Re: Things that bite?
 

Yikes. Remind me not to visit. LOL. We've hardly got any mozzies around here. And we go walking at dusk too...it's funny, like every neighborhood has its own individual pest population rates. I know at our house, we've hardly had any roaches (*knocking loudly on wood*), yet drive 5 minutes away to a friend's place who lives on the edge of the nature reserve and she's got thousands of them.

Re: Things that bite?
 

I share a fence with a nature reserve... I'm thinking that might have something to do with it. :)

I can add that its Dragonfly season as well at the moment... lots of the smaller red ones about and some of the big blue, Vulcan bomber size, ones. Totally harmless and very impressive.

Re: Things that bite?
 

Don't worry about all the above just wait till it's magpie nesting season. :lol:

Re: Things that bite?
 

Okay my turn :D

Been in Perth (Yokine area which is around 10 min drive from the City) for around 2 years:

Sharks - only in the aquarium

Snakes - Only down south near Margaret River where my inlaws live. Have seen a few.

Spiders - Couple of redbacks in garden and one in kitchen, huntsman down south

Jellyfish - none

Cockroaches - occasionally get one scampering around

Flies - total pain in the arse around November

Wasps - had a nest built in our garage but I left them alone, it was only small and they've all gone now

Mozzies - again, only really down south

Re: Things that bite?
 

Hi, been here thirteen years and love it, i dont actively go looking for 'dangerous' critters but i tend to enjoy it if i see them, if you keep your eyes open they are all around you. I live out in the bush so i reckon we get more than the average.
snakes, lost count of the number i have seen, browns, red bellies, green and brown tree snakes and 3 pythons so far this year, they are after all everywhere.
spiders, our garden is literally crawling with funnel webs, but not the notorious Sydney variety, there is a reasonably large huntsmen living in the breadbin as i type and if you go looking for redbacks you will find them, very common, i have seen a fair few white tips but its not certain that they cause the types of wounds that everyone attributes to them.
Scorpians, seen only one and that was on the kitchen floor.
Sharks, i have seen a few from the Great Barrier to south of Sydney, i once saw what i think was a 3 metre bull shark 6 kilometres up stream in the Nambucca River, i still swim in there.
I go snorkeling on a regular basis and once ended up wearing a blue bottle jellyfish on my head, i had a few other stings but nothing bad. I once got spiked by a saltwater catfish which was very very painful and
it was my own stupid fault, seen a couple of blue ringed octopuses but like most other stuff if you leave them alone you have nothing to worry about.
I reckon the worst things are the insects, the thing i hate the most is jack jumper ants, nasty and they even seem malevolent sometimes, there are plenty more ants but i reckon they are not as bad as jack jumpers. Ticks are pretty foul things too, one nearly killed my dog last year, it ended up costing me just shy of $500 to save the dog, leeches, disgusting little things but basically harmless. Oh my god the flies in are just so bloody annoying, Canberra is not the place to be if you dont like flies!
Im sorry if this all seems to be worrying for you, but the good thing is this, 99.999% of the time you dont even see the critters and they hardly ever bite, apart from them damn mozzies! but that depends on where you live.

Bob

Sorry i forget the goanna,s, never ever try to catch a large goanna, or a shingle back...or a big water dragon!

Re: Things that bite?
 

I bloody forgot about the paralysis ticks.. almost lost a cat to one. $400 in injections costs and an overnight stay in vets 'hospital'.

Re: Things that bite?
 

Yeah that. Nothing like them dive bombing you when you're out walking.

As for the flies, they're at their worst here in Nov to about mid-January. It's a totally different story now...just the odd one here and there. But December...ugggh. Just clouds of them...

Re: Things that bite?
 

Oh yes I remember them attacking my daughter when she was a new mum taking the baby for a walk in her pram. She is now very wary of them! :eek:

Also I know 2 ladies from work who were both attacked more than once (not together), they seem to go for people with blue eyes I believe??

I have heard of putting an ice cream container on your head, but it's not a look I like for myself. :p

Re: Things that bite?
 

My dog got repeatadly dive bombed and now hates birds. But its fairly funny to watch this tiny chiuhua trying to "chase" the huge crows that are perched half way up a house. Though, after a girl lost a eye last year in Mandurah, i now use saftey specs from work as sunnies. That and i am a cheap skate :D

Re: Things that bite?
 

There was a fatal attack in recent years.... a relative of a friend of mine :unsure:

Re: Things that bite?
 

Practically everything over here is extremely dangerous.

Some of the flies actually bite you, and it hurts, a lot.

Birds aren't feathered friends - they can, and will, attack. You will get swooped by magpies, mynah birds, plovers, all sorts really. And if you're unlucky enough to disturb a nesting adult cassowary - :ohmy:

Even the trees aren't safe ! If you touch the leaf of a gympie stinger, not only will it be a painful experience, but it will be with you for the rest of your life, flaring up depending on the weather.

Even the fish are dangerous ! I'm not talking about sharks, just your bog standard fish. Some are extremely venemous and will have you crying like a baby and feeling like death within minutes if you get spiked. Most aren't strongly venomous but have lots of sharp teeth and razor sharp fins, gills and spikes.

It would be far easier to draw up a list of non-dangerous Australian animals.

Re: Things that bite?
 

This sounds like the promo for a show, "When Australia Attacks!" :thumbup: LOL

Truth is, no matter where you're living, you can probably get bitten, stung, poked, injured by something. Living in Canada, we have ticks in the mountains, rattlesnakes down south, brown recluse spiders (aside from the usual black widows we find in our imported grapes), millions of West Nile carrying mozzies all summer, even in the city, we had packs of coyotes roaming the urban river valley trail system and attacking small dogs. I never thought, "Cripes...I can't live here. Death awaits me at every turn."

I did cut myself while making dinner last week. I tried to tell my husband that the kitchen is a hazardous place (for reasons other than my cooking now) and that he has to do all the food prep. He's not buying it. Drat.

Re: Things that bite?
 

There are only 3 types of animal in Aus:
1) Weird,
2) Poisonous, and
3) Sheep.

Re: Things that bite?
 

Still want to go just wont let the kids read this first. Thanks for all your replies, I'm glad your all here to tell the tale.

Re: Things that bite?
 

oh, and when you get here, be careful of the fish that you eat.

If you are unlucky enough to be served meat from a big reef fish, and that fish has ciguatera, then you'll be vomiting for days, in pain all over, stuck in bed with exhaustion, hot things will feel cold (and vice versa), and you may start hallucinating.

Doctor will tell you "no alcohol for 12months" (I reckon that's worse than the actual poisoning symptoms). ;)

Oh, and there's no cure. You've got it for life and this is the worst bit - for the rest of your life, each time you get drunk, there's a good chance you will experience the initial poisoning symptoms again. :(



But these are just little things. Australia is great ! :thumbup: