By Esther Lauaki
A redback spider was the unlikely victor in a battle between two mortal “venomies” at a Ravenhall property.
The deadly widow killed an eastern brown snake – the second most venomous land snake in the world – with a bite to its body.
Snake catcher Jarrod Bingham, whose area includes Melton and Bacchus Marsh, was called in last Monday to identify and collect the young brown which was striped from head to tail.
“The redback spider was inside the brown snakes mouth and just crawled out,” Mr Bingham said.
“The snake had a nasty spider bite on the fifth stripe.
“It could very well have been mistaken for a tiger snake because of its stripes.
“You can’t always identify a snake by its colours. They are not always that uniform brown colour, sometimes they’re blotchy, or they have a black head or they can come in a variety of colours.
“It’s important for residents to be able to recognise different snakes so that they can keep safe.”
Mr Bingham said development around Bacchus Marsh was a significant factor for the rise in snake encounters.
He said call-outs to the area were about double last year’s level when he would take about four calls a fortnight.
