OzzieNurse

So whats the score on the Redback in Perth? Should I be worried? Do they come indoors. My son is 3 so need to know what will hurt us and what is harmless.
Have told him not to touch any spiders or snakes he sees, but not sure what they look like etc. Any advice?

Izzy

We're in Melbourne, but have seen about 5 redbacks so far. They like dark places and have a very obvious ball like body with a bright red stripe down their back. They tend to just sit in the middle of their web. We have found ours in the garage, barbecue and meter box, but none indoors. Spray barrier spray on entry points just to be sure. You can get this from the supermarkets.

Whitetails are the ones that you tend to find indoors and they are much smaller. Only found one so far on the cooker of all places, as they tend to wander.

Those are the only 2 that I ever think about and not a big concern at all. I just have 4 cans of spider spray dotted around the house.

OzzieNurse

Oh that doesnt sound too bad then. I presume that if they bite they dont kill you? Just make you really sick?
Worried about my son more than me as he has a tendency to play with things. Thanks

DrWho

There's a few interesting threads about the critters out here... Have a search on the forum... forearmed forewarned and all that...

Lord Pom Percy

Wrong, They can kill you.

RogerUK

If you are young, infirm or very old they can cause problems, but I think to say they 'can cause death ' is very alarmist. It would be interesting to know when the last case of death by spider bite was recorded. In any case I have found redbacks and whitetails to be very timid and will run away if disturbed, just leave them alone and you will be ok. We live on a semi-rural property with loads of redbacks outside and have had a few whitetails in the house, not a problem so far. Seen loads of snakes in the bush, but they too are timid and quite safe if left alone. I believe the funnelweb spider is aggressive and should be avoided.
Roger

iceman

I believe the last fatality from a spider bite was in 1979 (maybe wrong) but sine the antivenoms have been available there are not fatalities as such. The redback is capabale of killing a small child (technically) but the toxin so I believe is not powerful enough to do much more than cause local pain and maybe some vomiting. However you have plenty of time to get treatment.
The funnel web is the most venomus and aggressive spider but is only really between Newcastle and Wollongong. There is antivenom treatment for the Sydney Funnel web bite. You are much much more at risk of being harmed in a road accident than by spider. At least there is one less snake in the population-the wife ran one over just south of Rockhampton the other day.

There's nothing to worry about. No fatal bites in 30 years in a 20 million population !!

iPom

I see funnel webs up here in the evening when they are going out hunting... I've never had one in our house, but my MIL gets them inside sometimes when it rains. That's because her house is on the same level as the ground whereas our house is raised. She whacks them out with the broom. She gets maybe one in her house in a year. You notice them very quickly.

My son is now 4 and was 3 when we first got here. You'll see they acclimatise pretty quickly to spiders and other crawlies ... Don't panic about it, but just educate them about what they can and can't touch. You leave them alone and they leave you alone. If it's black, ugly and rears up at you, avoid it.