Most bites and stings are harmless. A few are not. Know the short list, and when in doubt call 000.
Checked 16 October 2026. General information, not medical advice.
Call 000 first for
any snake bite, a funnel-web or mouse spider bite, a blue-ringed octopus bite, a cone shell sting, or any bite or sting with trouble breathing, a swollen tongue or throat, or collapse. Then follow the bandage steps.
First: what to do
The same few steps cover the most dangerous bites and stings.
Do now Keep them still. Bandage the whole limb firmly, from the fingers or toes upward.
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Pressure bandaging and immobilising the limb slows venom. It is recommended for snakes (including sea snakes), funnel-web and mouse spiders, blue-ringed octopus and cone shells. It is not recommended for other bites and stings.
Call 000 and ask for an ambulance. Lie the person down, keep them still and calm.
Remove jewellery from the limb if you can.
Put a broad pressure bandage over the bite. Then wrap a firm elastic bandage, 10 to 15 cm wide, from just above the fingers or toes up the whole limb. It should be firm, not so tight that it causes numbness, tingling or colour change.
Splint the limb so it cannot move. Mark the bite site with an X on the bandage.
Do not make the person walk. Bring the ambulance as close as you can.
Do now No tourniquet, no cutting, no sucking out venom, no alcohol.
A tight tourniquet used to be advised, but it no longer is. Do not tourniquet or cut a bite, do not try to suck out the venom, and do not give the person alcohol.
If the person collapses or stops breathing, you may need CPR until the ambulance arrives.
Do now Give an adrenaline injector if there is one. Lay them flat, or let them sit if breathing is hard.
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Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening allergic reaction, and it usually starts within 20 minutes of the bite or sting. Steps, in order:
Call 000 first, or have someone else call while you act.
Give an adrenaline injector if one is there, the person’s own or one from a first aid kit. Follow the instructions on the device.
Lay the person flat and do not let them stand or walk. If breathing is difficult, let them sit.
If there is no improvement after 5 minutes, give a second dose if you have another injector.
If they become unresponsive and are not breathing normally, start CPR.
Signs: difficult or noisy breathing, a swollen tongue, throat tightness, trouble speaking or a hoarse voice, persistent dizziness or collapse. In babies and young children: pale and floppy, or not responding.
Do now Ring for advice. If they are collapsing or struggling to breathe, call 000 instead.
Poisons Information Centre: 24 hours a day, seven days a week.If the person is collapsing or struggling to breathe, call 000 instead.
The Poisons Information Centre answers on 13 11 26, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Use it for advice after a bite or sting. In an emergency call 000 instead.
Do now Do not go near it. Keep people and pets away, and call a snake catcher in your area.
Snakes are generally shy and will not attack unless provoked. Most bites happen when someone tries to catch or kill one, so leave it to a professional.
Keep people and pets away. If you can do it safely, shut the snake in one room.
Keep track of where it is. Its size, and the date and time you saw it, help the catcher. A photo helps identify it, if you can take one safely.
Call a professional snake catcher in your area. In the Northern Territory the number is 1800 453 210. Elsewhere, search for a catcher near you.
Never try to catch, kill or touch it.
If anyone is bitten, call 000 and use the bandage steps.
Do now Keep them still. Bandage the limb firmly. Do not try to catch the spider.
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Funnel-webs live along eastern Australia from northern Queensland to Tasmania and in parts of South Australia. Mouse spiders are found all over the country. First aid is a pressure bandage and keeping the person still, and an ambulance.
The male Sydney funnel-web is considered Australia’s most dangerous spider. It is not found in Victoria.
Treat a bite from a large, dark spider as dangerous, especially around Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the NSW highlands and south coast, or south-east Queensland.
Do not try to catch the spider. A photo on a phone is fine, but do not let it delay the bandage.
Since antivenom was introduced there have been no recorded deaths from a confirmed spider bite.
Do now Wash it, then a cold pack for 15 minutes. No pressure bandage. Go to hospital if they are unwell.
Redbacks are common and turn up in backyards, sheds and under stairs. Only the female bite is dangerous, and most bites happen when someone puts a hand in the web. Wash the bite with soap and water, then put a cold pack on it for 15 minutes, longer if the pain continues. Seek medical help.
The pain of most other spider bites can be managed with a cold pack.
A redback bite is rarely serious for an adult, but it can threaten the life of a young child. Go to hospital if the person is unwell.
Never cut a spider bite or put a tourniquet on a limb.
Do now Do not pull it off. Freeze it with a pharmacy tick spray.
Do not pull a tick off or use tweezers. Freeze and kill it with an ether-containing spray from a pharmacy, and let it drop off or brush the dead tick away. If you cannot, leave it and see a doctor.
Do not use methylated spirits, alcohol, kerosene or a flame on a tick. Disturbing it can make it release more toxin or allergen.
Do not use the freezing spray on a tick close to the eyes, the genitals or inside the ear canal. See a doctor instead.
Tick paralysis is rare in people, because the tick must stay attached for several days.
If you are allergic to ticks, get urgent medical help to have it removed in a hospital emergency department. For breathing trouble or collapse, use your adrenaline injector and call 000.
See a doctor for a rash or swelling, fever, feeling weak or unsteady, double vision, or trouble breathing or swallowing.
Do now Scrape the sting out. If breathing is hard or the tongue swells, call 000 and follow the allergic reaction steps.
For a bee sting, scrape the sting out with a fingernail rather than pulling it. Wash the area and use a cold pack. Wasps do not leave a sting behind, and they can sting more than once.
Ant stings, like bee and wasp stings, carry a high risk of a severe allergic reaction.
Go to hospital if someone is stung in the mouth, or stung many times in one incident: more than 10 times for an adult, more than 5 for a child.
Do now Do not touch it. If bitten or scratched, clean the wound and see a doctor straight away.
Any bat in Australia could carry Australian bat lyssavirus, whatever it looks like. Do not touch or try to rescue a bat that is injured or in distress. Call your local wildlife rescue group.
Bites and scratches spread the virus. After a bite or scratch, rapid and thorough cleaning of the wound and getting medical advice straight away helps prevent infection. There is no cure once it develops.
Droppings, urine or blood, and walking near a roost, are not a risk if you do not handle bats.
Do now Keep them still. Bandage the limb. Start CPR if they stop breathing.
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Blue-ringed octopuses are not aggressive, but the bite is venomous and can cause paralysis. Cone shells live in reef waters. For both, call 000, lie the person down and keep them still, and apply a pressure bandage and splint.
Blue-ringed octopus: numbness around the mouth, tongue, face and neck, and a tight chest or trouble breathing. You may need to start CPR, and keep going until help arrives.
Cone shell: pain, swelling and numbness at the sting, then weak muscles, including the breathing muscles, and disturbed vision, speech and hearing.
Do now Hot water for 20 minutes, as hot as they can comfortably stand.
Use hot water for stings from bluebottles, non-tropical jellyfish, stinging fish (stonefish, lionfish, bullrout), stingrays, crown-of-thorns starfish and sea urchins. Make the water as hot as the person can comfortably stand, and soak the area for 20 minutes. Do not burn them.
Lift the area out of the water briefly before putting it back. If the pain continues, carry on.
Do not use vinegar on a bluebottle. Go to hospital quickly if symptoms are severe.