My first encounter of the eight legged kind

[Dolly]

Was just coming out of the multi-storey in town about to go down the exit ramp when this interloper scutled across the windscreen (on the outside thank goodness!!!). Darn near had a heart attack. Pulled over, husband got out and started taking pics of it, walking up and down the car as it ran (and I mean ran, geez they can go fast) on top of the car.

I'm psychologically maimed for life!

Dolly

BTW spider was a huntsman and small, I'd say about 3 1/2 - 4 inches from toe to toe (not that I was looking, my eyes were closed the whole time)

[scottishcelts]

OMG Dolly - i have already been having the nightmares of moving to Oz and things like this happening to me! I've had them all - the worst possible kind and the spiders are my biggest fear of moving to Oz, don't get me wrong i'm not over the moon about moving to a snake infested country either!!! but the spiders are the ones that will also give my poor wee heart a flutter!!!

Is this really the first time you've came across one of the pesky little beggars? and do you bug-bomb your house?

[Dolly]

Hi there,

It has been my biggest fear too.

Before we moved into our rental we moretein bombed the whole house, and the crawl space under the house and the double garage. I am absolutely terrified of the things. As far as the house is concerned (touch wood, salt over shoulder etc etc) we've never had one in the house. We moved in here in October and not bombed since. All we get are daddy long leg spiders, which can get quite big (by UK standards) but have really no substance to them. They have teeny bodies and sometimes are hard to see. I tolerate them in the house because (to other spiders) they are the most venemous spiders around, so they keep the others at bay. Oh dear, I hope I haven't tempted fate?

If I thought it needed it, I would have also got the pest control guy out to spray all around the outside of the house too. But, I've not felt I need to call him.

Here, you just have to be a bit more careful. Shake your clothes when taking off the washing line, look under garden furniture, wear gloves when gardening, don't leave piles of washing on the floor or around for too long. Huntsmen are huge but can't hurt you (only your pride), whereas there are other spiders that can give you a nasty nip. And I personally have never heard of anyone getting bitten, neither has anyone I know.

I've heard horror stories of huntsmans dropping from under sun visors in the car to running across the INSIDE of your windscreen to someone having one on their face when they woke up. Makes me shudder. But, it's not like they are in every corner just waiting to pounce. If I can live here with them, anyone can. Trust me on that.

They are out there, you cannot ignore that, but it's not as bad as the thoughts running around your head! My imagination used to run on overtime when I was in the UK thinking about all the possible scenarios of coming face to face with a huntsman....thank goodness it's far better!

Dolly

[kaz101]

Since we've been in South Australia (July 2007) we've seen 3 huntsman spiders.
One was on my husband while he was gardening, and I really did lose the power of speech for a few minutes! The second was on the outside of the front door, and when my Dad touched it it ran inside With a bowl and cardboard that was put outside, and the third was on the outside of a window - but still gave me a shock.

As Dolly mentioned huntsman spiders are harmless. We also get the Daddy long legs spiders with no real substance to them.

As far as we are aware there are very few poisonous spiders around here (they're more up North), but we can get snakes. However the locals say that as long as you make some noise if you are walking through longish grass then they tend to stay away. Of course you may want to stay away from walking in longish grass to begin with!

Regards,
Karen

[scottishcelts]

Hi Kaz, i remember you telling that story a while back about your husband gardening and the huntsmen on him and i still think about it! I too would have lost the power of speech, as i have seen the actually fully grown size of them on telly and on-line, although i know as soon as i see one i am going to totally freak out and do something completely stupid! (hopefully not run outside naked or something like that, although a spider that big would probably cause me to lose all sense of reality).

Definately my biggest issue but i try to keep reminding myself that there are others who have moved there far more terrified than me (if that is trueand are still there years on.

[Loeske17]

Oh good, sounds like i'm not the only one with creepy crawly issues! It's actually crossed my mind (yes i know i'm bad) to NOT move to OZ because of it! No worries I got over myself. Luckily my boyfriend wants to study in OZ, and i'll be working fulltime, so most of the housework and laundry spiders will be for him . He is continually saying i have a phobia and should get counselling.... but perhaps I can counsil myself as I'm a psychologist...
Anyway, it's comforting to know that i'm not the only one who's heart will miss a couple of beats the first couple of times i see one of the infamous crawlies.

