<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the seven years he's been catching snakes, Drew Godfrey has been bitten on the hands, arms and legs. He even copped a bite to the side of the head once.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But he'd never been bitten on the face until last week, when he had to wrangle two snakes at the same time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The coastal carpet pythons were tucked away in the roof of a shed on a property in Hervey Bay, Queensland, when Godfrey arrived to catch and relocate the pair.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/gene-hackmans-wife-researched-symptoms-of-illness-days-before-her-death/b5d3eb46-aeec-42da-aea6-1dbcf27e359d" target="_blank"><strong><span>What Hackman's wife searched on Google before grisly death</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Perched on a ladder, he reached into the small space they were curled up in and tried to collect them one at a time but the snakes tried to escape into the shed frame.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They both were going opposite directions [and] I never would have been able to catch them," Godfrey told 9news.com.au, so he had to be "more hasty than normal".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'd usually use both arms for a big snake like that and keep it comfortable but having two of them, I was sort of catching one with each arm, so they just wouldn't have felt as comfortable as normal."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/snake-bite-video-hervey-bay-snake-catchers-drew-bit-on-face/7d5d4d87-7705-4239-a801-8fcad9bdc1d1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Have you got a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter Maddison Leach at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:mleach@nine.com.au" target="_blank" title="mleach@nine.com.au"><strong><em><span>mleach@nine.com.au</span></em></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Not wanting to grab either snake by the head and stress them out further, he tucked one animal under each arm and tried to bring them down from the roof gently.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That's when one of the snakes twisted and bit him on the nose.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of his sons was recording the catch and caught the moment on camera, along with four very telling words Godfrey uttered seconds after the bite.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't blame him," he said of the snake.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Days later, Godfrey stands by that statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you're just sitting there asleep and then next minute you're getting dragged out of bed by an animal that's much bigger than yourself, you're going to be pretty scared," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Bites are always just done in self-defence so if you don't annoy them, they won't bite you. And I got bitten because I was annoying."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bites are an occupational hazard for Godfrey, who runs Hervey Bay Snake Catchers and can get up to 10 calls a day to relocate snakes during busy periods, but he doesn't want everyday Australians to get the wrong idea from the video of this latest bite.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Most snakes don't want to bite people and aren't aggressive when left alone, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-tariffs-update-china-has-a-powerful-card-to-play-in-its-trade-war-fight--rare-earths/e3f437e3-4ebf-48d9-b57c-572cdf552393" target="_blank"><strong><span>China has a powerful card to play in its fight against Trump</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>About 3000 snake bites occur annually in Australia with an average of two fatalities a year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A 2017 study found that 20 per cent of the 35 people who died due to snake bites between January 2000 to December 2016 were bitten while trying to pick up or kill the snake.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Godfrey added that many non-fatal bites also occur when members of the public try to pick up or catch snakes without appropriate training, or try to kill them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"People interfere with them and they bite in self-defence," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The best thing to do is leave them alone, if they're harmless ... if it is a dangerous snake or you're not sure what it is, always call a snake catcher."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said that there's no need to fear a snake that's just minding its own business.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'd like to one day not have to do this job, because we've all been able to see snakes what they are, which is just another animal."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/oz-lotto-prize-of-70-million-dollars-to-give-winner-a-great-easter-present/477ff0d2-ca93-4215-a0fe-a7d212f32b6c" target="_blank"><strong><span>Fifteen strangers split single Oz Lotto win worth $70 million</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>You should never approach or attempt to touch or contain a wild snake, according to Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), Australia's largest wildlife rescue organisation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If the snake is in your home, ensure all people and pets are moved to a different room, try to isolate the snake in the room where you found it by closing the doors, and call WIRES or a local snake catcher.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If the snake is in your yard or an open outdoor space, leave it alone and it should move on.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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