Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Original poster

Spiders in Australia… eek!

79 replies

Soontobe60 · 04/01/2022 23:12

My DH is desperate to return to Australia (he spent time there as a teenager) and wants to go to watch the Ashes in a couple of years, combined with a road trip across the south of the country. I love travel, love adventures but loathe spiders!
My question is, is my fear of coming across loads of spiders in Australia justified? Has anyone been and if so, did you come across lots of them, in particular big ones?

OP posts:

DropYourSword · 05/01/2022 04:43

I emigrated to Australia and I have a spider phobia! You do see them occasionally but it’s not like every wall is constantly crawling with them.
I bug bomb my house frequently to keep them at bay. Huntsmen are the ones that terrify me the most but a frequent treatment helps minimise them.
The other ones you’ll see a lot of are orb weavers - they are in gardens. I’ve grown to grudgingly deal with them - they stay in their webs and are slender and fine pointed rather than scuttly and hairy.

WindyRose · 05/01/2022 05:03

Eeek! is right OP. Some are the size of cars and you cannot overtake them on the highways, so you are forced to drive behind them for hundreds of miles!!

SquirrelG · 05/01/2022 05:32

Eeek! is right OP. Some are the size of cars and you cannot overtake them on the highways, so you are forced to drive behind them for hundreds of miles!!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Other pets & animals

sashh · 05/01/2022 05:49

Three trips to Oz and I have never seen a spider there.

I've seen koalas, kangaroos, a bandicoot, quokkas and a preying mantis.

I've luckily never uncounted a drop bear.

I have learned to spray insect repellant under tables, to blow up the bag in a wine box to get more wine, how to make lamingtons and to use a stubby cooler.

Australia is a fabulous place to visit, If I wasn't such a wimp with heat and sun I would be living there.

Tomlettegregg · 05/01/2022 05:54

I live here. Relocated from the UK 5 years ago. Have travelled all over Australia. Seen a few. Handful of times. None dangerous. Huntsmen are very common. Redbacks less so. I'd be more scared of snakes. Saw a brown snake within 10 weeks of arriving at Wilsons prom. All that said you will be absolutely fine. Crazy to not visit because you're scared of spiders.

Sagealicious · 05/01/2022 06:13

@sashh

Three trips to Oz and I have never seen a spider there.

I've seen koalas, kangaroos, a bandicoot, quokkas and a preying mantis.

I've luckily never uncounted a drop bear.

I have learned to spray insect repellant under tables, to blow up the bag in a wine box to get more wine, how to make lamingtons and to use a stubby cooler.

Australia is a fabulous place to visit, If I wasn't such a wimp with heat and sun I would be living there.

The drop bears are the ones you really need to be wary of. Some of them are so nasty that as soon as they land on you they grip tightly and refuse to let go and don't get me started on their smell. Think of raw prawns left out in the sun for several weeks. On top of that they love to spit right in your face. But come and visit, you'll be fine! ;)

Porridgeislife · 05/01/2022 06:20

Forget spiders, goannas (giant lizards) are what you want to worry about. They grow up to 2m long and will finish off a sheep. They look at you like they’re spoiling for a fight if you come across one on a walk.

I’m not completely convinced that David Icke’s Lizard People are not just really big goannas.

Dustyblue · 05/01/2022 06:24

LAUGH at this whole thread. Some of you are so funny!

Australian and somewhat spider-phobic here. Please don't stress OP, you're unlikely to come across many, and they're very unlikely to hurt you.

Yes huntsmans can be large- it's raining here in South East Victoria, and they tend to head inside when it rains. However they are slow and easy to catch, but we usually don't bother. They stay on the ceiling and head back outside in their own time. We have one in the lounge, he'll bugger off soon enough.

I've watched others catch them (with a tupperware container and a magazine) so many times even I can do it now, if I have to.

