M J

Ok so were not even there yet but i just cant get my head straight thinking about my son playing in the garden in Oz and coming across a redback spider!
I know once he's old enough to understand (currently 18 months)i can teach him what not to touch but until then apart from shadowing his every step in the garden i just wont be able to relax for a second with worry.
Just wondered how any of you mums and dads cope ... ? IN REALITY how real is the threat to our kids in our own gardens? Even when hes old enough he might be playing on a climbing frame ... blah blah blah.
I myself am scared of spiders but will not show it in front of my son and have so far managed to deal with some meaty UK spiders , obviously Oz spiders may be a different question !! But when it comes to my son .... jeez it scares me silly.
Does it get any easier to cope with?
Please no frightening replies!!!
M J

hedgehog-girl

Actually depends where you live as to the frequency of spiders. I live in Sydney and get lots of Huntsmen and Golden Orbs which both look massive but...and its a big but, I don't see them roaming over the garden ready to pounce. I was a bit worried about black widow's and whitetails in Sydney but I haven't seen one of those either and I've been here for over 2 years.


20,264,082 is the population of Australia and you never hear of anyone getting bitten by spiders...Spiders on the whole don't want to come near humans and especially small humans which may want to squish them or pull legs off. I wouldn't be worried if I were you. Its good to have a healthy worry but don't go overboard.

I think as well your child is more likely to be bitten by a harmless spider such as a huntsman rather than a redback and huntsman although they bite hard are not normally harmful to humans.

I used to check the toilet every day when I first came here and then after about 6 months I realised that I had scared myself silly with reading into stuff too much...now I chill and don't worry and have even camped in the bush!

biggy

we get redbacks here but you tend to find them id dull dark places, so with the kids play equipment etc just keep them sprayed and they will be fine. I go out every couple of months and spray the outside furniture and I have never had any bother with spiders. The house is also sprayed against them , so never get them inside either.

k76

What do you spray with?

Dorothy

Huntsman spiders are very big but harmless. Actually, they eat the other creepies that live here, so they are a good thing. People do get bitten by other spiders, such as redbacks and white tails, but generally the bites are harmless. Some localised swelling and it hurts like a bugger, but rarely fatal. My boss' daughter was bitten on her hand by a white tail last spring and she is still alive and well. White tails like to be where it's warm and dry and red backs like metal...swing sets, garden furniture, etc. The first one we saw was sitting under a fire extinguisher.
If you want to spray, you can get a professional to come in every 6 months or so to spray the entire house or you can get yourself a can of Mortein and spray as you see them. I actually killed some sort of bug (not sure what it was, but it was very pretty) in my bathroom the other night with a can of hairspray. It coats them and they end up suffocating.
The reality of spiders here is that they are no more prevelant than in any other place. We actually saw more bugs in our house in Canada than we do here, it's just that they are a different type here than there.

Wendy

I'm currently sharing the dining room with a huntsman. It's only a baby but it's sat on the ceiling just to the left of me. I hate spiders but I've been sat here for over a hour with it just there and it's not eaten me.......





.........yet

Dorothy

I was really proud of myself for killing the "thing" that lived in my bathroom. I just couldn't sleep knowing that something with all those legs was only a few metres from me and with no man here to do it for me I had to take matters - or a can of hairspray - into my own hands.
If you aren't at coffee this afternoon I'll know the huntsman got you.

Wendy

I'm negotiating my escape route right now.

alkristensen

What are the rules for everyday things you dont think about in the uk. I mean EVERY TIME YOU............

such as checking and shaking your shoes or behind the sunshade in the car etc.

Are there things people do religiously and if so what are they.

Al

Wendy

At first I would check my shoes but that's wore off now. I do tend to look closely before I sit on garden chairs or benches etc.

TBH, the spider situation isn't that bad. It's things like ants and cockroaches that seem more prevalent and are more annoying cos they do tend to get everywhere. Also flies and mosquito's

I've never checked behind the sunshade.

Hutch

What's that on the back of your head Wendy? Looks a bit like a hair-net...

Wendy

Forgot to say, I get my hubby to do that

NickyC

I've never checked for anything anywhere and I've never been surprised by anything nasty.

I remember a new arrival telling me once that he shook out his shoes every morning before putting them on (sure you'd do it up the Amazon jungle - but not really necessary around here) and I laughed at him.

The only thing I do (and I'd probably be the same in the UK) is to never put my hand into dark places like the back of the shed or in woodpiles.

As Dorothy has said, there are no MORE spiders here than anywhere else. There are not dozens of them lurking behind doors waiting to jump out at you. The ones you do see tend to behave exactly like the spiders you see in England - you will barely notice any difference.

biggy

spider deedy stuff lol

there are aisles of stuff in the supermarket...or u can get it professionally done no worries

Sue from Manchester

I always pull down the sunshade before driving away as don't want to be surprised by a huntsman when I'm doing 60k in heavy traffic. I know several people that that's happened to.