DAILY NEWS (Durban, S Africa) 07 December 06 Snakes invade Durban (Sharlene Packree)
Durban homes are being invaded by snakes due to the soaring temperatures. Snake parks and snake experts are being inundated with calls from residents around Durban about snakes entering their homes and yards.
Craig Smith, owner of Fitzsimons Snake Park, said they received 40 to 60 calls a day from Durban and its surrounding areas from people complaining of snakes in their yards and homes.
On Wednesday, Smith and his team had to remove a 2,4m venomous black mamba from a house in Reservoir Hills.
"We get a lot of calls from people from both the north and south coasts. People call wanting to know more about the snakes and what to do with them," he said.
"Snakes are extremely active at two periods of the year. At the start of spring, the snakes are hungry and looking for food because they have just come out of hibernation. They are also on the prowl for mating partners. At the end of summer, the babies hatch so there are more babies around," he said.
Although there were not many snake bite incidents, he said, four to five victims lost their lives each year.
"If you encounter a snake, avoid it at all costs. Don't do anything that will provoke the snake as they will retaliate and this could result in a painful bite.
"The most common snakes found in residential areas are the spotted bush snake, night adders and the red-lipped herald, while there have been sightings of the black and green mamba."
Byron Zimmerman, from Snakes for Africa, said: "Snakes enter homes by mistake while searching for food. They don't intentionally seek shelter in homes. The warm weather also makes them move around a lot and they will be seen more often now because of the warm weather."
He said that while it was difficult to pinpoint areas with the most snake incidents, they received a lot of calls from Westville, Kloof, Amanzimtoti and Drummond.
Zimmerman said most of the snakes they caught were quite harmless. But they have also attended to calls about black and green mamba as well as spitting cobras. ‛We have seen a few black mambas and green mambas, which are extremely scarce snakes.
"When we catch them, we relocate them to their natural habitat," he said.
"Snake-bite victims can access treatment in the form of an anti-venom serum from many government hospitals around KwaZulu-Natal.
"People who are bitten are usually treated with a polyvalent serum, which is actually a broad spectrum treatment used to cover a variety of snake bites. Many hospitals stock this serum, but we usually recommend St Augustine's Hospital because they have a special poison unit," said Smith.
He said rural hospitals were particularly good at treating snake bites because there were more incidents in rural areas.
Snakes invade Durban