Spiders and things that bite!!!!!!!!!
 

Hi I am currently trying to decide where it is in oz that i want to live. One thing that worries me the most is all the spiders, snakes, jellyfish and other such things that can bite/kill me and my family. Do i need to be as worried as i am? Am i more likely to come across some of these creatures in certain states or areas of oz? :confused:

Re: Spiders and things that bite!!!!!!!!!
 

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm pretty sure you have to take certain precautions, but if it was that much of a problem - i suspect you'd be hearing of a lot of Australians (and visitors) dying daily from these things. As we don't i suspect you are fairly safe. Sure there are going to be the unlucky ones who get bitten but there the chances we take. You can get run over by a bus tomorrow going to work.

The east and inland areas by all accounts have 'more' of the nasty's. For instance the West doesn't really have the funnel web or white tail by all accounts. they do have the red back but these aren't generally an aggresive spider.

Snakes are generally more scared of you than you are of them so they do try to avoid you, but they can't help getting caught in back gardens and stuff from time to time.

Speaking to friends and family of mine over there you get people saying I've been here all my life and only ever seen 2 snakes etc.

Spiders are a little more prevelant by all accounts, but you can get your house sprayed which kills em, and despite what you may have heard, they aren't all out there thinking 'right! Where's my next human to bite and kill?'

Cockroaches and flies will probably be the most of your troubles.

Regards

James

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We made the decision to stay away from NSW based on the funnel web spider:rofl:

In actual fact, in Vic although there are a few nasties the chances of you meeting them are slim. Invest in one of those cheap spider catchers (the ones with the vaccume that sucks the spider into a tube so you can release them outside) and just line the inside of the tube with mortein so it will catch and kill the spider for you. That way you will be a lot happier if you see one in your house as you know you have the upper hand.

As for snakes, in our 4 years in Oz my hubby and I saw 1 between us. Admittidly it could have killed us but it preferred to escape what it saw as a predator. Since returning to Scotland my husband has seen 4:blink: They really are not waiting around every corner in Australia.

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Thanks for the advice, see i figured that somewhere like cairns would have more nasties than say adelaide because it is sub tropical but then i think but adelaide is the hottest state so maybe it has more snakes. I have to admit in the back of my mind is the worry that my sons may get bitten, bt then like you say I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. I'm not about to let my worries stop me from moving however it does affect the area of australia I choose to live in. I can't stand the culture of low, humdrumness in uk. Everyone inc me seems to have something to moan about. I don't feel as if children are inspired to be somebody and I am hoping that by moving to oz my children will have more family time and will grow up to be more interested in life and lifes opportunities. Yes I know lving in la la land a little bit but hey I am a fairly new mummy!

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What kinds of beasties are we likely to encounter in Melbourne?

I'd guess that there wouldn't be that many in the inner suburbs but would be a little more prevalent on the outskirts?

Made the mistake of watching one of these "Australia's Deadliest...." programs the other night! Won't be doing that again lol

Paul

ps tbh I'm more concerned about my 3 yr olds prospects of getting stabbed by some ned here before he even gets to his teens!

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Your kids are going to be in more danger of injury from drunk drivers, antisocial teens, needlestick injury in public parks, mental health disorders than they ever will be from spiders and snakes. You might also want to avoid areas where the mozzies carry Ross River fever - that can be very debilitating.

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A large group of Huntsman spiders broke into our house last week wielding baseball bats. They announced that THEY lived here now and we are currently living in a tent in the garden. We do nip in to brew a cuppa when they are out though.
I was told these spiders were harmless - be careful!

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More people in OZ are killed by falling trees each year then the wildlife. So its just like saying l'm affraid to live in OZ because a tree might fall on my head.
The snakes, spiders, sharks , crocs , jellyfish and everything else kill around 10 people a year compared to 1,600 in car accidents, so you better not travel by car in OZ because your 1,600 times more likely to be killed in a car accident then the wildlife. In my opinion your toatally safe on land in OZ snakes and spiders kill almost no one , almost everyone that is unlucky to be bitten survives these days with modern anti venom treatment, its only in the water in the tropical north the country l would advoid with crocs and jellyfish, but the oceans and rivers in the southern part are safe from crocs and jellysish.

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More kids in OZ are killed by dogs then snakes and spiders, dogs are much more dangerous. Living in a city steping on a junkies needle is the danger not stepping on a snake.

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Thats it i am not going!!

I hate baseball bats :cry_smile::cry_smile:

Paddy

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Barba04, have you been to Oz before? I'd suggest a visit/holiday first.

