If it had done that I'd have dropped the broom quick sharp. And ran at 50kms per hour in the other direction

Thanks for that web site.... it's 10pm UK time.. I'm just about to go to bed, husband away.... and I couldn't resist looking at the website, intended to just look at the red back, but got drawn in to the other dangerous spider section... scared... very scared.. never liked spiders.... never will..... will now have nightmares :scared: :scared: ... I know I'm still in the UK... I'll still have nightmares... saved it to favorites to show hubby tomorrow !!

Think I need hypnosis... anyone tried it!!

Julie

Great pics of that Red Back.......funny what you get used to, when we lived in the outback for 4 weeks on a cattle station we regularly shared the loos with nests of red backs in the hinge of the door and they used to come down onto us from the spinafex roof.........I was well paranoid by the time we left there after seeing those, as well as a brown snake, another red and black stripe snake and a scorpian, no way I could live there permanently let alone bring a curious toddler up around that lot!

Been here two & a half years now & Redback killing is one of my favourite hobbies . You'll usually find a few on your garden fences, just spray the buggers & they're gone. Very occasionally you may find them in the house but they're usually outside.

We also get venomous mouse spiders here in Perth, they live in little sandy burrows sometimes seen around lawn edges or borders. Just don't go poking sticks down any holes and call out the professionals if you get a number of these spiders, if you've got an infestation... I think it's the males that come out to breed and sometimes get found in houses searching for females. Redbacks are usually found in predictable places, they seem to like wooden surfaces and dark places and you basically teach older kids to leave well alone, but with younguns like Paul's you can't take risks. Always look where you're putting your hands when gardening or going in the shed... they also like to hide in postboxes and under the lip of your wheelie bin (so move by the handles) although I've seen just one in 9 months.
I'm just glad we don't have the Sydney funnel web here, nasty critters and very venomous.
We don't get many spiders in the house (just the daddy long leg thngs which my 8 year old reckons aren't technically spiders) and I reckon that may be due to the fact that we have fly wire behind all the ventilation grills... stops the big ones coming down through the loft.
Anyway, well done Paul for being kind to the spider, I'd have squished it!

They don't seem to run very fast. The only ones I've seen have been in fire hydrants and they are easy to kill with the hydrant key (a metal bar about the size of a large spanner).

I did try to get a closer look at the first one I saw but with 3 Aussie blokes. behind me, shouting "kill it, kill it, quick", I didn't have much choice.

A

it's definitely a red back. Next time ask one of the screaming "kill it" aussie blokes if they have any hairspray in their handbags you can borrow ,
and spray the spider with that ( it will kill the spider if you haven't got any bug spray - it's what I used to use for redbacks in our previous homes
The only spider I do kill because of where they and their webs used to be - on my outside door frames/runners and inside the metal garage door ( heat probably) , where I tend to put my hands without looking.)
We don't get red backs at all in our current home , about the only spider I don't for some reason.But used to have lots of them in previous homes.

cheers

Just found another one to join in on in the party. If you go looking you'll certainly find 'em. This was found just this evening under the top of the fence. I tried to get rid of him but he did I runner right underneath and now I can't get to him.

Hehe. I'll go looking again in the morning, I'll have him.

Paul

I think it is only the girls that have the red stripe.

See http://www.scar.utoronto.ca/~mandrade/male_female.html

A

I came across a redback in our garage in january. (Curiously, after our shipment arrived from Sydney). Have since found out that they are fairly rare up here.

I rang Ste - "There's a redback in our garage"
Ste: " what do you want me to do about it, I'm at work?!"
Me - got nearest available male to coax it into tupperware box (always knew they we going to be good for something...)

Redback died a sleepy oxygen reduced death in said tupperware box.

Cue all the animal rights activists....

Anyway, I have 2 small littlies...versus one potentially harmful redback (and unseen redback rellies)...no contest!

To avoid all this confusion ... why not provoke the arachnid until it bites you ... sit back with a glass of Margaret River red and wait ...

Three Legs

I'm just to bloody scared to go near them to kill them!!!!!! Am definately going to have to consider hypnotherapy me thinks!!