Can Snakes Hear You? What Science Says (And Why It Matters in Sydney Backyards)
Can Snakes Hear You? What Science Really Says
(And Why It Matters in Sydney Backyards)
12 December
Written by Chris Williams
Urban Reptile Removal – Snake Catcher Sydney & Greater NSW
People are often surprised to hear that snakes are, in fact, deaf.
When we say that on the phone, the usual response is:
“Oh, I didn’t realise that.”
That’s almost always followed by:
“Oh… but they pick up vibrations, don’t they?”
And that’s where things get interesting — because while snakes do detect vibration, the way this gets talked about online and around backyard barbecues is often over-simplified, and sometimes misleading.
Modern research shows that snakes are not “stone deaf”, but they also don’t hear in anything like the way humans do. They are best described as vibration specialists, using a combination of vibration detection, vision, and scent to understand what’s happening around them.
Understanding that nuance matters — especially in real-world settings like Sydney backyards, bushland edges, construction sites, and suburban homes.
Are Snakes Deaf?
In the way we usually mean “hearing”? Yes.
Snakes have:
No external ears
No ear openings
No eardrums
These structures were lost during their evolutionary history, likely when early snakes adapted to burrowing or semi-aquatic lifestyles.
But internally, snakes still possess:
A functional inner ear with sensory hair cells
A single middle-ear bone called the columella, which connects to the jaw rather than a tympanic membrane
This means snakes don’t detect sound pressure waves in air the way mammals do. Instead, they detect vibration transmitted through their skull, jaw, and body.
So when people say snakes are deaf, that’s broadly correct. When they then say “but they feel vibrations”, that’s also correct — just incomplete.
What the Science Actually Says About Snake “Hearing”
Two major peer-reviewed works are central to modern understanding of snake hearing:
Young, B.A. (2003) – Snake bioacoustics: toward a richer understanding of the behavioral ecology of snakes
Christensen et al. (2012) – Hearing with an atympanic ear: vibration and sound detection in the royal python
Together, they show that snakes:
Are most sensitive to low-frequency vibrations
Detect vibration through bone conduction, not eardrums
Can respond behaviourally to both groundborne vibration and airborne sound that causes the skull to vibrate
Christensen’s work demonstrated that what looks like “hearing airborne sound” is actually the detection of sound-induced head vibrations, not sound pressure itself.
In short:
Snakes don’t hear sound — they detect vibration, including vibration caused by sound.
The Big Caveat: Controlled Experiments vs Real Backyards
This is where popular understanding often goes off the rails.
Most laboratory studies are done under controlled conditions:
Uniform substrates
Known vibration sources
Measured frequencies
Minimal background noise
A Sydney backyard is nothing like that.
In the real world, vibration transmission depends heavily on:
Substrate type (soil, sand, grass, concrete, rock)
Continuity of the surface
Distance from the source
What’s creating the vibration (footsteps, machinery, wind, animals)
A footstep on concrete transmits vibration very differently from a footstep on grass or loose soil. A shoe on sand behaves differently again. Add garden beds, retaining walls, pavers, tree roots, decking, and you end up with a highly fragmented vibration environment.
So while a snake may detect some vibrations in a garden, it is not experiencing a clean, consistent signal.
Why “Stomping to Scare Snakes Away” Is Over-Sold
A common belief is that stomping your feet or banging a stick while walking through bushland or a garden will “warn snakes” and make them leave.
The science doesn’t support that idea in any reliable way.
Yes, snakes can detect vibration.
No, that does not mean they interpret every vibration as a threat.
Snakes experience thousands of vibrations every day:
Wind moving vegetation
Birds landing and taking off
Lizards, frogs, and rodents moving nearby
Other snakes
Distant vehicles
Human activity
If snakes reacted fearfully to every vibration they detected, they would be permanently stressed — and they would not have survived as a group for millions of years.
Detection does not equal alarm.
A vibration may simply be categorised as background noise and ignored.
In cluttered urban environments, stomping often causes snakes to:
Press deeper into cover
Retreat further under slabs or rockwork
Freeze and remain hidden
It does not reliably cause snakes to flee into the open.
Vision: Often the Real Trigger
In real-world encounters, vision is often more important than vibration.
Snakes may not see fine detail, but they are very good at detecting:
Large moving shapes
Sudden changes in light and shadow
Motion against a static background
In many cases, a snake will see a person first and quietly retreat before the person ever knows it was there.
When people say, “It just appeared out of nowhere,” what usually happened is:
The snake saw them approaching
Stayed still to avoid detection
Only became visible once the distance closed
This freezing behaviour is a classic predator-avoidance strategy.
Smell: The Snake’s Primary Sense
A snake’s most important sense is neither hearing nor vision — it’s chemoreception.
Snakes constantly flick their tongues to collect scent particles, which are analysed by the Jacobson’s organ in the roof of the mouth. This allows them to:
Identify prey
Detect predators
Recognise other snakes
Understand what has recently moved through an area
In most situations, a snake is combining scent information, visual cues, and general vibration awareness to decide what to do.
It’s not relying on vibration alone.
Can a Snake “Hear” You Walking Around the House?
In practical terms:
Footsteps on solid structures (concrete slabs, decks, paving) may create vibrations a snake can detect
Footsteps on soft or broken ground may transmit very little usable signal
Detection does not automatically lead to fear or flight
What matters far more is:
Proximity
Visual exposure
Whether the snake has an escape route
Most snakes want nothing more than to avoid confrontation.
Why Snakes Often End Up Under Houses, Decks, and Paths
Understanding vibration sensitivity helps explain common urban behaviour.
Snakes often retreat into:
Roof cavities
Wall voids
Under slabs and pathways
Rock retaining walls
These locations provide:
Stable temperatures
Physical protection
Reduced visual exposure
Consistent vibration dampening
Ironically, attempts to “scare” snakes with noise often push them further into these refuges, making them harder to locate.
What This Means for Professional Snake Catching
At Urban Reptile Removal, this understanding shapes how we work.
Experienced snake catchers:
Move slowly and deliberately
Avoid unnecessary banging or vibration
Maintain escape routes rather than cornering snakes
Read the environment rather than relying on myths
This reduces stress for the animal and significantly improves safety for everyone on site.
Clearing Up Common Myths
Do snakes hear music or TV?
No. They may detect vibration from heavy bass, but they are not processing sound as sound.
If I stand still, can a snake still detect me?
Very little vibration, but it may still see or smell you.
Are snakes constantly aware of every vibration?
No. Like all animals, they filter background information.
When to Call a Licensed Snake Catcher in Sydney
Regardless of how snakes detect their surroundings, one rule is simple:
If there is a snake in your home, shed, roof, pool area, or yard and you’re concerned — don’t try to deal with it yourself.
Instead:
Keep a safe distance
Remove pets and children
Maintain visual contact if safe
Call a licensed snake catcher
Urban Reptile Removal provides professional, insured snake removal across Sydney and NSW, using current science and real-world experience to work safely and humanely.
References
Young, B.A. (2003). Snake bioacoustics: toward a richer understanding of the behavioral ecology of snakes. Quarterly Review of Biology, 78(3), 303–325.
Christensen, C.B., Christensen-Dalsgaard, J., Brandt, C., & Madsen, P.T. (2012). Hearing with an atympanic ear: good vibration and poor sound-pressure detection in the royal python. Journal of Experimental Biology, 215, 331–342.