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You can always tell the people who have never been to OZ before because they think OZ suburbia and backyards are crawling with millions of deadly snakes, spiders and crocs all waiting to jump out and kill you.

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Statistically, children are more at risk from their own parents than from any other source of danger.

I saw a snake last night. Slithered out from under the mower and into the hedge.

Up here in the north we don't seem to have too much in the way of deadly spiders, maybe our big spiders (orbs and hunstmen) keep most of them away. I've seen quite a few snakes, mostly tree snakes which are pretty harmless. They're always going in the opposite direction. If you're worried about blue ringed octopuses, sharks and stingers, then it's fairly easy to avoid them. Your kids, for examples, will not meet these creatures on the trip to school. Unless you live on an island and haven't got a boat.

Of course, the snake or crocodile you see isn't really a threat. It's the ones you don't see before they strike are the problem. Five year old boy was eaten by a croc up here a couple of weeks ago. Very tragic, but one wonders why his parents allowed him to wander along the bank of a crocdile infested river.

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I know silly isn't it - crocodiles can't jump.

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[QUOTE=hoofie2002;73234 crocodiles can't jump.[/QUOTE]


soon to be a movie starring Woody Harleson and Ally Gator

Re: Spiders and things that bite!!!!!!!!!
 

In six years in QLD I have seen only two live snakes on the loose, both pythons (which have no venom).

I think I have only ever seen two redback spiders, though I assume my house and backyard to be full of them.

Admittedly I have seen 11 crocs in the wild, but that was on a guided croc tour on the Proserpine river.

I have been stung by jellyfish on about two occasions, very painful but not the killer type.

I have been bitten by ants more times than I care to remember - use bicarb "paste" to neutralise their acid sting.

Most painful Australia related event was probably being dumped by a wave onto a sandbank, now THAT hurt.

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There are over 40 species of funnel web spider, and the CSIRO website states that:

"Funnel-web spiders are found in:
Queensland
New South Wales
the Australian Capital Territory
Victoria
South Australia
Tasmania."

There are also two species that live in trees. Only the Sydney and Northern Tree dwelling variety have resulted in death. You could be really unlucky and have a tree fall on you in Northern NSW, SE Qld, survive and then get bitten by an irate tree dwelling specimen.

We've only seen them in the pool, and they are soon got rid of! Both my wife and daughter have been bitten by white tails, my wife got some slight ulceration at the bite site, and my daughter has a ring of blisters from her bite a couple of weeks ago. Very painful, but not too much of a problem. Jumping ant bites are also very painful, and both kids and me have been bitten, pain and swelling can last a week.

We regularly get snakes in the garden, browns, red bellied blacks, pythons, but they generally move away when they see you. Watched a kookaburra eating a red bellied black on one of the garden chairs the other week, amazing that it managed to eat, head first, such a big snake, while still alive and squirming.

To be honest you just get used to it, and the only thing that keeps us out of the garden at the moment are the mozzies. Got into my car the other morning, and in that time I had 8 come in with me. And we do live in an area where there's Ross River Fever. And they'll bite thru denim jeans too. I've taken to wearing a waterproof when putting out washing as that seems to stop them.

We live semi-rural, and for what you gain in terms of seeing other wildlife, peace and quiet, views etc it's been worth it. We discovered a blue tongue lizard in he bedroom last night, which was interesting.

Like I say, depends where you're living, but don't worry about it, there's plenty of worse things to cause you harm in Oz than the bitey things.

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Hi I am currently trying to decide where it is in the UK that i want to live. One thing that worries me the most is all the bad / cold weather can injure/kill me and my family. Do i need to be as worried as i am? Am i more likely to come across some of this cold weather in certain areas of the UK?

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Maybe Queensland is the worst state for dangerous wildlife because of the tropical climate. But still your probably much more likley to be hit by a bus crossing the street over there.

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I saw a guy with a white sheet over his head creep up on a sleeping crocodile.The croc had no idea he was there.He was within about a foot of the croc's head then at the top of his voice he screamed BOOO!!!.
The croc lept about 6 foot into the air.
So, they can jump.

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I'll bet afterwards that the bloke with the sheet discovered he could run much faster than he thought and can also climb trees like a cat.:rofl:

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Yup, true, didnt like to say that though!

Front page of our local paper was an article on two teenage girls who had put drugs in lollies and spread them around the playground at the local Maccas. Looks like the dangers are getting closer!

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He could neither run nor climb,
He was eaten

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Avoid England, especially Cornwall, I was bitten by a snake there once, spent 7 days in Hospital. A Very dangerous place.

True, but still smiling... ;)

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I'll give that a try next time I get bitten. The local ants have a vendetta against me at the moment ! :mad: I'm getting scared to go in the garden.

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Hi All

On the subject of little friends in Oz. Heres a picture of a house mate waiting to greet us in our new home in melbourne :p fantastic hey!!!

Regards

Steve and Vicky :thumbsup:

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He is ok he does not have a baseball bat ;)

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Drop bears are the real nasties out here.......

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could be under his coat?

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hope thats all he has under is coat:rofl:

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The jellyfish issue in only up north (as in parts of Queensland). Box jellyfish are the cause of beach closures throughout summer in northern areas (though there are safe enclosures created for swimming year round).

I have spent around twenty years in Australia (it's hard to figure out with all my going backwards and forwards!). And in that time I have NEVER seen a snake - apart from in a zoo.

There are some dangerous spiders, but I do not know a single person who has been bitten by one - and I spend most of my time in Canberra, the city that has more bushland than urban areas. The worst spider bites I know anybody to have had are a couple of white tailed spider bites. They caused pain and they sometimes require antibiotics, but that's it.
The scariest spider you will probably encounter is the (often hand-sized) huntsman. Some crazy people don't even bother moving or killing them when they see them. They are big, but they're not going to hurt you (apart from giving you a heart attack on sight!).

Sure there are lots of deadly creatures in Australia, but most are in places the average person is never going to go. It's a bit like worrying about being killed by a rattlesnake in New York City.

The thing you should really be worrying about is skin cancer. The Australian sun is stronger than anywhere else in the world, and something like two out of three Australians contract some kind of skin cancer.

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Now this i can vouch for ! when we were in Oz years ago my parents of course warned us of the "things that bite" in great depth but not once did any of them or my 'Local' family tell of the Dumping :eek::eek:

And boy did i learn the hard way on a beach in Moolabar :thumbdown:

However after reading this and a few other similar threads i think the ants will be my biggest problem :unsure:

Dougie

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Exactly right l don't know why Poms seem to have this paranoid fear of OZ wildlife, if they were immigrating to the USA they would'nt be worried about the venomous snakes, spiders, grizzly bears, mountain lions and sharks that kill people over there. Unless you plan to live in a croc and snake infested swamp the middle of the northern territory outback theres nothing to worry about.
l have lived in OZ for 30 years and never been bitten or attacked by a snake spider or any of the native wildlife or know anyone who has, the only things that have attacked me are dogs, bees and wasps all introduced to OZ from overseas.

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Yes. There aren't as many people here as there are in Britain. And people are more dangerous than any of the Aussie wildlife.

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Crocs can jump - there are several businesses up here that rely on the fact.

google 'jumping crocs NT'

The things that will kill you are not always visible either - melioidosis is no fun either...

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Oh for God's sake, they are just spiders and reptiles. They don't have super powers like in the B movies and they don't work on vendettas. They are definately more scared of you than you are of them. Get over it! And if you really are terrified and cannot bear the thought of possibly seeing something slightly out of the ordinary out of the corner of your eye, go and live in a bubble:rofl:

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No kidding...I'm not particularly fond of spiders, but it's not like they wait for you and pounce. I was at my sister-in-law's place and her pergola is spider heaven. I looked up and saw dozens of black spiders, all having a lovely time waiting for the flies drawn by the BBQ to make their way up. But seriously, they just do their own thing...

Of course once I get my first huntsman in the house I'll probably freak out...

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Cats are good at keeping huntsmen out. Which is a pity, cos huntsmen are good at keeping cockroaches out.

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Hey folks...pleasure as always.

Now...business end. I like these debates - I really do, but I have issues. First - I know it seems like the poms always go off the handle about the deadly spiders but a little bit of compassion please. They're f**king huge people :ohmy:
It's not that they can kill you - who cares. It's that they can steal your car and wear your favourite pair of jeans while doing it. Not right.

Second - when I get there, I WILL become all "you don't see THAT many.. puurrleeese!!!":p

Boo :thumbup:

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Its because the wildlife is pushed in your face. All you have to do is switch on the TV and you see 'Australias Deadlist Destinations' (which is all about the deadly wildlife) or Steve Erwin (RIP) banging on about dangerous snakes/spiders or something about Man of War jellyfish.

On the flip side, I would've liked to have emmigrated to the USA. I love the place and have been there numerous times. I've walked around some of the, alledgedly, scariest places, but i felt safe. However with all the TV shows about Cops and Americas Wildest Police Chases, gun crime, yada yada yada, my wife wouldn't even consider the conversation about going there.......

It _is_ a matter of perspective, however, i'd still blame the media :D