Call Sydney Snake Catcher on 1300 599 938
If you've found a snake at your Norwest property or workplace, in the garden, on a path, in a building site, around a commercial premises or anywhere else, call 1300 599 938. We're usually on site within around thirty minutes depending on traffic and access, and we operate twenty-four hours across Norwest and the wider Hills Shire. We attend residential, strata, commercial and industrial sites alike. We can provide WHS documentation and incident reports where commercial clients require them.
Norwest is a different kind of suburb to most of what we attend in the Hills, and the catching profile here reflects that. The Norwest Business Park sits at the heart of the suburb, with corporate offices, head office buildings, light industrial premises, retail and food precincts, hotels, gyms, the Norwest Metro station and the connecting commercial frontages. Around and through that commercial core sits residential housing, including a substantial proportion of medium-density and high-density apartment complexes, townhouse developments and strata residential blocks. Lake Norma, Bella Vista Farm Park and the Strangers Creek corridor wrap around the western and northern sides. The business park itself is landscaped throughout, with retention basins, irrigated frontages, parkland buffers and the kind of mature plantings that come with two decades of corporate landscaping.
What that produces is a hybrid catching profile. Commercial and industrial premises with retention basins, landscaped frontages and continuous rodent activity on the warehouse and office side. High-density residential complexes with shared gardens, pool decks and basement carparks. Hotels and food precincts where the back-of-house bins and surrounds draw rodents. The connecting parkland and lake edge brings frog activity into the mix. All of it produces snake work, just of a different texture to the established residential streets elsewhere in the Hills.
Snakes aren't appearing in Norwest because something is wrong with a site. They're appearing because the suburb is built across landscape that supports them and the commercial footprint sustains continuous rodent activity that draws Browns and Pythons in particular.
Red-bellied Black Snake. Common around Lake Norma, the Bella Vista Farm Park edge and the residential complexes with shared gardens, ponds, water features and pool decks. Pool pump housings on residential strata properties come up consistently. They follow frogs, and the parkland-and-lake exposure on the western side of Norwest sustains a strong frog population. Venomous, but generally far less defensive than Browns. They will move away if given the chance.
Eastern Brown Snake. A significant and serious species on the commercial and industrial side of Norwest. Browns work the retention basins, the open landscaped frontages, the warehouse perimeters, the long boundary lines and the back-of-house surrounds where rodent activity is continuous. Sightings concentrate around loading docks, behind warehouses, in landscaped buffer zones, around retention basins and along long boundary fences. Fast, alert and highly venomous. For commercial sites, this is a stop-work matter, evacuate the immediate area, keep staff back, and call us on 1300 599 938. We provide WHS documentation on site for commercial clients.
Diamond Python. Present in Norwest, particularly in roof cavities of the older residential housing, in commercial buildings with continuous rodent activity in the roof void or warehouse roof, and on the residential strata complexes backing onto parkland or reserve. Non-venomous, but large, adults reach two to three metres. We've attended commercial buildings where a Python has settled in the roof void following the building's resident rodent population. They follow rats and they stay where the food is.
Eastern Water Dragon. Common around Lake Norma, along the parkland edges, on landscaped commercial frontages with water features and in the residential complexes near the lake. Harmless, but large and capable of giving a defensive bite if cornered. We attend Water Dragon callouts at commercial premises where staff don't recognise the species and need it confirmed and moved.
Green Tree Snake. Common in the residential sections of Norwest, particularly in established gardens, along fences, in pergolas and around roof lines. Slender, bright green or olive, fast-moving, completely harmless. Non-venomous, but a snake inside a residential building or commercial premises still warrants professional removal.
Blue-tongued Lizard. Not a snake, but the reptile we are called for almost as often. Blue-tongues are large, slow-moving native skinks that get mistaken for snakes because of their size and the way they flatten their bodies when threatened. They are harmless, beneficial, and good for a garden, they eat snails, slugs and insects. Better to call and have us confirm than to assume.
The species mix in Norwest makes more sense once you know what each one is following. Red-bellied Black Snakes follow frogs and moisture, which is why they concentrate around Lake Norma, the Bella Vista Farm Park edge and pool pump housings on residential strata blocks. Eastern Browns follow rodents through the business park, around retention basins, behind warehouses and along commercial perimeters where back-of-house activity sustains a rodent population. Diamond Pythons follow rats and mice into roof cavities, both residential and commercial. Eastern Water Dragons follow insects and small prey along the waterways. Sightings increase after rain, through warm weather, and in early summer when reptiles are most active.
