Anita Johnson was inside her Stockton home with her two sons, aged 5 and 1, when she heard the snake banging at the door on Wednesday morning.

“It was banging its head on the door,” she said. “It was striking at the door.”

Mrs Johnson said she heard a magpie squawking and some banging and initially expected the bird was hitting the door.

“But it wasn’t the magpie, it was the snake,” she said.

“I am not worried, it can’t get in, but it was aggressive.”

She said her one-year-old son was very frightened, while her older boy was a bit excited and wanted to look up the type of snake in his book.

The snake eventually moved on without incident.

Australian Reptile Park venom keeper Zac Bower identified the guest as a brown snake, one of the world’s most venomous, which are usually between 1.1 and 1.8 metres, but can grow to more than 2 metres.

He said the recent warm, dry weather meant snake sightings in the suburbs would be more common.

“The weather is beginning to warm up and as a result the males are actively out potentially looking for a female,” Mr Bower said.

“Along with this, there has currently been a lack of rain at the moment which could also be a result of him feeling adventurous.

“He could be looking for a water source and a place to escape the heat when it’s really hot, or he could simply just be on the hunt for some food.”

Mr Bower said people who saw snakes should never approach them and should instead use a licensed professional for safe removal.

“Snakes are often just either looking for a place to take refuge or for something to eat,” he said.

Mr Bower said keeping lawns short and clear of clutter would help deter snakes.