Hi there, we are in Adelaide, Flaggy Hill.
We have encountered 2 Red backs, both ouside they are now deceased, it was a case of me or them!!!!!!! We have a resident Huntsman, we insist he lives outside and the arrangement is working (so far)
We have bombed the inside of the house and it seems to have worked, we were told to do this every 4-5 months.
Lucky you living in West Beach, we stayed at Adelaide Shores holiday village when we first arrived and loved it.
jacqui

It should be made illegal to put these posts on BE

Why

Seriously, they are not that scary and I am the worlds worst coward. There is no way a few???? spiders are sending me back to the UK!!!!!!!!! I will continue to make 'friends' with some of them.
jacqui

I have lived in SA for 43 years and have never been bitten by a Red back ,and 26 years of this has been moving peoples furniture around, the chemicals in bug sprays will do you more harm than the creatures you are trying to get rid of ....................... mm

Just for you ..................

Please don't say that we shouldn't have posts like these. Sometimes you need reasurance; especially when your landlord says " nah you'd have to be really unlucky to see a red back" and then you find 5. I am scared of them and although i haven't been bitten by one they make me feel very unsettled. I know this is a part of the OZzy way of life but I'm not used to it yet 'tis all.

Thank you to all of you who are being so nice.
I haven't seen a single huntsmen yet and although the chemicals are nasty they do seem to be killing the spiders.

Shall I give you a shout when ours next comes out to visit us? it usually happens when we arrive home after a night out, there he is sitting above the front door waiting to welcome us home, I think he misses us
jacqui

Some aussie friends told us the other day a main place of finding them is under garden chairs, so best thing is not toput your legs underneath when sitting outside, keep your legs rested away from the chair if you havent checked it, they said they saw one poor fella stick his legs under, get bit, then his whole body started shaking, a few shots at the hospital sorted him out though!!!

Yeah I've heard they like to live under chairs too. I've started to check now before I sit on the chairs on my balcony! It's mad though. When I was travelling around I slept outside in a SWAG, sat on rocks, climbed about without a second thought. It took a while to feel safe like that and then when I get a house where, in theory it should be much safer, i feel far less at ease!

How come a huntsman can eat a spider without being bitten by one and then dying then?

I was only joking guys!
I have camped in the Aussie bush and they didn't bother me at all.
I actually quite like spiders they eat cockroaches

Just wondering... anyone living in a condo ever see these pests? or is just the price one pays for having his/her own backyard?

What did you expect you have moved to Australia everything bites and stings.

That fly's about to get it...

You will get used to seeing them after a while. I know right now you think I'm full of crap, but it's true. Anyway, we seem to have become accustomed to seeing things outside now. God help any creature that tries to come in the house, though.

We were only here in Adelaide for 3 days when my son saw one in the shopping mall. He told the cashier in Bi-Low and she told him that he didn't see it. When I went to look, yes there was a redback near the fire extinguisher outside the men's toilets. She somehow believed me when I told her. From what I remember of the redbacks they like metal so will go where there is something steel. Like the fire extinguisher or the metal bases of your patio furniture. We also had quite a few white tails outside our front door so hub sprayed all around the perimeter of the house and that solved the problem.

As for being unsettled, it's just those first few weeks blues. Take it easy on yourself and try to understand you have just upset your entire world. You have moved to a place very far away. Your body and mind have to adjust to the change so just relax, take a deep breath and tell yourself that it will get better. If you are really lonely then PM me and we'll go for a nice girlie coffee down at the beach one day. I did just that on Tuesday last week with a friend and it was lovely. We sat in the sunshine reading home decorating magazines and it really brought home to us both why we came here.