Majority of Australians unprepared for venomous creature attack: study

The vast majority of Australians have no idea how to deal with attacks from venomous creatures, a research has revealed.

The survey, released by Melbourne-based pharmaceuticals company CSL on Wednesday, found that only one in 10 Australians pack a first aid kit for trips to the bush or the beach.

IT found that one in four of the 1,247 responders to the survey would not know what to do if bitten or sting by a venomous creature.

The survey found that young people were least prepared, with 31 percent of respondents under 25 admitting they lacked the knowledge to act on bites and stings.

Julian White, a venomous poison expert based in Adelaide, said the findings were released in the peak time for attacks from venomous creatures.

White said that one in five Australians had first-hand experience with venomous bites and stings.

"It's summertime in Australia. People want to get away to bush areas where they are more likely to encounter a snake, or to northern beaches where they are more likely to encounter a box jellyfish or step on a stingray," White told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

He said that people were turning to technology when bitten or stung.

"Increasingly we tend to use our phones... it's a good idea to have an app to provide that sort of information when it's required, how to deal with a snake bite, a box jellyfish bite or a spider bite," he said.

"(It is) the sort of thing we all hope we're not going to encounter but some of us, every year, do."

White said the most common encounters with venomous creatures at this time of the year were with snakes.

"The top of the list is snakes, found throughout our environment and very commonly, spiders, including the funnel-web spider in eastern Australia," he said.

"At the beach it's jellyfish, bluebottles and stonefish. In the bush you have the paralysis tick, and of course, anaphylactic shock from allergic reactions to stinging insects." Endit