The number of snakes, flies and other creepy-crawlies is peaking in outback Queensland after a good start to the wet season.

Key points: Widespread rain in western Queensland has flushed out snakes that are heading for higher ground

Widespread rain in western Queensland has flushed out snakes that are heading for higher ground Snake catchers advise keeping yards tidy, pets inside, and doors closed to avoid encounters

Snake catchers advise keeping yards tidy, pets inside, and doors closed to avoid encounters The rain has provided perfect breeding conditions for bugs, with sandflies also booming 10 days after rain

Widespread rain across the state's north saw more than 400mm tipped out of rain gauges in some parts, with the deluge transforming dry riverbeds into high-flowing waterways and sodden fields — the perfect breeding ground for bugs.

While the eclipse of moths around back veranda lights is an obvious sign of the boom, it has also brought out snakes that have experts warning people to be cautious of.

"If you see a snake don't panic, keep your distance from 'em and keep an eye on 'em," Mount Isa snake catcher Blue Johnson said.

"Their only defence is to strike and bite".

Mount Isa snake catcher Blue Johnson holding an olive python. ( Supplied: Blue Johnson )

Mr Johnson said keeping yards tidy and keeping pets inside were good ways to deter snakes.

In Longreach last week, three dogs required vet treatment after being bitten by snakes. One dog could not be saved.

Mount Isa police find uninvited lunch guest

Police in Mount Isa got a rude shock when they found a brown snake in their ranks.

The town has enjoyed good rain to start 2020 — recording 195mm in the month of January — and the swollen riverbanks of the Leichhardt River have displaced snakes from their burrows forcing them to seek refuge on higher ground.

The police station sits about 100 metres from the river, the smoko room has an adjoining courtyard, and an open door was the only invitation the deadly reptile needed.

At first sight the unsuspecting officer who stumbled upon the snake thought a fellow officer was playing a prank.

The door to Mount Isa police station's smoko room remains closed while snakes are about. ( Supplied: Darwin Snake Catchers/Tom Parkin )

"It reared up and was a bit cranky," officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Renee Hanrahan said.

"The officer swiftly got out of there and kept an eye on it until the snake catcher arrived.

"Thankfully, it's gone now and the door is certainly closed.



"If anyone does spot something, don't attempt to do it yourself and make sure you get somebody [who is] trained."

Bug and beetle numbers rise after rain falls

Lingering water across the outback landscape has given birth to the incredibly resilient shield shrimp.



Muttaburra wildlife carer and photographer Kieran Palmer stumbled across the desert crustacean while cleaning mud off his boots.

Wildlife carer and photographer Kieran Palmer stubbled across this shield shrimp in Muttaburra. ( Supplied: Kieran Palmer )



"After rain there's always a lot of bugs. That can be a positive and a negative," Mr Palmer said.



"The frogs get a feed, the lizards are going to get a feed, in turn that means the lizards and frogs are going to feed the snakes and all the other animals.

"At the same time, you get mosquitos and sandflies, stink beetles, you can't even have a drink in the kitchen without a beetle falling in."

While the bugs and beetles can be annoying, they can also have a devastating effect on crops and grasslands.



Since the beginning of the year, 100mm of rain has been registered in Longreach and the false wireworm beetle has been littering the ground since.

Moths and false wireworm beetles have been littering the ground around Longreach. ( ABC Western Queensland: Damien Larkins )



The beetle is most visible after rain because conditions are best for the beetle to metamorphose from pupation.



When adult female false wireworms are in large numbers they require food before they begin egg laying, often gorging on green leafy material.



Queensland Museum curator of entomology Christine Lambkin said larvae live in the soil and are quite capable of damaging crops in that stage.

"They emerge from eggs and they'll stay in the top 5 centimetres of soil for a little while and then they'll move deeper trying to get moisture and to get the right temperature," Dr Lambkin said.

"Usually you've got about a year before they finish completion of that stage but they're feeding on roots of crops in the soil, so that's your big problem."

Boom bug season upon us

Further west, the Diamantina River has started flowing after heavy rain fell in its catchment in late January.

The Diamantina River is a major river system in the Lake Eyre Basin, which extends north beyond Winton.

Winton welcomed more than 200mm of rain in the last eight days of January.



The convergence of channels is spectacular in the Diamantina National Park, where tributaries flow through two rocky jump-ups. ( ABC Southern Queensland: Nathan Morris )

Rangers from Diamantina National Park, Chris Mitchell and Fiona Leverington, are preparing for an explosion of sandflies, which usually take 10 days to boom after the water runs.

The experience can be harrowing.

"You either stay inside or you get dressed like you're going to war — even if you're hanging out the washing," Ms Leverington said

But for any discomfort caused by the bug boom, the upshot of what the water brings is absolutely worth it.

"There are a lot of grasshoppers and crickets and we get a lot of hopping mice, then the insectivorous birds come in — a lot of black kites," Ms Leverington said.

"The whole system starts to come alive."