what do you do when you see a snake? And Ive heard you tie tightly above the bite so it cant spread? But that wont help with a brown snake will it??

My Inlaws have a property only 30mins away from where we are looking and they have seen loads of Red Belly Black snakes and Green Tree snakes and their neighbours see Brown Snakes too??

Im not sooo sure out maltese and chiuawa x poodle will be good snake fighters?? lol I think they could choke a snake maybe...we are going to get another snake fighting dog so if you can suggest a good breed thats snake smart and child friendly??

My big problem is that at their Nan and Pops farm the kids LOVE going in and out the doors...and Im going to have a newborn...so apart from keylocking all of the doors I think they will still sneak outside at times...my two yr old although scared of snakes...she takes off at nan and pops with nothing but a pair of undies on and chases her poppy through their paddocks:( Scares the hell out of me!!

PS....they have seen more snakes in winter near their house than they did in summer!!

Brown snakes are the bad ones right?? With medical treatment..you can be treated from a red belly black snake bite right??

[summerly]

Ummm, I'm not a snake expert at all. And as far as I know a heap of snakes in australia are poisonous and will kill you without medical help. It just depends on how fast acting their venom is and how strong it is. Mind you, this potency of the venom is tested on mice, not humans so how it acts on a person is not really known.

First aid for snake bite.

Use the pressure immobilisation technique for a bite on a limb.

-apply firm pressure over the bite site

-apply broad bandage to keep pressure on bite site.

-immobilise limb

(for bites on the head or trunk do not use this technique but keep the patient still and get medical aid asap)

Monitor the airways, breathing and circulation of the patient. Be ready to give Expired Air Resuscitation (mouth to mouth)or CPR.
Keep the patient very still and reassure.
Start transport to the nearest medical centre or call and meet an ambulance.
Do not cut the bite
Do not suck the bite.

Do not wash the bite.

Do not apply a tourniquet.

I would recommend going and doing a level 2 first aid course anyway, because they keep changing the recommended treatment for bites.

and most snake bites are on the legs and feet so get some long gum boots for your kids.

have a look at the outback australia website. it has some interesting info on it. And try not to stress, more people die each year from bee sting than snake bite.

[Hootenanny]

Just a couple of things for you to consider, I think all parents should do a first aid course and have a first aid kit handy in case of an emergency. It would be better to have a cleared area as most snakes prefer covered area unless they are sunbaking. Green Tree Snakes are not poisonous or agressive, red belly blacks are poisonous but not agressive and are a natural enemy to brown snakes (which are venomous and very agressive). So if you see a red bellied black don't panic, don't kill it just walk away it is most likely keeping the brown snakes away:D.

Keeping property free of rats and mice might help.

You could also start teaching your children to walk away if they see a snake but the youngest probably won't get it yet.

We had a red belly black in the yard once and my older child ( 11 at the time) just hopped up and walked away from it, I'm cautious with my three year old but I don't stress about it.

[Proudofmy3Babies]

Thanks Summerly and Luvmyboys....

I will do a first aid course...

Im not sure either of mine would just walk away...Mackenzie is Miss Drama and would cover her nose (as she does with every animal she is scared of because she was stung by a wasp on her nose) and scream until someone went and got rid of the animal...

I heard that too that if you have Red Belly Blacks than you wont have a problem with brown snakes...but a developer that was trying to sell us acearage told us that was a myth?

Any recommendations on what type of dog to get?? Id love a staffy but my not be a good snake warner??

[Babycakes1]

Find out where your nearest nursing post/hospital is and ask about anti venom. The NP where I live does not carry any as it is quite expensive and expires in three months of being made. Our nearest centre for snake bite treatment is 116km away.

One of our dogs got killed two years ago. I couldn't tell you what type of snake it was. DH wouldn't let me see it and the dogs had ripped it in half. Poor Bella grabbed the head end and had two bites on her mouth. She weight 35kg and was gone in 2 hours. Even if there was a vet close by she would have suffered major organ damage and may have had to have been put to sleep anyway.

