ILLAWARRA MERCURY (Wollongong, Australia) 30 September 13 Snakes alive: Wollongong hot spot for creatures (Dominic Geiger)
After more than 15 years removing snakes from people's homes in the Illawarra and greater Sydney, Sean Cade knows a thing or two about the reptiles.
Which was useful last week when, for the first time in his career, he was bitten - by a venomous red-bellied black snake.
"A bit of the fang broke off in my finger," Mr Cade said.
"So I had to go to my GP and we sussed it out under the microscope, as you do."
Mr Cade was lucky - the snake didn't inject venom as it bit him.
But as temperatures increase across southern NSW, Mr Cade said his own experience was a timely reminder for people to be wary.
"My advice to people is, if you can't identify it then treat it as venomous - that generally saves everyone."
Mr Cade said Wollongong, including the inner city, was a hot spot for venomous snakes, given how close it was to vast areas of bushland.
On average, he is called to six jobs in the Illawarra each week.
He said most species he came across were brown snakes, red-bellied blacks, copperheads or tigers.
NSW Ambulance has also called on people to be mindful of poisonous animals as the weather warms and snakes and spiders become more active.
Between July 1 and September 29 across the state, paramedics attended 38 triple-0 calls for snake bites and 74 for spider bites. This season's first funnel-web bite was recorded on September 12.
There have been seven funnel-web bites so far this season, and with one scorpion sting.
Paramedics had previously experienced a busy spring and summer in 2012-13, responding to 288 calls for spider bites and 136 for snake bites across NSW.
In the past two months in the Illawarra, paramedics have treated a 12-year-old Corrimal girl, a 29-year-old Russell Vale woman and a 37-year-old Bomaderry woman for spider bites.
Snakes will only attack humans if hurt, provoked or cornered.
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