Snake season in Australia (October–April, with peak in November–January) creates a 400–700% surge in snake-related pest control calls compared to winter baseline. Snake removal jobs average $250–$450 per callout. Licensed snake catchers and pest controllers who answer during snake season capture all available work; those without adequate phone coverage lose the surge to competitors. AI handling scales with the call volume without adding staff.
In October, a licensed snake catcher might handle 2–3 snake removal calls per week. By November peak, the phone is going off 5 times a day. By January, it's ringing constantly — with calls coming in while the snake catcher is driving to the previous callout, completing a removal, or driving back.
Snake season is brief, intense, and highly competitive. The only snake catchers winning the surge are the ones who answer every call.
The snake season call pattern
Snake calls follow predictable patterns within the season:
- Morning peak (7am–9am): Snakes discovered when homeowners walk the yard or let dogs out
- Afternoon peak (3pm–6pm): Snakes discovered when children come home, during gardening
- Hot day spikes: 35°C+ days drive snakes into cool areas of homes and sheds
- Suburban new estates: Development displacing snake habitat drives suburban snake encounters
Frequently asked questions
How does AI triage determine whether a snake call is urgent?
All snake calls are treated as urgent in CallSorted's configuration — a snake on the property with children or pets present is always a priority. The triage captures: snake location (inside or outside, specific area), approximate size and colour (for species identification by the technician), whether it's still visible, and whether there are children or pets nearby. This information is immediately sent to the technician's phone so they can assess priority and ETA while en route to a current job.
What happens when a snake catcher is at capacity during peak season?
When the snake catcher is genuinely at capacity, honest communication is critical. The AI captures the caller's details and gives a realistic ETA: "Our catcher is currently on a job 30 minutes away — they can be with you by approximately 10:45am. Is that okay?" Most callers with a contained snake situation will wait for a known, licensed catcher rather than risk an unknown. If the wait is unacceptable (snake inside, small children), the AI can suggest licensed alternatives.
Can AI help snake catchers manage the geographic prioritisation of multiple simultaneous calls?
Yes. CallSorted's dashboard shows all queued snake calls with their addresses. A geographic clustering view helps the catcher sequence their callouts to minimise travel time. High-urgency calls (snake inside the house) are always prioritised over lower-urgency (snake in the garden shed). The AI communicates accurate ETAs to all queued callers based on the sequence, reducing caller anxiety during the wait.
Win every snake season call. Set up seasonal call handling for your pest control business.