Not many people can say they have been bitten by a snake multiple times.
Logan Village snake catcher Tony Harrison can and it’s the time of year where snakes are now slithering their way back into our lives.
September marks the start of the season, with it running all the way until April.
“Now until the end of October is breeding season, what we get now are eastern browns,” Mr Harrison said.
He saw an increase in snakes late August, with 12 calls coming in one day.
When it gets busy, Mr Harrison’s business can get up to 20 calls a day.
Data from Google Trends covering the past five years shows search interest in eastern brown snakes starts climbing in July, before peaking in October.
People also search for the red-bellied black snake, the inland taipan and the tiger snake. Search interest is measured on a relative scale and does not represent total search volume.
When Mr Harrison does catch a snake, he has to document and take photos of it, before completing paperwork so it can be released into bushland.
Snake catching wasn’t always what Mr Harrison had planned on doing.
“As a kid I was obsessed with creepy crawlies,” Mr Harrison said.
He said he got in trouble for bringing lizards to school when he was younger.
Growing up in Sydney, reptiles were not allowed to be kept as pets so, once Mr Harrison moved to Queensland to start a fishing charter, he was finally able to keep reptiles.
“I got a reputation as a local snake guru,” Mr Harrison said.
His snake catching journey first started after a neighbour asked Mr Harrison if he could help sort out a snake issue.
When he did go to help, he found a cut up carpet python.
Mr Harrison asked why the neighbour didn’t call a snake catcher, and it was simply because there wasn’t one.
After two years of snake catching, the authorities told Mr Harrison he needed a permit to continue, but no one would give him a reference.
Eventually, the then reptile curator at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary gave him a list of hoops to jump through before he gave him a reference.
Mr Harrison jumped through those hoops and got his reference.
He has been a licensed snake catcher since 1994 and his team now consists of 15 people.
One person who is frequently on trips is Mr Harrison’s 11-year-old son Jensen.
Jensen grew up watching his parents catch snakes and has been catching with them since he was born.
Jensen has his own social media following, with 10,000 followers on his Jensen Harrison lil Snake Boy Facebook account.
Mr Harrison has plenty of stories about the job.
“I’ve come close to death a few times,” Mr Harrison said.
He has been bitten three times by eastern brown snakes, among other snakes, but is allergic to antivenom.
In wintertime when it’s not as busy, Mr Harrison’s business also puts on wildlife demonstrations at childcare centres, birthday parties, shows and other events.
He said he can do four or five shows a week.
“I try to make it fun and educational.
“I focus on it because I can win there,” Mr Harrison said.
He said older people have a fear of snakes and that younger children are easier to educate and don’t react as badly.
When asked if he had a favourite snake, Mr Harrison said it was like asking someone for their favourite child.
He said an Albino olive python is his favourite – the snake is a rare colour mutation of an Australian olive python.
You can check out Mr Harrison’s snake catching business on Facebook.
*This content is part of a paid partnership with Google to promote Google Trends. It uses Google Trends data to explore interest in snakes.
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