Snakes in Jumeirah Park and Emirates Living: what to do

Short answer

• Keep people and pets well away, and do not try to catch or kill the snake.
• Call Dubai Municipality on 800900 and tell community security. Snakes are handled as poisonous pests, with a one-working-day response reported.
• If anyone is bitten, call 999 immediately. Do not attempt first aid at home.
• Nakheel called sightings rare but seasonal in 2019; The National says encounters tend to peak in April, May, September and October.

In this guide (8 sections)

1. What should you do if you see a snake?
2. Who deals with it, and how quickly?
3. What if someone is bitten?
4. Which snakes live around Dubai communities?
5. How common are snakes in Jumeirah Park and Emirates Living?
6. How do you make a villa garden less inviting?
7. Walking in parks and at the desert edge
8. What to check before you act

If you see a snake in Jumeirah Park, Emirates Living or any other Dubai villa community, keep everyone away from it, do not try to catch or kill it, and call Dubai Municipality on 800900. Tell your community's security or management too. If anyone has been bitten, call 999 immediately.

Treat any snake as dangerous. Several UAE species are harmless, but you should not get close enough to find out which one you have.

What should you do if you see a snake?

1. Move people and pets away. Bring children and dogs indoors and close the doors to the house.
2. Don't try to catch, corner or kill it. The National reported in 2023 that snakes are not aggressive unless provoked, and that bites usually happen when people step near them or try to handle or kill them (The National, 2023).
3. Watch from a distance if it is safe. Note where it goes, and take a photo only if you can do so from well away.
4. Call 800900. Gulf News reported in 2019 that the operator directs the call so that someone can come and remove the snake (Gulf News, Oct 2019).
5. Tell security or community management. A sighting on a road, in a park or in a shared area is something they will want to know about, and neighbours can be warned.

Who deals with it, and how quickly?

Dubai Municipality's free home service covers poisonous pests, and snakes are on the list. Emirates 24|7's guide, updated in June 2026, gives a response of one working day for poisonous pests and says no documents are needed (Emirates 24|7). The National reported a 24-hour turnaround for hazardous pests in April 2026 (The National, April 2026).

You can also ask through the Dubai Municipality app or DubaiNow. Our guide to Dubai Municipality's free pest control covers who qualifies and how to request it.

Developer communities need one extra step. The same 2026 guide says the Municipality's garden pest control excludes real estate development areas and free zones, although it does not say the home service has that exclusion. In 2019, Nakheel, the developer of Jumeirah Park, told residents to contact the Municipality rather than deal with a snake themselves (Gulf News, Oct 2019). So call 800900 and your community management at the same time, and ask which of them will send someone. If you are told to use a private firm, check it on the approved companies list.

What if someone is bitten?

Call 999 immediately. Keep the person still and calm, and do not try to treat the bite yourself. Gulf News reported in 2019 that a wildlife expert at the Municipality advised reaching hospital quickly, and that antivenom was usually kept at Rashid Hospital. That report is several years old, so go by what the 999 operator tells you.

If a pet is bitten, go to a vet straight away. Keep yourself clear of the snake while you do so. We don't give medical advice on this site: your doctor and the emergency services are the right sources.

Which snakes live around Dubai communities?

The National's 2023 report says the UAE has 13 snake species, of which four are venomous vipers. A 2019 Gulf News guide, based largely on the work of wildlife expert Dr Reza Khan, describes these among others:

Snake	Venomous?	Size and habitat reported
Saw-scaled viper	Yes	Small, usually under 90 cm
Oman saw-scaled (carpet) viper	Yes	40–75 cm, lives close to settlements
Arabian sand viper	Yes	Usually 20–35 cm, small and stout
False horned viper	Yes	Usually 40–70 cm
Hooded malpolon (false cobra)	Mildly	About 150 cm, on farms and in scrub and hedges
Sand boa	No	Up to 65 cm, on and in sand, mostly at night
Thread snake	No	20–25 cm, very thin, often in moist soil around homes
Blind snake	No	Up to about 18 cm, in moist soil such as flowerpots

The small snakes people find in pot plants may well be harmless, and the Gulf News guide advises against killing them. Size alone is no safe test, though, since some vipers are small too. If you are not certain, leave it alone and call.

