Loopy

We get lots of spiders that are a bit like daddy long legs but aren't, but they do a good job of catching the ants! Only had one redback so far (that I know of) in the garage. Over at a friends though we found one in her son's toy box - not a good toy!

Loopy

DianeOZ

There ws a woman who swalled a spider..

marknclaire

mu wife insisted that if we moved to oz we must buy a spider catcher:-\ we did and its great-catches the little(and big) buggers and u can dispose of them without killing them


www.spidercatcher.com.au

renth

I don't get the "without killing them" bit?

Copperben

When I was living in Oz I pulled back the curtains and behind one (right behind my head when I was sleeping) was a very large huntsman - well nearly jumped out of my skin and had to get someone in to catch it - I was living above stables at that point so it is to be expected - my friends had one that lived in their house but nobody would get rid ie go near it of it so it sort of lingered there - got used to it after a while - kind of cute a mouse on legs!:scared:

kittenlips

Has anyone heard of a flesheating spider? Someone told me a story about a spider that bit a friend of theirs in a hotel in Melbourne. Apparently it eats away your flesh, and there is no antidote. Eventually the said limb has to be amputated! Do you think I'm being wound up?***!!!!

spuds

Can you not spray something on them/at them rather than try and squash them? Ok so I am completely lilly-livered but I don't fancy stamping on one in me flipflops!

bondipom

They jump and attack people trying that.

MartinD

We had been on Oz about a month and moved into a rental that hosted a nest of huntsman (yes, they rear young in nests!). We had 3/4 of them in and out the house over about a month, and we were nevrous wrecks - they are just soooo huge. One morning one was in the pocket of a shirt on the washing line when I was bringing it in, and I just saw its legs dangling over the outside...

Since moving out of there we haven't seen any, but a friend said one fell on his shoulder out of a tree when he was at the bus stop a few months back. Have also heard of them getting into the ventilation systems and sun visors of cars, and one into a light aircraft (this was the local travel reporter doing his 'eye in the sky' bit and he had to make a quick return to base!).

Redbacks are ubiquitous in most garages, and actually don't bother us at all - once you know where they are they are quite pretty to look at, and tend not to go chasing you around. In the garage of our second house there was a large redback (about the size of an average finernail, plus legs) that built its web across 3 metres of our garage floor (no cars in there - just junk), then went from the centre of the garage to the ceiling on one side - there must have been about 6 metres of web in total, and it sat bold as brass at the juntion of 2 strand near the floor. I thini it must have seen me coming in, and thought it might try for a real meal for once...

Redback webs are easy to spot, as they are very messy and haphazard - not real 'webs' at all - jsut a series of tripwires. They are surprising tough, and will stick to you (especially hair and face!) quite well. The real danger with redbacks is in coming across them by accident - we have found them sat in the middle of towel on a sunlounger when we got out of the pool, under patio chair legs with regularity, and at various point around the house.

The real horror for us comes in autumn. When the heavy rains start large black spiders (windows spiders and wolf spider I think) will trot off in search of dryer enviromments - and the most appealing one is right under your front door! In our second house we saw them in the hallway maybe 5/6 nights our of 10 when the rain came, and it wasn't until I weather-sealed the doors that we kept them out.

'Daddy-longleg' house spiders get everywhere, even behind TV's and unders beds if its left dusty. These apparently have the most toxic venom, but their fangs have no hope of getting through human flesh, so your OK.

The story about flesh eating spiders is true - the white tails especially have a toxin called a "necrotising arachnidism", which causes ulcers and can lead to extended rotting of large areas of flesh. This can go on for many months and no real cure is in place once you suffer this. We have seen a couple of white tails around damp areas in bathroom and windows when condensation is allowed to gather.

The good news though is that at least out here in the West we don't get the Syndey Funnel Web - this is an agressive brute with fangs strong enough to pierce a human finger nail and tends to bite repeatedly and be territorial.

Thanks heavens for small mercies!

spuds

Have you got it in for me bondi???!!!

Ok, steel toe-caps for me then at all times.

MartinD

"This is the first report of skin necrosis after the bite of a female black house spider. A previously well 55-year-old woman was bitten four times by two spiders that fell onto her forearm after she had sprayed them with insecticide. She felt an immediate stinging pain after the bite."

Apparently this is one of the many natural mysteries of Australia - why do so many species possess enough venom to bring down an elephant when all they need to do is zap a grasshopper or two???

Look like it has to hurt though...

MartinD

Here the pic...

Larissa

Sounds like a good idea to invest in one of those spider catchers instead - squirting them with spray doesn't seem too good an idea as it gives them time to jump at you!!! Think I'd get one for the car too, but I'm a sissy!

bondipom

Nope. I was just winding you up. I usually like spiders and let the safe ones be. There is one spider that jumps around a bit. Do a search on huntsmans. They are harmless but scare the living crap out of some.

tiredwithtwins

can you buy any sort of repellant, or is that just wishful thinking?


sue:scared: :scared: :scared: