spouse of scouse

Stop it

Dreamy

You're evil.

And there was me, refraining from linking to my spid vid.

OP - there are two arachnophobes in my household. (Which may or may not include me). When we first arrived, I was panicked about walking on grass (not barefoot or anything, just general walking on grass), walking near hedges, walking under trees, getting up in the middle of the night involved every light on in the house... etc.

I've calmed down a little now, lol. We live out in the bush and probably only see the same number of spiders as we used to see when we lived on the outskirts of York. You can easily get the outside of your house sprayed, and yes, the first time you see a huntsman you have a massive screaming fit, especially when they're scampering, but you soon realise that those ones aren't the issue (not that they're allowed any houseroom chez Dreamy).

You'll be fine.

abner

We've moved from QLD to VIC in the past two years, and the incidence of huntsman and other nasty spiders in the house and garden has dropped from weekly to maybe monthly, and even then only in spring and summer. I still get screaming calls to deal with feeble "daddy-long-legs" types--not sure of the proper name--but its mostly just the girls (and my wife) egging each other on to be afraid of something.

However, on the now rarer occasions when the huntsman spiders do show up, they're every bit as big, nasty looking, and fast-moving as we ever encountered in QLD, so you do still have to stop and think about how you're going to deal with them safely...

No more eastern brown snakes to deal with, though, so that's better.

Just part of Australian life.

BadgeIsBack

Yup. Funnelwebs sort of rear and look dangerous. Redbacks would bite if you handle them probably, or brush them.

Huntsman are scary due to to their "size" but not tarantula size - (if I recall - this was a real let down for me).They can give you a nip but I have never met anyone who has ever been bitten.
The white tails used to scare due to the necrosis cases doing the rounds - I think this was debunked awhile back

rammygirl

Killed a very big white tail last night. They can and do give a nasty bite but not all have venom that causes necrosis. If you get unlucky like my mate it is very nasty, he needed skin grafts and has a depression in his leg still.

All spiders can bite, even English ones, very few will kill you.