For Eastern Browns on commercial sites: retention basins (a standout job category), landscaped frontages, loading docks, behind warehouses, back-of-house bin surrounds, along long boundary fences, in maintenance yards and around stored materials. For commercial clients: this is a stop-work matter requiring documented incident reporting.
For Red-bellied Black Snakes: pool pump housings on residential strata properties, pool surrounds and water features, garden beds with thick mulch against boundary fences, on properties bordering Lake Norma, Bella Vista Farm Park or Strangers Creek, around lakeside walkways and parkland edges.
For Diamond Pythons: roof cavities on residential housing, roof voids and ceiling spaces in commercial buildings (particularly warehouses, hospitality premises and older office buildings with rodent activity), along gutters, on warm sandstone retaining walls and in pergolas.
For Eastern Water Dragons: along Lake Norma edges, on landscaped commercial frontages with water features, around retention basins, on rocks near water and on properties bordering parkland.
For Green Tree Snakes: along fences, through pergolas, around roof lines, in mature shrubs and along garden edges.
Step back. Bring children, pets and where relevant any staff or members of the public to a safe distance. If you're at a commercial premises, evacuate the immediate area and keep staff back. If possible, keep a visual on the snake from a safe distance. Don't try to move it, contain it, photograph it from up close or identify the species. Call 1300 599 938. We'll talk you through what to do until we arrive.
For commercial and strata clients: we can provide WHS documentation, incident reports and site-specific written advice where required. Tell us when you call if you need documentation, and we'll prepare it on site.
The deterrent products sold at hardware stores, powders, sprays, ultrasonic devices, do not work. Skip them.
For Eastern Browns on commercial sites, reducing rodent activity is the single most effective measure. That means rodent management around back-of-house bins, loading docks, warehouse perimeters and food and beverage premises. Lift stored materials off the ground where possible. Manage waste streams. Tidy boundary fence lines and clear long grass. Maintain retention basin surrounds.
For Red-bellied Black Snakes on residential strata properties, keep pool pump housings clear and unappealing as shelter. Thin out heavy garden beds along boundary fences, particularly the side facing lake or parkland.
For Diamond Pythons in commercial buildings or residential roof cavities, reducing rodent activity is the single most useful thing. Pythons follow rats. If a Python has settled in a warehouse roof void or residential ceiling, the rodents got there first.
How quickly can a snake catcher get to Norwest?
We're usually on site in Norwest within around thirty minutes, depending on traffic and access. Sydney Snake Catcher operates twenty-four hours a day across the suburb and the wider Hills Shire. Call 1300 599 938.
Do you attend commercial and industrial sites in Norwest?
Yes. We attend commercial and industrial premises across the Norwest Business Park, including offices, warehouses, hotels, gyms, retail, hospitality and the strata residential complexes. We can provide WHS documentation and incident reports where required.
What snakes are most common in Norwest?
Red-bellied Black Snakes are a substantial proportion of our work in Norwest, concentrated around Lake Norma, Bella Vista Farm Park and pool pump housings on residential strata blocks. Eastern Brown Snakes are a significant and serious species on the commercial and industrial side, across the business park, retention basins, warehouse perimeters and commercial frontages. Diamond Pythons appear in residential roof cavities and in commercial buildings with continuous rodent activity in the roof void.
Should staff or residents try to remove the snake themselves?
No. All native snakes in New South Wales are protected wildlife, and several species commonly encountered around Norwest are highly venomous. The vast majority of snakebite hospital admissions involve someone trying to catch, kill or move a snake themselves. On commercial sites, attempting to handle a snake is a WHS breach. Step back, keep a visual from a safe distance, and call 1300 599 938.
Are snakes protected in New South Wales?
Yes. All native snakes are protected under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. They must be handled and relocated by licensed catchers. Sydney Snake Catcher operates under licence MWL103807.
Sydney Snake Catcher 1300 599 938. Licensed, insured, on call 24/7 across Norwest and the wider Hills Shire. Residential, strata, commercial and industrial.