Sorry to sound like the voice of complete doom and gloom but it is something I always think about now that we are ttcing here. We kept our yard really clean and cut our grass religiously. Only thing I can think to recommend is don't take your eyes off them and really drill it in to them just how dangerous they are. And mice are a huge problem. Snakes love them so if you see any around get baiting or get a cat.

Good luck. x

[FionaV]

This is an old thread, but I'm going to add my two cents anyway. We live on a property in the western Riverina of New South Wales, and know for sure we have brown snakes and king browns on the property.

I've had four children here (ages 4 to 22) and have never had a child anywhere near being bitten. However, we do have rules.

1. You do not ever go out of the house barefoot or in sandals/thongs.
2. You do not go out of the house yard (ie, to the sheds or into the fields) without boots and jeans or work pants. Boys and girls.
3. Don't pick up things you can't see clearly, put your hands into holes or anything like that.
4. Grass around the house is always to be mowed short. I don't care what else you have to do, the grass Will Be Mown.

We have our moments (I had a recent thread in Discipline about 4 year old refusing to wear boots because he "can see the snakes coming a move"), but generally it's worked for us. Honestly, even though we know they are there, we don't often see them. While a brown will fight back, they almost never attack unprovoked. They avoid people.

And, if my choices are living in the city with no snakes, and living in the bush and dealing with snakes, I'll take the bush every time!

[ArnieBoy]

We are smack bang in the middle of snake infestation!!!

Last year we sighted MANY snakes and unfortunatly we have bush near the house so we have to live with the snakes rather then try and move them out.

I had a lovely old 6 foot gwadar (sp) visit me a few times last year, often when I was bare footed and about to step on him (I've got a photo of him too!!!).

Basically because we are so infested with snakes I will watch my kids every move the entire time they are outside. They are NOT aloud near any bushes or long grass and must stay close by me. I'd rather they play on the drive way (we're on a farm so its not really a drive way but its a large open dirt area).

THREE times last year we had snakes come within CENTREMENTERS (sp! lol) of us after we had been in that one spot for more then an hour making alot of noise on the ground (hammering, moving around on the spot etc) so this is the exact reason why I stay by my kids because I've learnt that snakes out here won't avoid you even if you've been there for a long time. They don't want conflict but they will go on straight past you and often just come out of nowhere!!!

[Countrydeb]

I .too. live in fear of snakes,spiders and other bitees.....My boys love going thru a little patch of bush we have here and i stress big time,mainly in summer....I have just told them not to move rocks,don't put hands down holes,and move away and come and get me if a snake is seen....Some summers seem worse than others, not my favourite time of year....I must tho go do a first aid course and maybe put snake and redback bite procedure in an easy to reach place.......I agree with one of the other ladies i prefer this lifestyle to anywhere else.....there are all sorts of dangers everywhere.......

[Proudofmy3Babies]

Thanks Everyone for all of your replys.....unfortunately we were unable to secure finance for the property we fell in love with due to the financial crisis and the new lending laws....but we still face Snake Problems at my inlaws farm...they have recently bought snake repellers and said they seem to work because they havent seen any snakes near the house since they got them? A little worried because they found baby brown snakes in the garden where my 3yr old loves to dig and play in... but we havent made a trip to the farm in awhile....My kids also dont like to keep shoes on and wear long pants......

[HELPihavea2yrold!]

Im buying a snake repeller or 2 for my place. We burn right around our fenced area and keep bushes to a minimum. We also have a jack russell and a cat. My grandparents who live on same farm about 1km down dirt track get HEAPS of brown snakes around their place. My sons only 6 months old atm but when hes old enough, he will learn about the dangers of snakes.

[HART]

A snake repeller?????? tell me more??? how does this work? cost? etc....

I hate snakes and we have 5 acres that we plan to move to one day but I know both my husband and I will be on the table screaming if we see one...