Lisa-Anne van Goeverden (8) had a close call with a green mamba last Friday when she walked into the bathroom at her home in Leisure Bay.
She was playing hide and seek, and had run into the bathroom when she stumbled across the mamba, wedged behind the toilet cistern.
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The family phoned snake catcher, Sarel van der Merwe of Shelly Beach who managed to catch the less than a metre long green mamba.
Charliese Coetzee, a friend of the family who was visiting at the time, said Sarel arrived within 20 minutes and was professional, helpful, funny, great with the children and calmed everyone’s nerves.
“Summertime means snakes are out and about,” says Sarel. He encourages a healthy respect for the creatures, realising the risk they could pose, but adds this should not ruin your summer.
Here are some tips if you find a snake in your garden:
1. Monitor the snake and take a photograph of it, then send it to Sarel at 082 6831604 so he can determine what type of snake it is. Try keeping an eye on where the snake is until he arrives. Snakes are territorial, and usually stay in the area until they are safely removed.
2. If the snake is inside a room, close the door and keep it contained until Sarel arrives.
3. Don’t pick them up and don’t antagonise them, as even non-venomous snakes can give a nasty bite.
4. Don’t put bird feeders too close to your house. If birds make a sudden noise or flutter their wings wildly, chances are there might be a snake in the tree.
5. Snakes don’t like wind, so sometimes they retreat into the house via an open window.
6. Keep your house clean, don’t leave chicken or dog food lying around as it will attract rats, and rats attract snakes.
7. Remember, snakes are just as scared of you as you are of them.
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