Summer warning issued after snake stops cricket match at Dubbo's Lady Cutler fields

Late on in the RSL Pinnington Cup match at Lady Cutler 2, the call went out to for the game to be stopped as a snake had made its way up from the Macquarie River and across the fields.

There were some frantic moments as players quickly zipped up their cricket kits as the snake moved towards the amenity block at the fields, while some took it upon themselves to try and ward the reptile away from the crowd.

READ ALSO:

The call was put to out Kyle Lundholm at Outwest Snake Catchers and he collected what turned out to be a highly venomous blue belly black snake that had curled up under a bin next to the amenities block.

"It was definitely the first time I've had to do that," Mr Lundholm said of collecting a snake from a sporting match.

While the snake proved a relatively easy one for Mr Lundholm to catch, he said those at the ground who stopped the game and then stayed clear did the right thing.

"Especially when there's a lot of people around...there's going to be kids about so it's something to keep an eye out for and you've got to make sure you know your first aid, especially when it comes to snake bites," he said.

"If you just try and rush and get back to the game there's more chance of someone getting injured or bitten. They took their time and waited for the snake to be removed and went back to what they were doing. That was the best outcome."

Many at the ground had never heard of a blue belly, Mr Lundholm said the relation to the red belly black snakes were relatively common in the Dubbo Region.

Having been a snake catcher for the past two years, Mr Lundholm has been called out to roughly four blue belly calls in that time.

There's been more calls in general for Outwest Snake Catchers now the weather is starting to warm up.

The number hasn't hit what Mr Lundholm expected though, given the wet conditions Dubbo and surroundings areas have experienced.

"I thought it would have made me pretty busy but it's made me pretty quiet compared to my first year," he said.

While he has no concrete reasoning as to why it's been quieter, Mr Lundholm said the rapid nature of the flooding in the region and the speed water has risen may have led to snakes being washed away before they got time to move to higher ground.

"Last year I was having three calls a day," he said.

"This year, at the moment, I'd have between two or three a week now it's starting to warm up. It's slowly starting to build-up."

While Outwest Snake Catchers may not have had a huge amount of call outs recently, that is no reason for people in the region to be complacent.

With the weather continuing to warm up and more people set to be outside in the coming weeks as summer and Christmas holidays near.

Mr Lundholm urged people to remain alert to the threat of snakes and called for people to stop attempting to kill them.

"Call an expert," he said, before touching on snake safety.

"The best idea is to always watch the ground and watch wear you tread plus keep up on your first aid.

"I always say to watch out for your family and your pets as well. Especially around the high grass and the rivers."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: