Hi there
We are planning on moving to the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne around the Dandenong Ranges and are worried we will be overrun with spiders. Are they really so bad?

Does anyone have any tips that REALLY work that will ward them off?
ie Do those plug-in contraptions that send out ultrasonic sound waves actually work? Are they harmful?

Or what about Osage Orange/ Hedge Apple? Do these fruit keep creepy crawlies at bay?

We'll have a little walking toddler by the time we're there, so I want to keep the critters away, but not in a way that is dangerous to the wee one.

Any advice??

Get a flame thrower and man 24 hour security on your perimeter...

Seriously... nothing will work 100%... it's a hostile environment, get used to it...

You can get your house professionally fumigated and also there are sprays that you can buy over there.

And one other thing


Keep the fly screens SHUT !!!! i was sick of telling my kids this when we were over last month.

We didn't see any spiders indoors except for an odd ant

Nothing would work here, but we are a bit sticksy.

The spider invasion is occasionally joined by a cockroach or two on a gap-year backpacking through the resident conga-line of ants.

If we see 'daddy long legs' around then we rejoice because it means we don't have redbacks.

It's all relative

We are on the edge of the Dandenongs and next to a Reserve. We had the house professionally sprayed inside and out before we moved in ($200) and have since sprayed the outside ourselves. We have been in the house for 7 months and have only had one Whitetail and a very dopey small Huntsman - nothing to freak out about. No cockroaches or ants so far either.

I have a real problem with spiders (am currently trying some DIY aversion therapy ) but have been told that as long as you get your house sprayed regularly it is unlikely you will get them indoors. Money well spent in my opinion!

Just put one of these outside your front door. They can read... You'll be fine.

I've lived in the South Eastern Melbourne suburbs for 3 years since leaving the UK. To date we've had 2 whitetails in the house, and seen a few Huntsman spiders around the garden. I also got chased by a wolf spider once while raking leaves in the garden.

It is not a hostile environment at all. Especially Melbourne. If you do see an unusally large spider count ourself lucky - it will give you something to tell the people back home about.

Couple of tips.

Clear out any spiders you find - including their webs that dangle from corners and roofs. White tails eat other spiders.

Spray every 3 months around your windows and doors with an outdoor bug barrier spray - about $30 every 3 months.

We only got spiders in the house when I missed a spraying by about a month.

Is it safe for people to have their house fumigated regularly. i am sure it is otherwise everyone wouldnt have it done,but I have to ask .Still am finding the spider and snake issue the one thing that is stopping me from really enjoying this time,the excitment of starting a new life(well,if you call trying to sell your house exciting ),but hopefully you get my point. Friends tell me that they are more scared of me than I am off them. NO !! They are not!!

I live in a high bush area and I don't have my house sprayed. I get the odd roach but I put baits down for them. I get the odd spider here and there - I just put them outside. Really, I don't know what you're worried about.

I am just scared of spiders,and the thought of all these beasties running riot in my house is not a comforting one. I know that it probably wont be as bad as my imagination is making me believe,its like everything I guess,the not knowing. After a couple of months I am sure I will be fine

We just use a barrier spray you can buy in any hardware store - nip round the outside of the house every three months - nothing's made it further than the doorstep in nearly a year.

I think you need to remove the words 'running riot' ... That just doesn't happen!
You do become quite good at spotting the spiders when you first arrive.. Your instinct is in overdrive at first so you see anything crawling on your floor. Few and far between to be honest. I mean, is your house in the UK over run with spiders? It's about the same here.

What are you scared of exactly? The movement? One of them biting you?
Try and pin it down what scares you?

I don't exactly love them, but I find them interesting. I have a healthy respect for them.

Thank you, I know you said you live near a high bush area,so if you dont have alot then perhaps it wont be nearly so bad as i think. I dont know what scares me most,firstly the fact that they can kill you,also I dont like the way they move. A few people have said how they have been woken in the night by a huntsman,or something similar crawling over them in bed,or dropping on them ,sorry.... but that does REALLY scare me,just to be woken to that. But I am sure that you have to be very unlucky to have that happen

I HATE spiders!.

Can't say they bother me here though. I've seen a few, but they are mostly tiny ones. Armed with a can of spider killer I feel quite safe