shamer

I have just been advised that we will be getting our pregrant letter any day now, and the dream of Oz will now become a reality.

Since the news everything has now become technicolour and scarier than before. We have been soaking up every piece of info we could for the last 2 years about Oz, and absolutly can't wait to get out there.

Now we have to deal with the biggest problem, THE BEASTIES!!!!!! (For everyone who is not Scottish that means the spiders, lizards, snakes etc).

Can anyone advise two of the worlds worst arachnaphobics who love the outdoors how they managed to overcome there terror of seeing a spider the size of a mouse on there bathroom wall?

Are there places in Oz that have less of these things?

I know Huntsmans dont kill you, but I think dying of a Heart attack is just as bad as being stung.

Please don't say you just get used to them, because I am still not used to the wee farty things you get here in Scotland.

Any advice would be welcome (exept stay in Scotland, that aint happining)

Many thanks in advance

Shamer

rday

i havent got any advice
but thanx for making me laugh

rday

rday

hey,maybe some hypnotherapy

Jacqui

You're definitely not alone on this one. I'm scared of spiders and my husband's scared of snakes, like you we're not going to let these silly phobias stop our dream of going to Oz. My sister has been in Perth for 10 years now, and she still checks under the bed at night for any creepy crawlies! She has never mentioned having anything real scary in the house, I guess you have to be careful keeping doors and windows shut, there's no way a Huntsman could get through a fly screen. If you have to remove a spider I believe there are sprays you can use to slow them down, and there are sprays to use all around window and door frames to keep them at bay. Huntsmans eat Redbacks, so I guess if you see one outside it's best to leave it to do its important job, the Redbacks can be nasty. We ruled out living in Sydney because of the Funnel Webs, but a guy we know working over here at the moment said he has lived in Sydney all his life and has never even seen a Funnel Web. I think the Aussies are quite calm about this spider/snake business, but apparently they are petrified when a European wasp starts buzzing around - something we all take for granted here in the UK.

MrFlibbleUK

I would recommend buying a book about em....okay so it will make yer skin crawl but is really helpful. I got one called..something like Australias Deadliest Creatures (avent got the book at the moment as have lent it to a friend who is going to Oz on holiday in a few months). It was helpfull as it showed you where all the nasties are (kinda ruled out the North!) how to treat a bit/sting and stuff like that (suprising how many people dont die of stings/bites etc).

I am a little bit happier about the spiders and snakes now but am shit scared of jellyfish and seashells :-)

If you want I can dig out the details of the book.

sophia

Hi Guys

Although I'm an Aussie, I've lived in the UK for most of my life so I'm having exactly the same traumas about the spiders as everyone else. However, if you're feeling brave check out this site, it's along the lines of the book MrFlibbleUK is on about...it's not easy reading but at least you'll be prepared and can make a decision about where to live.

We've chosen Perth because there seems to be less scary stuff...although I don't know for sure, I do know that the Sydney Funnel Web LOOKS evil!!!

happy browsing: http://www.pharmacology.unimelb.edu....vruweb/Rbs.htm

love sophia x

cazsue

hmmmm scary stuff, I don't like to think about. I got bitten by a green ant, which was very painful and tried to convince my hubby that it was a spider, only convinced myself after counting the appropriate number of legs although it could have been a spider with two legs missing!!!

I don't know if any one saw the BBC programme Dangerous Australians, which showed all sorts of dangerous beasties they even had dangerous trees the "Stinging Tree", but what the heck we're still going for good in 37 days!!!.

Regards
Caz

MrFlibbleUK

Bloody hell....dangerous trees now!!!!!.....what next...carnivorous sheep (now that would give any sheep 'lovers' a shock :-))

jopaulss

Hi ALL
gREAT REPLYS HAD A GOOD LAUGH.
JUST TO REASURE EVERYONE THAT IS HEADING BRISBANE WAY ,THERE ARE NO CREEPY CRAWLIES LEFT BECAUSE "" THE CROCS HAVE EATEN THEM ALL ""

WHAT ABOUT THE BULL ANTS , WE STOPPED ON THE ROADSIDE FOR A BREAK AFTER DRIVING FOR HOURS , IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE , DAUGHTER STARTS YELLING , SHE HAD STOOD BY A RUN OF ANTS , BIG THINGS THEY WERE , SOMEONE SAID THEY PROBABLY WERE BULL ANTS, WE ALL JUMPED IN THE CAR SCRATCHING AFTER THAT ONE.

ANOTHER ONE WAS IN A CARAVAN NEAR PERTH CAME HOME FROM THE DAY ON THE BEACH , TO FIND A BIG HAIRY FRIEND ON THE WALL,IT TOOK 3 DIRECT HITS FROM THE HEEL OF A SHOE , AND A COUPLE OF HOURS TO WAIT TO SEE IF IT MOVED AGAIN BEFORE REMOVING IT . AFTER THAT BEDS CHECKED , CLOTHES CHECKED EVERYTHING CHECKED!!!!!!
OH YES IN THE SHOWER BLOCK IN YALLINGUP WE FOUND A SCORPION , OUR DAUGHTER THOUGHT IT WAS PLASTIC, IT WAS REAL!!!!!
LASTLY WE WERE SAT IN A RESTURANT GARDEN IN MIDDLETON BEACH BY ALBANY , EATING DINNER LOOKED UP AND CRAWLING ALONG THE PERGOLA WAS A 18 INCH LONG LIZARD , EVERYONE ELSE LOOKED CALM, SO WE IGNORED IT , OH GOD!!!!

IT WONT PUT US OFF WERE ARE STILL EAGER TO GET BACK.
JOANNE

MrFlibbleUK

One time I saw a mean looking sparrow....coulda been venemous y'know..and then there was the time I saw the evil blood sucking admiral butterfly....and lets not even get onto the subject of the sabre toothed spaniel.

You see its kinda scarey in the UK too!!

But seriously....nah....cant do serious...too damn scarey :-)

BookBear

I've been in Adelaide for about 18 months now. I've seen a couple of Huntsmen (eeergh), no redbacks, no snakes (even though we've been camping 3 times and done lots of bushwalking).

I've seen lots of lovely wildlife though, people seem to forget about that....Pelicans, Rosellas, Lorikeets, Skinks, Roos, Echidnas, Gallahs, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, etc etc.

The funny thing is I was watching a program on snakes the other day, there was one evil looking snake that apparently comes from South America, well I've been thinking about visiting Chile in the near future and I was having second thoughts about going after hearing about these snakes......I'd completely forgotten that most of the deadliest snakes are here!

There are very, very many threads on this newsgroup and on rec.travel.australia+nz about scary creatures, look them up, there's some good advice.

Nara

Andrew

Hi Shamer,

    > Please don't say you just get used to them, because I am still not used to the wee
    > farty things you get here in Scotland.

But there are so many of them you DO get used tothem. My wife used to be scared of
spiders and run out of the room whenever she saw one in Britain. Here in Oz, she
calmly walks up to me and says "go and get rid if that d*mn spider NOW".

The scariest Big Hairy Beastie over here in Oz has to be Billy Connelly! I'm not sure
about the Bitie bit - you'd have to ask Pamela Stevenson

By the way, some spiders are useful, for example, Daddy-Long leg spiders kill
Redbacks so you should't get rid of all of them in your house.

AndyH

shamer <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > I have just been advised that we will be getting our pregrant letter any day now,
    > and the dream of Oz will now become a reality.
    >
    > Since the news everything has now become technicolour and scarier than before. We
    > have been soaking up every piece of info we could for the last 2 years about Oz,
    > and absolutly can't wait to get out there.
    >
    > Now we have to deal with the biggest problem, THE BEASTIES!!!!!! (For everyone who
    > is not Scottish that means the spiders, lizards, snakes etc).
    >
    > Can anyone advise two of the worlds worst arachnaphobics who love the outdoors how
    > they managed to overcome there terror of seeing a spider the size of a mouse on
    > there bathroom wall?
    >
    > Are there places in Oz that have less of these things?
    >
    > I know Huntsmans dont kill you, but I think dying of a Heart attack is just as bad
    > as being stung.
    >
    > Please don't say you just get used to them, because I am still not used to the wee
    > farty things you get here in Scotland.
    >
    > Any advice would be welcome (exept stay in Scotland, that aint happining)
    >
    > Many thanks in advance
    >
    > Shamer

Lana

Now I am scared... We have poisonous spiders and scorpions here, but there are
no snakes in city areas. And most of all, there are no spiders who can eat frogs
and birds!

My priority when I get to Australian is gonna be to buy bug spray.

Lana

Helena

"shamer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > Now we have to deal with the biggest problem, THE BEASTIES!!!!!! (For everyone who
    > is not Scottish that means the spiders, lizards, snakes etc).
    >
    > Can anyone advise two of the worlds worst arachnaphobics who love the outdoors how
    > they managed to overcome there terror of seeing a spider the size of a mouse on
    > there bathroom wall?

I'm one of the world's worst arachnophobes too, and I can vouch for the fact that you
don't overcome the terror of seeing a spider the size of a hand on your wall or
tearing across the living room floor. Mice are tiny, Huntsmen are not. It's a shock.
They're big. Very big. Huntsmen are hairy too. Oh sure, everyone says they're more
afraid of people than vice versa. Yeah right.

Regardless, the nice thing is that you don't see that many. Over the past two and a
half years, we've only had a couple Huntsmen in the house, and a few other smaller
but no less terrifying ones too. Keep your screens in good repair and closed all the
time, and just prevent the buggers from getting inside and you'll be fine. Check your
laundry before you bring it in from the line. And boxes you bring in from the shed.
They tend to piggyback in if you're not careful.

Outside is another matter. Prevention is the key. Wear gloves all the time while
gardening and poking around in the shed, garage or any other outdoor area where the
beasties can lurk. Don't stick your hand in the mailbox either because Redbacks are
known to set up house in there. We found a Redback in our barbeque after we lifted
the lid one day. Strangely enough, I don't find Redbacks as terrifying as Hunstmen,
or those blasted ones that weave big webs at night for you to walk into! Orb spiders
I think they're called. The Redback is a delicate looking spider, almost pretty.

Redbacks are not horribly toxic, as the Funnel Webs are. The toxin is slow-acting and
you've got plenty of time to get to the hospital or clinic. They don't administer the
antivenin to most healthy adults as you can deal with the toxin fine. Kids, oldies or
people with immunity problems will more likely get the antivenin. The Whitetail
spider is not too pleasant either, causing permanent scars and lesions in some cases.
Keep things tidy and that can help prevent them from hanging around - i.e., piles of
clothes on the floor are a favourite habitat of theirs. A great incentive for the
kids to be tidy!

Outside, I get rid of any webs near the house. I know people will say "but they catch
insects", but to me, they mean that some big creepy spider is far too close to my
house, who'll likely wander inside the minute somebody leaves the door open for a few
seconds. Paranoid? Who, me? Yup!

As for lizards, there are no poisonous lizards in Australia. We've got several
blue-tongues in our backyard. They're great because they eat snails.

Snakes are more rare in the typical suburban neighbourhood. The spiders have eaten
them all. No, seriously, they live in bushy areas, like nature reserves so you need
to be more careful if you live close to or next to one. One lady in a nearby suburb
found one curled up on her front doormat one day. Unfortunately, she only noticed it
after it bit her. She lived. And when you go bushwalking, stomp along, don't tiptoe.
The snakes'll feel the vibrations of your footsteps and leave. They don't chase
people or attack unwarranted. Bites occur when they feel cornered or threatened. Or
if you go and step on them when they're simply minding their business sunning
themselves on your doormat.

About one person a year dies from snakebite, mostly out in the rural areas where the
victim is too far from medical treatment. There've been a few bites in the Perth area
but nobody's died, just hospitalised for a while. Keep your dogs from tall grassed
areas or from running off into the bush or sand dunes because dogs get bitten much
more frequently than people do.

    > Are there places in Oz that have less of these things?

Cities will have less than country areas. I hear northern NSW & Queensland's bad for
the big hairy spiders, more so than W.A. And Sydney's got the Funnel Web, the world's
most poisonous spider.

    > I know Huntsmans dont kill you, but I think dying of a Heart attack is just as bad
    > as being stung.

You don't even have to get stung to suffer from the heart attack. Just seeing one is
enough! Their bite hurts and can cause flu-like symptoms. Sounds nasty, but I think
I'd prefer that to a heart attack any day.

    > Please don't say you just get used to them, because I am still not used to the wee
    > farty things you get here in Scotland.

Okay, I won't say you get used to them, because I'm not and I don't think I ever
will. But truly, you don't see as many as you imagine. All those documentaries on tv
seem to imply we're infested with the beasties and dropping dead by the hundreds from
stings and bites. It's not true. What you do get used to is the fact that you have to
live with them, and with preventative measures, much like living with the sun and the
threat of skin cancer.

    > Any advice would be welcome (exept stay in Scotland, that aint happining)

I'd never advise that. Scotland's very pretty but too cold and wet for me. Come and
don't worry about it. Worry more about crossing the road safely than about beasties.
Some drivers are far more deadly than any spider or snake or platypus.

Good luck,

Helena

Moo30

Shamer,

Would have to say a safe "general" rule would be, the warmer and more tropical the climate in Australia, the bigger the bugs!! This applies to spiders, cockroaches. mosquitos etc. My parents are from Queensland, but we've lived in Melbourne since I was 8 and whilst we still get the Huntsmen and cockroaches occaisionally, they are the mini versions of what you'll find in the warmer, more tropical regions of Australia. Have spent many holidays in Queensland and have found myself running from the bigger "nasties" up there :-) However, I will say that our friends and relatives are used to them ... they have perfected the good old shoe-throw at the offending beast with excellent results :-)