How Snakes Fit Into the Sydney Landscape
By Chris Williams, Urban Reptile Removal
When we remove a snake from a property in Sydney, the questions that follow are usually practical rather than emotional. People generally understand that snakes aren’t out looking for trouble. What they want to know is why a snake ended up here, in a suburban backyard, garage, or bathroom — sometimes in the middle of a well-established neighbourhood.
The short answer is that snakes fit surprisingly well into Sydney’s environment. The longer answer has a lot to do with evolution, behaviour, and how snakes sense the world around them.
Sydney Is Still Snake Habitat
Greater Sydney sits on a mix of bushland, sandstone ridges, creek systems, floodplains and coastal forest. Even in heavily developed suburbs, much of that original structure remains — just broken up by houses, roads and parks.
Areas like:
The Hills District
Northern Beaches
Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai
Western Sydney creek corridors
The Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment are all prime snake habitat. Snakes were here long before suburbs existed, and in many cases they’re still using the same movement corridors they always have.
A backyard backing onto bush, a drainage line, or even a golf course can be enough.
Snakes Are Reptiles — But a Very Specific Kind
Snakes evolved from lizard-like ancestors, and their closest living relatives are certain groups of lizards rather than turtles or crocodiles. Over millions of years, a long, flexible, legless body turned out to be extremely effective.
That body shape allows snakes to:
Move quietly through leaf litter and grass
Use rock cracks, pipes and retaining walls
Enter burrows and roof voids
Remain hidden in suburban environments
In Sydney, that often means snakes using retaining walls, stormwater drains, rockeries, timber piles and garden beds exactly the same way they’d use logs or rock shelves in bushland.
How Sydney Snakes Use Their Senses
Vision
Most of the snakes we deal with in Sydney — eastern brown snakes, red-bellied black snakes, tiger snakes and pythons — have functional eyesight. Day-active species in particular are good at detecting movement.
This is why a snake in a yard often disappears before anyone gets close. It’s usually already aware of people nearby and is actively trying to avoid them.
Smell
Smell is the most important sense for a snake.
When snakes flick their tongues, they’re collecting scent particles from the ground and air. This allows them to follow prey trails and move through familiar territory.
In practical terms, this explains why snakes are often found in:
Yards with rodents
Chicken coops or aviaries
Frog-rich gardens near creeks
Compost areas or dog food storage spots
In suburbs across Sydney, we regularly see repeat activity in areas where food sources remain unchanged.
Vibration
Snakes are extremely sensitive to vibration. Construction, lawn mowing, renovations, landscaping and even increased foot traffic can push snakes out of shelter.
This is why we see a spike in call-outs during:
Spring and early summer
Major landscaping projects
New housing developments near bushland
The snake isn’t arriving — it’s being displaced.
Why Snakes End Up Inside Houses
From a snake’s point of view, a house isn’t a house.
A bathroom, laundry or garage can feel like:
A cool rock crevice
A hollow log
A secure shelter
Once inside, many snakes remain still. That’s not aggression — it’s a survival strategy that works very well in the wild.
In Sydney homes, we commonly find snakes:
Behind washing machines
Under bathroom cabinets
Inside garages and sheds
In roof spaces
They aren’t trying to stay. They’re trying not to be noticed.
Not All Sydney Snakes Sense Heat
Only some snakes, such as pythons, have specialised heat-sensing organs. Most of Sydney’s venomous snakes do not.
Eastern browns and red-bellied black snakes rely on smell, vision and vibration. They are not detecting people by body heat, and they are not actively drawn toward humans.
Understanding this helps explain why calm, predictable movement around snakes reduces risk far more effectively than panic.
Why Snakes Are So Successful in Urban Areas
Snakes have survived for over 100 million years because they are:
Energy efficient
Highly adaptable
Excellent at remaining unseen
Urban environments haven’t removed those advantages — in some cases, they’ve added to them. Gardens, water sources, rodents and shelter all exist in close proximity.
That doesn’t mean Sydney has a “snake problem”. It means we share space with an animal that has always been here.
Why Professional Removal Matters
Snakes don’t respond well to being cornered or interfered with. Most bites occur when someone tries to handle, kill or chase a snake.
Professional snake catchers understand:
How snakes interpret movement
How to position safely
How to guide a snake without escalating stress
Where relocation will actually be suitable
At Urban Reptile Removal, every job is based on behaviour, not force.
A Final Word
Snakes are not out of place in Sydney — they’re part of it. Most encounters happen because human activity overlaps with long-established snake movement paths.
When people understand how snakes sense their environment and why they appear where they do, concern usually turns into respect.
If you encounter a snake on your property, give it space and contact a licensed professional. Calm, informed handling is always the safest outcome — for people and for snakes.