How common are snakes in Jumeirah Park and Emirates Living?

We found no current count for either community, so the picture rests on older reports.

When	Where	What was reported
Sept–Oct 2019	Jumeirah Park	Vipers seen in a garage, a park area and on driveways (Gulf News)
2018–2019	Emirates Living, including Hattan	Snakes on a street and inside a villa (Gulf News)
2019	Jumeirah Islands and other communities	Sightings in villa gardens and on patios (Gulf News)
Nov 2019	Jumeirah Park	Further viper reports; the Municipality sprayed affected gardens (Dubai Standard)

Nakheel said then that it had no direct reports of the incidents, and described such sightings as rare but seasonal and possible anywhere in Dubai. The same pattern fits The National's 2023 report, which found newly built areas beside natural land see more encounters, partly because development displaces snakes. It said encounters tend to peak in April, May, September and October.

For perspective, that report also said no snake bite deaths had been recorded in the UAE for well over a decade. Gulf News's 2019 guide calls bites rare. Rare does not mean harmless, so the steps above still apply.

How do you make a villa garden less inviting?

• Clear hiding places. Dr Khan's advice in 2019 was to clear yards of rubbish, debris and overgrown hedges.
• Keep bins closed. The Municipality has warned that waste attracts pests (Gulf News, 2020), and rodents are prey for some snakes. Our page on rats and mice covers those.
• Close gaps under garage and garden doors.
• Fix leaks and pooled irrigation. The National's 2023 report said year-round water in gardens and pools may benefit adaptable species. It also helps with mosquitoes.
• Look before you reach into shaded corners, under planters and around stored items.
• Consider a barrier if sightings persist. Dr Khan also suggested a thick plastic barrier buried about 5–8 cm under the sand and rising 50–70 cm up the fence. Ask your community first, since exterior changes may need approval.

Don't use pesticides or home remedies against snakes. If a company offers any fumigation or "bomb" product at home, refuse it and read why aluminium phosphide is banned in UAE homes.

Walking in parks and at the desert edge

The same habits apply outdoors. When a snake was filmed in Mushrif Park in 2020, the Municipality said it treated the desert-character park three times a week and told visitors to stay out of dunes covered with branches and avoid bushes. Keep dogs on a lead near scrub and report sightings in public places on 800900. Our snake page has a quick checklist, and the page on scorpions covers the other hazard you may find in a villa garden.

What to check before you act

• Everyone, including pets, is well away from the snake.
• You have called 800900 and told community security or management.
• If anyone has been bitten, you have called 999, and are not waiting for pest control.
• You have asked who will attend, and when.
• Any private company is on Dubai Municipality's approved list.
• Rubbish, debris and overgrown hedges have been cleared from your garden.

Questions people ask

General information only, not professional, medical or legal advice. Rules, services and prices change; confirm with Dubai Municipality or a licensed company before you act. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Sources

1. Residents spot deadly snakes in new Dubai residential communities (Gulf News, 9 Oct 2019)checked 3 November 2026
2. Snakes, venomous and non-venomous, found in the UAE: a guide (Gulf News, 10 Oct 2019)checked 3 November 2026
3. Dubai community residents on high alert after repeated snake sightings (Dubai Standard, 6 Nov 2019)checked 3 November 2026
4. Snakes in the UAE and climate change (The National, 26 Nov 2023)checked 3 November 2026
5. Man shocked to find snake lurking in Dubai's Mushrif Park (Gulf News, updated 18 Jul 2020)checked 3 November 2026
6. Dubai Municipality guide: how to book pest control, sewage and waste disposal (Emirates 24|7, updated 24 Jun 2026)checked 3 November 2026
7. UAE faces increase in pests after spells of heavy rain (The National, 14 Apr 2026)checked 3 November 2026