The man in his 40s was transported to Western Health in St Albans in a serious but stable condition with an injury to his ankle after being bitten by the snake at Lerderderg State Park, just north of Bacchus Marsh.

This was one of four separate incidents on Sunday in Nar Nar Goon, Whitfield and Nathalia.

With snake season right around the corner, experts are urging precaution and vigilance.

Owner and operator of RID Pest Control David Ward has already caught 12 snakes this season and wants to ensure people know what to do when they are confronted with a snake.

“There’s plenty people can do to try and reduce the likelihood of snakes on their property, but in the end snakes are going to go wherever they want,” he said.

Snakes will institutionally look for places to hide and avoid airborne predators, so keeping a neat backyard/garden will go a long way.

“Keep your grass cut short and your garden nice and neat, basically remove anywhere they can get comfortable.

“That includes stuff like building materials and wood, once they get in spaces like that they can be pretty hard to remove.”

Ballarat primarily plays host to three species of snake, tiger snakes, eastern brown snakes and copperhead snakes.

All three of these snakes are highly venomous but are not aggressive by nature.

“None of these snakes look to attack people, they’ll only ever bite when they feel threatened, which is often when people go to chop them in half with a shovel.”

Mr Ward is urging people to simply ignore snakes should they enter their property.

“Ignore them, they’ll usually leave in time, if they don’t call out a professional to handle it.”

Being bitten by one of these snakes could be potentially fatal, so knowing what to do is crucial.

“First, as hard as it may be, relax. The more you run around or move around, the faster the venom will take hold.

“Next elevate the bitten area and wrap it up tight with a snake bandage.”

Mr Ward said he is shocked by the amount of people who have no idea what to do if they are bitten by a snake.

“We’re very lucky that Ballarat Base Hospital has anti-venom to save people should they ever be bitten.”

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