Professor Rick Shine from the school of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney said he had found the occasional snake under the bonnet of a car. However, because red belly black snakes are terrestrial, it is rare for them to climb into cars.

“Black snakes don’t like to climb,” Prof. Shine said. “But they will occasionally clamber up a front door or into a car. Usually they are looking for a safe spot, or food, or they are trying to get away from something they don’t like.”

PhD candidate from the Research school of Biology at the Australian National University, Damien Esquerre, has also witnessed clambering black snakes.

“It most often occurs when a snake is already on the road, and a motorist stops,” Mr Esquerre said. “Snakes are afraid of people so their first instinct is to escape. They try to find shelter and in the absence of other things, would seek out a car.” 

Phillip Sproates, snake handler and catcher at Potoroo Palace in Yellow Pinch, explained red belly black snakes had heat-sensors along their jaws and could detect infra-red heat. 

“Under the bonnet is somewhere warm to lay down and have a sleep,” he said. 

Mr Sproates said if you saw a snake in an unusual location, it may have arrived there by car. A red belly that slithered into an alley way off Carp Street in November 2016 could have hitched a ride in someone’s car or in a skip bin, he said. 

Prof. Shine said red belly black snake movements were seasonally dependent. 

“In the warmer part of the year black snakes are usually found near water,” he said. “In autumn, and in the cooler months, they head for higher ground to avoid the flooding of their hibernation spots.”

Snakes are most active when the weather warms in spring. October is a particularly busy month for black snakes,some travelling several kilometres in one day. 

“In spring the boy snakes are looking for girlfriends.This is the time when snakes can turn up in unexpected spots,” Prof. Shine said.

Snakes are also profoundly impacted by temperature and can die quickly from overheating. In summer, black snakes are less active because it is too hot.           

Female snakes are pregnant and will usually bask, whilst male snakes don’t move much at all. 

Prof.Shine said October was the time to witness male snake combat. Males fight each other during mating season and often become entwined.

“Boys fighting is one of the great sights of the Australian bush,” he said. 

While black snakes are venomous, there are no definite cases of fatal bites to humans. 

In the event you find a snake wrapped around your car mirror, Mr Esquerre advised you call a snake removalist or snake handler. 

“Ninety per cent of snake bites occur when people handle snakes or try to kill them”, Mr Esquerre said.