[scottishcelts]

Hi Loeske17, tell me about it, i've hummed and hawed the from the start about the spiders and like you comtemplated not going to Australia as i thought (and still think sometimes if i think too hard!) i wouldn't be able to deal with them.

I also have had and are still having nightmares and consious thoughts of the worst case scenarios that could happen to me regarding the not so friendly eight legged friends!

But i always come to the conclusion that life is too short and if others like me can do it that so can i and it surely can't be that bad - seen as no-one seems to exit Australia once they have entered the place, at least not because of the spiders.

Don't get me wrong i'm not looking forward to it one bit and as soon as i land at Brissie airport i'll be looking around the airport for huntsmen - i kid you not! They should make a film about me!

But nothing will hold me back and i'm going regardless - and hopefully never to return to the UK bar the odd funeral.

[VJB]

Please please please tell me what I can do to prevent these beasts from entering my home...am arriving in Sydney in one month and can honestly say even though I have a million and 1 things to think about, I am spending a lot (way too much) time being terrified of encountering these beasts and envisaging heart stopping situations. I am TERRIFIED!! whats bombing and how do I do it? and what other hints and tips do you have? I have 2 small children and my biggest fear is being on my own with them and having to deal with one, I really don't want to instill my fear into them as my mother did with me...I know I'll come across one of the buggers at some stage but any methods of prevention will be undertaken immediately so please let me know as soon as possible and YES I too have thought about not going but how woosy is that!!!
Thanks in advance
Vanessa

[scottishcelts]

Originally Posted by VJB

Please please please tell me what I can do to prevent these beasts from entering my home...am arriving in Sydney in one month and can honestly say even though I have a million and 1 things to think about, I am spending a lot (way too much) time being terrified of encountering these beasts and envisaging heart stopping situations. I am TERRIFIED!! whats bombing and how do I do it? and what other hints and tips do you have? I have 2 small children and my biggest fear is being on my own with them and having to deal with one, I really don't want to instill my fear into them as my mother did with me...I know I'll come across one of the buggers at some stage but any methods of prevention will be undertaken immediately so please let me know as soon as possible and YES I too have thought about not going but how woosy is that!!!
Thanks in advance
Vanessa

Hi Vanessa, Mmm yes it's a big issue isn't it if you are petrified! I too was a bearer of my dad's fear of them and luckily my children don't appear to have any issues with them (i have always made a huge effort to hide my fears of them around the kids) which has obviously paid off.

Anyway, bombing is stuff that you buy in Oz - you can either do it yourself of hire someone to do it for you (my husband in my case!) and you have to take the kids out the house for a coupla hours while it's being done as it is a chemical thing and basically i you let off one of the things starting in the attic, then leave the house for a few minutes then go back in and bomb the middle part of the house and etc. etc. - cleaning up any mess as you go along i assume (yes i know, when i was told of the procedure i imagined an army of spiders running out the attic charging towards me) but i won't be anywhere near the house when it's getting bombed i can tell you. You can also get the outside of your house sprayed with stuff to keep them away.
Also you can but spider/bug sprays to keep in the house and apparently they work a treat, the only thing is you have to stand and watch them being poisoned to death and those bloody legs racing at 90 mile per hour, but i have been told it is an effective spray, so here's hoping ey!

But ultimately you can't keep them all away and some will slip the net and as you said it's only a matter of time before you come face to face with the pesky crettins! (the very thought, i've the heebie jeebies again).

I wish you lots of luck in Sydney and you can be assured that i will come across more than you as i'm going to Brisbane!

[VJB]

Funny...we are definitely on the same page with this one...as for bombing, being a pacifist I don't agree with it as a whole but when it comes to these buggers I'm all for anything to minimise contact so bombing it is. I read somewhere that Prozac kills them (not that I have any!!) so seriously discussed strategically placing it around the house, my husband was not impressed at the thought of this in a house with 2 kids under 5, I kind of get his point. Another "prevention" is a conker in every corner of every room...yeah right I knew I was losing the plot when I started considering prozac and conkers..they're more scared of us than we are of them...REALLY!!!

When are you off to Brisbane? Best of luck to you xx