24/08/2026
Do we charge a call-out fee? 🐍💰
Yes, we do.
It's something that comes up every snake season. Someone calls with a snake in the yard or house. They're worried about the kids, the dogs or themselves. Then you mention the call-out fee and sometimes the tone changes...
"I'll have a think about it."
But what are you actually paying a snake catcher for?
Snake catching can look like easy money from the outside. Turn up, grab a snake, put it in a bag and leave.
There's a lot more behind that five or ten minute catch than people realise.
You're paying for training, experience, licences, insurance, specialised equipment, fuel, vehicle costs, travel and time. There are also records and reporting requirements that come with legally relocating native wildlife.
You're paying for someone who is prepared to answer the phone, drop what they're doing and come to your property—often at short notice, after hours, on weekends or public holidays.
And most importantly, you're paying someone with the experience to safely work with highly venomous snakes.
We don't think twice about paying a plumber, electrician or locksmith a call-out fee. Sometimes they're there for ten minutes and the problem is fixed.
We're not paying them for those ten minutes.
We're paying for the knowledge and experience that allowed them to fix it in ten minutes.
Snake catching is really no different.
We're also not funded by councils or the government to provide this service. We're a local small business and the costs involved in being available and providing a professional service come out of that call-out fee.
And sometimes we don't find the snake.
Unfortunately, we can't guarantee a wild animal will stay exactly where you saw it while we're driving to you.
But that doesn't necessarily mean you've paid for nothing.
We can inspect the area, look at where the snake may have gone, identify potential food and shelter around the property and give you practical advice to help reduce future snake encounters.
What concerns us most is when someone decides the fee isn't worth it and has a go themselves.
Social media probably doesn't help. We post plenty of videos where catching a snake can look pretty straightforward.
What you don't see in a 30-second video is the years of experience behind it.
One wrong decision with a venomous snake can turn a simple situation into a medical emergency very quickly.
But there's another side to this that we think is equally important.
Seeing a snake doesn't automatically mean you need to pay a snake catcher.
If the snake is outside, everyone is safe and it has somewhere to go, sometimes the safest option costs absolutely nothing.
Keep your distance. Bring the kids and pets inside.
Leave it alone and let it move on.
Sometimes relocation is necessary. Sometimes a few changes around the property are the better long-term solution. And sometimes the snake simply doesn't need our help at all.
So yes, we charge a call-out fee.
But you're not just paying someone to put a snake in a bag.
You're supporting a local small business and paying for the knowledge, experience and professional service needed to make the situation safer for you, your family and the snake.
And you're supporting someone who genuinely cares about protecting our native wildlife while helping people better understand the animals we share our environment with.
Safe, humane snake relocations.
Education over fear. 🐍
