Chortlepuss Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I'm not going to post my pic of the huntsman we found under the toilet seat! However, you need to keep things in perspective (and make sure you get a well screened house!). Oz is highly urbanized and the chances of encountering something nasty are low. We had redbacks at our old house in the garden benches - just a case of being vigilant before you fumble around in dark corners/leaf litter. I saw a brown snake in the garden and chased it away with a flick of my tablecloth. After a while you get sort of used to it. Hubby & I do a lot of bush walking and even then, it's rare to see dodgy snakes - they like to keep out of your way. The constrictors aren't dangerous if you keep out of their way, and it's such a treat to see one you get caught up in the excitement of it all (well I do anyway). If you need to worry about something, I'd worry about the standard of Ozzie driving. Far more dangerous than any creepy crawly you may encounter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 I'm not going to post my pic of the huntsman we found under the toilet seat! However, you need to keep things in perspective (and make sure you get a well screened house!). Oz is highly urbanized and the chances of encountering something nasty are low. We had redbacks at our old house in the garden benches - just a case of being vigilant before you fumble around in dark corners/leaf litter. I saw a brown snake in the garden and chased it away with a flick of my tablecloth. After a while you get sort of used to it. Hubby & I do a lot of bush walking and even then, it's rare to see dodgy snakes - they like to keep out of your way. The constrictors aren't dangerous if you keep out of their way, and it's such a treat to see one you get caught up in the excitement of it all (well I do anyway). If you need to worry about something, I'd worry about the standard of Ozzie driving. Far more dangerous than any creepy crawly you may encounter. Under the toilet seat? That's like that horrible spider horror movie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tina0101 Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Wishing I'd never read this thread now!!! Please tell me you're all lying and spiders don't hide under toilet seats . . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fensaddler Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 It's not the spiders you need to worry about. The flying cockroaches were a surprise, but its the clouds of bush flies in the summer that are the pain... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 woke up to a huntsman crawling on me last weekend, not pleasant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 woke up to a huntsman crawling on me last weekend, not pleasant Harry saying morning? Eurgh my skin is actually crawling now lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FatCats Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 The one in the picture is a small one...sorry! So, we've been here nearly 3 years and in all this time we have had one small huntsman in our old house. Old, very crappy house with lots of holes to crawl through, so no surprise there. The OH dispatched it with a can of spray and that was that. One other small huntsman inside our mail box. That was a surprise!! Very territorial of his little house too, would scoot down the side and then go back in once we had retrieved the post, with a stick. We found him dead one day, think the postman had had enough. Then there was one very large huntsman in my office...now this one was a chunky customer. There are lots of gum trees around this particular building and we get quite a few spiders coming inside. A kind colleague collected it in a jug and got rid of it, I would not have handled that one myself. In the end, you just get used to all the critters, I am no longer screaming afraid of spiders, they are just there. The one thing that bugs me most of all are the cockroaches, I hate them with a passion, they make me want to heave....yuck! We spray the house and bomb every 3 months, and with our cats indoors we still find roaches. They are the worst bug really, not the spiders at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 You won't literally die. You might pass out in fright or something but the one in the picture looks harmless enough. You really don't see that many and I've seen very few that big. I don't think you see any more spiders here than you do in the UK. The red backs, which can give a nasty bite, are around as we see there webs everywhere but you don't see many of them and I only know of one person who's had a bite in 23 years. A quick trip to hospital and she was fine. Got bitten in a very unfortunate place though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarahelle Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I've been in Queensland for 3 and a half years and I've only ever seen Huntsman spiders. Since we moved to Redcliffe nearly 3 years ago, I've only seen one and actually, since we got a cat, I haven't seen a single spider or insect in the house apart from ants, not even one single cockroach. I do hate cockroaches, they make my skin crawl but Huntsmans have an unfair reputation - yes, they're big, but they won't hurt you, they're more likely to run away from you! I feel quite bad for the poor things, they only come in to get out of the heat or cold, like most spiders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kellie23 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 woke up to a huntsman crawling on me last weekend, not pleasant Nooooooooooooo wayyyyyyyyy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Counting Stars Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I hate spiders lol can cope with snakes but I think it's the thought of the legs climbing all over me lol x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Of course you won't literally die! It's just a spider and a harmless one at that. Perhaps you could do with some desensitization training before you arrive because chances are you are going to see huntsmen, they're pretty endemic. I'm not saying the won't give you a fright when they scuttle across the field of your vision but the vast majority of spiders you encounter won't harm you. Squirting them with mortein puts them into death throes that make them look even scarier. Just pop the open end of a glass over them, slide a piece of card under them and dump them outside (or, if there's a man in the house, run screaming from the room and demand that HE deals with it!). Squash redbacks and whitetails (they often bite and can do nasty things to your skin) and don't face down a Sydney funnel web and you will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Of course you won't literally die! It's just a spider and a harmless one at that. Perhaps you could do with some desensitization training before you arrive because chances are you are going to see huntsmen, they're pretty endemic. I'm not saying the won't give you a fright when they scuttle across the field of your vision but the vast majority of spiders you encounter won't harm you. Squirting them with mortein puts them into death throes that make them look even scarier. Just pop the open end of a glass over them, slide a piece of card under them and dump them outside (or, if there's a man in the house, run screaming from the room and demand that HE deals with it!). Squash redbacks and whitetails (they often bite and can do nasty things to your skin) and don't face down a Sydney funnel web and you will be fine. Think I'll start a thread save our spiders after the lambasting I got on the shark thread.:wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest16631 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 [ATTACH=CONFIG]23063[/ATTACH]............we get a fair few as we live on a big block of land........ ..............lots of bush and undergrowth....... ................keeping chicken does encourage rats.....then snakes......but.. ........................you worry less..... .........................i still dont like them after more than 20 years.......but i dont jump so high or scream so loud........lol.... ..........................though this was a worry as it wouldnt wash down the plug hole...lol...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I hate spiders and I know I'd actually die if I saw a huntsman never mind one crawling on me but at the same time they are so big and they sound like they have proper personalities that maybe people could.. Grow fond of them l? God I must be mad lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 [ATTACH=CONFIG]23055[/ATTACH] And i guarantee it will happen. The second i get off the plane every spider in the whole of Oz will come for me... Seriously what do you do? I am trying to be an adult and deal with this fear and am googling them as power is knowledge, but tbh i am loosing :cry: Are you sure Australia is the right place for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britpop Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I'm never far away from a can of spider killer and it works effectively. We had 4 large huntsman in 3 weeks and various other big-uns. I was a wreck for ages constantly on the look out, not walking under trees etc. I HATE them! I know pesticide is bad and I know that they are harmless etc etc. It's just not that easy. Putting a glass over one is impossible for me as I'd be frozen with fear that close. It's irrational but it's debilitating. Spray is the only way for me personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckleface Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 (edited) Think I'll start a thread save our spiders after the lambasting I got on the shark thread.:wink: It is enlightening when you see the same poster vehemently against killing a shark but perfectly happy to dispatch spiders on mass. Bit of a double standard me thinks lol Edited to clarify that I don't think Paul1Perth is the poster with the double standards. Edited February 7, 2014 by Freckleface Clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee13 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 (edited) Haha yeah you ladies crack me up..whats with fear of harmless spiders and cockies? Give me a buzz when you see em and I ll happily remove em humanely for a nice cuppa tea..:biggrin: Oh and freckles...btw Paul1Perth is more vehemently for the culling of sharks... :wink: Edited February 6, 2014 by gee13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I could never kill a huntsman - they are too big! Id feel so bad lol plus think of the mess..eurgh. I'd just have to ring gee13 lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Les Patterson Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Leave our spiders alone ya bloody poms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee13 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I could never kill a huntsman - they are too big! Id feel so bad lol plus think of the mess..eurgh. I'd just have to ring gee13 lol No mess Stacey, I just use a dustpan..or jam jar and kindly move them to the neighbours..:laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 No mess Stacey, I just use a dustpan..or jam jar and kindly move them to the neighbours..:laugh: We used to put them outside too, if it was a big one I left Dave to do it lol. One time the dog got a big one, I think it either bit her or tasted really bad because she didn't go near them again. I think it's cute when people say the huntsman hide and then pop out again when they think nobody's looking lol least they eat the other things you don't want. I just don't like the thought of waking up to one on me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACDONALDO67 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Won't do you any harm. Don't forget, you kill those little critters then who is going to eat the cockroaches and flies. That Huntsman is more frightened of you. Hard to believe but it is. These critters are not sat there watching you get off a plane thinking "Mmmmm another meal yummy". My daughter is frightened of them yet when we were in Sydney last month she spent half the time actually looking for them. :biglaugh: One night when we came back to the apartment there was a Wolf Spider (I think) crunching on a cockroach half way up the wall. She was amazed by it. Just need to relax a bit and open your mind to think the opposite of these creatures wanting to hurt you. They don't. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACDONALDO67 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Just to add. I took my family to Taronga Zoo and was fortunate to land on one of those spider shows that they do during the day. On display were a Huntsman, Funnel Web and Red Back. The keeper did a little test with a rod to show how these spiders react when they come into contact with humans. Both the Huntsman and Red Back when being prodded tried to get away and move out the way. The funnel web did the same but then turned about face and reared up with it's fangs as if to say "bugger off and leave me alone I'm not interested". These three spiders, as is with anything in this world that is not interested in hurting you, only acted defensively, not aggressively. Both my wife and daughter were put at ease by that little display. I missed the snake show. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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