People are usually surprised when we tell them snakes are deaf. The next question is always: "But they pick up vibrations, don't they?" The honest answer is yes, but the version of that fact most people have is oversimplified. Snakes don't hear sound the way mammals do. They detect vibration through bone conduction, combined with vision and an extraordinary sense of smell. That distinction matters once you start applying it to the real world: Sydney backyards, bushland walks, construction sites and suburban homes. Most popular advice about how to behave around snakes, including the classic "stomp your feet to scare them away", is based on a misunderstanding of how snakes actually perceive their environment. This article looks at what the latest peer-reviewed research says about snake hearing, why a backyard is nothing like a laboratory, and what it actually means for the way we share suburban spaces with snakes.