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HEALTHYWILDLIFE

Guides Myths

Myths, busted

Ten things everyone “knows” about backyard wildlife. Guess first, then see.

Facts checked 13 October 2026 18 sources

Read all ten answers

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All ten, each one checked against its source.

Do blue tongue lizards keep snakes away?

Busted. Sadly, it runs the other way: snakes eat them. In a study of what WA dugites eat, the biggest kind of animal on the menu was the bobtail. Australian Museum Patterson and others 2022

Is it illegal to feed swans in WA?

True, in WA. In WA, feeding native wildlife without lawful authority is an offence, swans and ducks included. Our reading of the Act, not legal advice. DBCA BC Act s 155

Can you feed ducks bread?

Busted. It’s junk food: it fills them up without feeding them. What they leave rots in the water and can feed toxic algae. BirdLife Australia RSPCA

Do bandicoot holes ruin your lawn?

Half true. Messy, yes. Ruined, no. DBCA says quenda diggings leave a lawn aerated and pest-free. Each little cone is where one went after a grub or beetle. DBCA

If you touch a baby bird, will its parents reject it?

Busted. Birds have a poor sense of smell, and DBCA says parents won’t reject a chick you’ve picked up. Even so, a healthy chick with feathers is usually fine on the ground: watch from a distance. A sick or dead bird? Don’t touch it. DBCA DPIRD

Will snakes chase you?

Busted. In a study of 455 run-ins with brown snakes, they moved towards the researcher less than 3% of the time. A “chasing” snake is usually heading for cover behind you. Back away, and treat every snake as venomous. Whitaker and Shine 1999 Charles Sturt University DBCA

Are possums pests in Australia?

Busted. Not here. Brushtails are native and protected. In New Zealand, where they were taken in the 1830s for a fur trade, they really are a pest. Australian Museum NZ Department of Conservation

Is rat poison in a bait station safe for owls?

Busted. A station stops an owl eating the bait, not eating the rat that did. Nearly three in four dead or dying boobooks tested had been exposed. APVMA Lohr 2018

Are blue tongue lizards venomous?

Busted. No venom at all. A big one can still give you a bruising bite if you pick it up, so admire it from a step back. Australian Museum DBCA

Do all magpies swoop?

Busted. BirdLife Australia says fewer than one in ten males swoop people, and each only for a few weeks while guarding a nest. The rest just get on with it. BirdLife Australia DBCA

Sources, checked 13 October 2026

  1. Shingleback Lizard Australian Museum: page updated 21 Apr 2026: large snakes are among the main predators; a bite can bruise, “but there is no venom”.
  2. Size-related diet shift in dugites Patterson and others, Evolutionary Ecology 36:489–509 (2022): stomach contents of WA dugites: the largest species eaten was the bobtail, Tiliqua rugosa.
  3. Supporting wildlife in urban areas DBCA: feeding wildlife is illegal without an authority under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and Regulations 2018.
  4. Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, s 155 WA legislation: “A person must not feed fauna unless the person has lawful authority to feed it.” Our reading, not legal advice.
  5. A guide to feeding wild birds in Australia BirdLife Australia: bread fills a bird’s stomach with empty calories; uneaten bread in water can cause a build-up of toxic algae.
  6. Animal welfare issues with feeding wildlife RSPCA Australia: updated 10 Mar 2026: bread is “junk food” for ducks.
  7. Living with quenda DBCA Fauna Note: diggings leave a lawn “aerated and pest-free, but it can look messy”; quenda dig for beetles, grubs, spiders and fungi.
  8. Wildcare Helpline DBCA: parent birds will not reject their young if you pick them up; a bird on the ground with feathers: leave it and watch from a distance.
  9. H5 bird flu in Western Australia DPIRD: updated 12 Oct 2026: avoid direct contact with birds that are sick or have died unexpectedly.
  10. Responses of free-ranging brownsnakes to encounters with humans Whitaker and Shine, Wildlife Research 26(5) (1999): 455 encounters: the snakes advanced towards the observer in under 3% of them, and were “rarely aggressive”.
  11. Does Australia really have the deadliest snakes? 6 common myths Charles Sturt University ecologists, The Conversation (29 Sep 2020): a “chasing” snake is more likely heading for cover behind the person.
  12. Reptiles in and around the house DBCA Fauna Note: reptiles are secretive and timid; presume all snakes are venomous; blue tongues and bobtails are non-venomous.
  13. Common Brushtail Possum Australian Museum: page updated 24 Sep 2026: a pest in New Zealand, “In Australia, it is a protected species.”
  14. Possums NZ Department of Conservation: introduced to New Zealand from Australia in 1837 to establish a fur trade.
  15. Rodenticides APVMA: updated 26 Jun 2025: secondary poisoning of animals that eat a poisoned rodent; bait stations lower the risk.
  16. Anticoagulant rodenticides in southern boobooks Lohr, Science of the Total Environment 643 (2018): 72.6% of boobooks tested (found dead or dying in WA) had been exposed.
  17. It’s magpie swooping season BirdLife Australia: 1 Sep 2026: fewer than 10% of males swoop people; most magpies don’t swoop.
  18. Magpies: swooping and safety issues DBCA Fauna Note: each bird generally only swoops for a few weeks, during nesting (August to October).

We’re an independent site, not part of any museum, agency or charity named here, and nobody pays us to link anywhere on this page. Law lines are our reading of the Act, not legal advice.