smidgemum2

Great pic...gonna send it to my sis back home!

Professional Princess

I do believe spiders are big enough to ride.

You have a selection of sizes.

The mediocre spider will get you from the Northern Territory to Perth.

The big bastard spider will fly you to London, but if its a huntsman, its a no frills job.

The piss off you liar spider, will in fact have full catering on board.

And then there is the Im going to eat the contents of your bottom spider, which lies in wait on the toilet role as seen in the picture and does exactly that, eats the contents of your bottom, depending on what you ate the night before.

Then you have the DIMIA spider, which to be frank, makes me shudder with fear, they eat your passports and visas as you sleep and the onus is on you to prove your allowed to stay there.

They have now got a new streamlined spider, designed to eat your bottom, your visa and skills assessment AND fly you back to London in under an hour.



On a more serious note, the spiders in Australia will be more afraid of you than you are of them, and the big ones are the Huntsman which are harmless.

Badge

I 'l think you'll find that the spiders will be smaller than you thought.

I've been disapointed - before I came out here, I was lead to believe they were really big. Many Huntsman are 'big', but they are not massive.

badge

arkon

Hi Katie, I too have a fear of spiders but something strange has happened to me since I've got here. I bought a farm on the mid north coast so I am out in the fields doing all kinds of outdoors stuff and we have loads of spiders from the necro ones to the big golden orbs, little jumping spiders and big fat pink ones. And do you know what, I've kind of got used to them quite quickly, I gave up being overly sensitive to them within a few weeks as they don't actually come and seek you out and most run away when you come near. I have the house sealed up like a drum and never leave doors or windows open without the fly screens up, and to date I've only found 1 spider in the house and I think it must have hitched a ride in with one of the dogs. Getting a web in the face still makes me jump but not the "I’m about to die" jump that I used to get. I had an orb land on my face one day when I was out on the tractor which did make my heart stop momentarily, but I just brushed it away and carried on.

10 months ago back in Britain there is no way I could have conceived of me losing my fear of spiders and it was a real fear almost enough to stop me coming here! It seems there are so many of the little buggers you very quickly get desensitized from them.

One last thing size is irrelevant, in fact the bigger the better, at least you might hear the footsteps coming. One thing I have noticed is that the more dangerous they are the less likely they are to run away, So if you poke it with a stick and it frowns and looks hard and refuses to budge, its probably a nasty one.

Katie, don’t worry about them, you can control them. They build nice big webs too and that helps keep the mossies under control. That for me is the biggest pest by far!

eurotramp

I have a big fear for spiders :scared: ...I would like to know how often do you come across one of the dangerous ones in the suburbs??
Do go really have to be careful were you walk barefoot in you garden, or checking you shoes before you slip in.....

Paul2004

I've only seen Oz in Winter, so didn't see anything!

I've been told tho from people out there that they are YET to see one! Some people have been there over a year!



I was told by another that when they do the weekly/monthly clean of the garden furniture, they'll open up a folded chair and bang it so the Redbacks fall out! ... :scared:

I don't know if they was winding me up, but I think it IS advised to check inside your shoes b4 you put them on if you've left em out in the garden!

pootle26

i always shake my shoes before putting them on - even when they are indoors & i always check under the chair before sitting on it
it only takes 2 secs & it becomes habit.
my BIL was bitten by a redback 8 times - he sat down on a chair without looking & when he was bitten he thought it was a mozzie so brushed it off - it was infact a redback & by this time was p*ssed of so bit him a few more times
he is fine - but i wouldnt like to take the chance - im a wuss

dont wish to scare anyone - just letting u know my point of view


pootle26

eurotramp

Oh nooo...that's not for me then....I would get paranoid and see spider every were and not leaving the house anymore :scared:

leedslad

I have a huge dislike for spiders, and i'm a bloke.

I think your chances of seeing a spider are slim. Unless you go looking for them or you go walking in the forests, or own a farm.

I was in sydney for 6 ,months, and melbourne for 3 and i never saw one.

I went travelling up the east coast ann only saw one when the camp owner told us where we could see a golden orb if we wanted to. This was a huge spider, but i was more in awe of its size than scared.

Don't let your imagination run away with you.

you'll be fine.

pootle26

He had been out here for the best part of 15 years when it happened - and they are not running round everywhere - that was the point i was trying to make -he aggitated it because he kept bashing it thinking it was a fly/ mozzie
i spent a year in oz & only saw 1 spider & like the others have said the small ones are the nasty ones - i am not a great lover of spiders but when i did se one i sprayed it with the bug spray & that was it. DEAD
i didnt mean to frighten you - apologies if i did - but there is no use pretending that they dont exist because they do
my husband is petrified of snakes - & i mean PETRIFIED!! & everyone we met kept going on about the snakes & the spiders, but we wouldnt let that spoil our dream of coming here, & luckily so far we havent seen any - no doubt one day we will, but you need to deal with it when the time comes - as long as you dont put yourself in that situation the chances of meeting one become less
i only shake my shoes as a precaution because i know i would die if there ever was something in my shoe - stupid i know but it makes me feel better
so dont dwell on it - im sure everything will be fine

hth

pootle26

Rooksie

I dont know if anyone has noticed but the OP has like ... gone!!!! do you think she fainted??!?!?! :scared: :scared:

Bless

DollyDaydream

Ah, and oldie but a goodie, eh!!! My eyes popped out on stalks when I found the pic.....I wonder whether a suit of armour or biohazard gear will pass through customs???

D D

Paul2004

Hi D D, good to see you back ...

Was it you who originally posted it?

I remember seeing it first, and swore it was a Photoshop ...lol, but had to send the pic to friends.

Oh and throw out every time a 'Spider' thread pops up! ...

Harmless tho! .... :scared:

DollyDaydream

Hi there,

Yep, I'm the culprit. I also thought that it may have been 'doctored' a bit but knew the size leg to leg was about right (leg span can get to 15cms which is the width of a loo roll - I've checked!!! ). Then when we did the Friendly Spider Programme I took a copy with me and they verified that it was an authentic size of a huntsman (they thought it may have been a pregnant female ). So, even if it was superinposed onto the loo roll, it's still the size they can grow to....:scared:

And yes, always one to scare the newbies with, cos it certainly scared (and still) scares the c**p outa me

D D

PS yep, good to be back, thanks xx

Rooksie

so what spiders did you get up close and personal with mate???!!! :scared: