JaneAS

Please help!!!
Hubby is petrified of spiders, and his fears about the nasties in NZ may be enough to stop us from migrating.... I thought I'd start a quick poll to guage how often these are actually seen.

1 - how often have you encountered one of the nasty spiders in NZ?
2 - where was it (e.g. house / bed / beach / garden etc)?
3 - what area was it (e.g. Auckland / Christchurch etc)?

Also, does anyone know of any cats that have been hurt / poisoned by eating / chasing spiders in NZ? Our cats are confirmed spider killers, and that's great here in the UK, as none of them are toxic.

THANK YOU!!!
JaneAS

sel

There are no snakes or dangerous wild animals in New Zealand. Sandflies are very prevalent in some areas, but these can be effectively countered by use of insect repellent. The only poisonous creature in New Zealand is the very rare katipo spider.

http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/re...s.asp?Bu_ID=55

Tell hubby he can relax

bookemjano

I know how your hubby feels! They make me shudder. Spiders, not husbands. Only spiders I've seen here are dark grey ones, quite small, about the size of your little finger nail including legs. They're not shy, they just walk around the walls for hours on end. I've seen no webs inside the house, but there are a lot outside, particularly on the washing line and we have to hose it down to get rid of them before I'll put any washing out.

Herm

Like your hubby spiders are not my favourate creature. We live in a rural area in the Bay of Plenty. Although whitetails are supposed to be in abundance I have never seen one - although my kids reckon they have.

We have the house sprayed inside and out every 6 months and absolutely nothing gets in. Cost is $100 a go.

Rest easy
Martin

livewire

We've had a few whitetails, (on the inside walls and one on a towel brought in from outside) they're quite sluggish beasts though so quite easy to deal with. Don't squish them though - quite juicy and a bit messy.

It's the small black biting flies that are a real menace - not just on the beach either but in other places too - including the garden. Flamin things hurt when they bite, then the bites itch like mad. You'd have to be wearing insect repellent virtually all the time in the summer not to get nibbled.

My kids have have started to have a bit of a reaction to them as well - each bite comes up looking like a bee sting after a few minutes. Anti histamine brings the swelling down though.

scottish

Not wanting to scare you hubby got bitten by a white tip at work... 2 hrs later nearly passing out at home... 20 mins later emergency appointment with Doc and referred straight to hospital for admittance for Septacimia (sp). He was a week in hospital seriously ill and off work for a month.

JaneAS

Hi Scottish. Scary yes, but I'm trying to figure out how often this sort of thing happens. Please can you tell me, which part of NZ this was in? And what sort of work environment was it (e.g. outdoors / factory / office etc)?

Thanks,
Jane

scottish

Jane we were in the Bay of Plenty and I really have no idea how common it is. What I do know hubbys mate got bit a month after we left NZ and was off work for 2 months. Sorry forgot to say hubby is a Gas Eng/Plumber and was working under someones house. So not an everyday environment. We had one in the house once but then got it sprayed by the landlord.

JaneAS

So spraying sounds like a good idea then? Would you recommend that all over NZ, or just N. Island?

Jane

turkeytickler

In ChCh here

Never seen any of the nasty ones, but only been here 3 months. I have to say our house back in england got some BIG UGLY MUTTHAS in the autumn and spring - not had any of those this spring so in that respect its better here.

I think you can break down the fear of spiders into two distinct categories;

1. fear of being bitten. Cats scratch, dogs bite, bees and wasps sting, spiders bite etc etc they are all just part and parcel of life - if the eight legged monster from hell's incisors have your name on it there aint much you can do about it and it could just as easily happen anywhere else in the world. My view; cant do anything about it - cant be bothered to worry about..

2. phobia. those nasty ugly long hairy legs climbing all over you... :scared: AARRGGHHH s<scratch scratch> now THAT is scary!! If this is your problem (like it is mine) the UK is far worse than NZ - so relax!

I have to agree with the other posts - BEWARE THE SANDFLIES!

hope this helps!

Rascal

The white tail have been around the NI for about 100 years now, they came from Australia. We have had at least 12 in our house the last 12 months! Luckily, no bites, they eat other spiders, so best to clear all cobwebs away as fast as you can to stop the white tail coming in. You can buy a spray from garden centres and spray around your windows and doors.
They are less common in the SI having only been there since the 1980's.
Funny enough I was reading all this last week at the hospital!!
Their bites can be nasty and you may need medical help in some cases.
Lots of other spiders though but just ignore them, they are ok.

southerner

Lived for 28 years in the south (Dunedin and further south) and never seen anything dangerous. Apparently the katipo's southern boundary is just north of Dunedin.

Never heard of whitetails until read about them on BE.

Saw a tunnelweb in Auckland once. From a wildlife perspective, NZ is definitely a safer place than the UK.<edited from funnelweb to tunnelweb>

mumomonty

\

Don't think they have funnelwebs here

Rascal

I was beginning to think we had a nest of the white tails here, we had so many, but the woman at the garden centre said they are rife here in central NI.
I have since sprayed and (touch wood) none since inside the house.
They are not that big but its the bite they give I dont fancy!!

mumomonty

1. in a year I've seen about 7
2. on the bed, in the woodshed, on my washing
3. mid north island.

They are the least of your probs if you don't mind me saying so. The main one is the cost of living. I can hear you ALL groaning.........