You'll be fine, truly!

mjf981 · 05/01/2022 06:29

Spiders are nothing. Very rare to hear of venomous bites. Its the snakes you need to worry about!!

Dustyblue · 05/01/2022 06:31

Couldn't resist letting you know- it's not always like this:

www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/15/they-look-like-waves-massive-spider-webs-blanket-gippsland-after-victorian-floods

But just imagine how many spiders there must be!!

I'm not helping am I?

Sagealicious · 05/01/2022 06:32

@Porridgeislife

I’m not completely convinced that David Icke’s Lizard People are not just really big goannas.

We used to get huge lizards climbing our walls if we left the front door open. This was back in my teens so can't remember the type of lizard it was. Could have been a goanna. Can be quite confronting when you come face to face with one. We also used to have very tame blue tongue lizards who would invite themselves in, have a bit of a wonder around and then they'd be off again.

JorisBonson · 05/01/2022 06:36

@PonyPals

I live in Australia and your fear is real! There are gigantic spiders roaming around and taking over houses. The media do not report this as it would ruin tourism. The spiders are everywhere... you can't even leave your house without stepping on one. They are beginning to enslave people.

This made me laugh very loudly on a quiet train 😁

JorisBonson · 05/01/2022 06:39

And I also just googled drop bear and may never sleep again.

IJustLovePirates · 05/01/2022 06:40

I'm seconding the goannas as the thing to worry about. I've seen them carry off baby chickens and in picnic areas they can be quite 'tame' and terrorise you for your food.

I can't copy link, but if you can cut and paste that, it will tell you all about the drop bears.

Drop Bear - Australian Museumaustralian.museum › learn › animals › mammals

If you're camping, don't go outside the tent at night in case the yowies get you.

Spiders are not seen that often and the ones you do see are mostly harmless. Big, but harmless :) Probably the least of your worries

whinetime89 · 05/01/2022 06:42

This fluffy darling was in the bathroom last week :/

Sagealicious · 05/01/2022 06:44

@mjf981

Spiders are nothing. Very rare to hear of venomous bites. Its the snakes you need to worry about!!

So agree with this. I'm not overly fond of spiders but I don't fear them because I know they won't go on the attack if I leave them alone. Snakes on the other hand are a different story all together. When I was about 10 I was playing in our backyard when suddenly out of nowhere my dad started running towards me with an axe in his hand screaming at me not to move. I stood frozen in fear as he ran past me. I turned around slowly and my dad was hacking at a red bellied black snake that was just a couple of metres away from me. My dad told me that he was looking out the window when he saw the snake raise itself ready to attack me. It was so quiet that I hadn't noticed anything.

ShottaSheriff · 05/01/2022 06:44

I lived on a leafy suburban street in Sydney and at the start Of December recall being horrified by the sudden appearance of tons of huge spider webs a meter plus wide with these yellow and black spiders waiting in the centre. I was hugely freaked out. There were hundred of them! Harmless but took some getting used to. Never saw a huntsman thankfully (in a year) or anything harmful.

onedayoranother · 05/01/2022 06:46

I hate creepy crawlies. I went to Australia for a month, stayed in nine different locations and didn't see one spider! We did have a six foot snake climbing over a deck chair in Berry though - kids were fascinated!

DropYourSword · 05/01/2022 06:47

Also - people who try to reassure you that huntsmen are harmless are fundamentally misunderstanding what a phobia is!

Forgothowmuchlhatehomeschoolin · 05/01/2022 06:49

I went for 3 weeks didn't see one the whole time.
Did see a snake on the other hand! On my friend's driveway when we came back one day.

user014572 · 05/01/2022 07:04

@whinetime89 WHAT THE FECK IS THAT!!??! [SHOCK]

IcedCoffeeMilkshake · 05/01/2022 07:12

I lived in Victoria for a few years and I am pretty spider phobic. I saw some yes, not going to hide it.

But what i used to do was spray my car (inside, and liberally) with insect spray when I was leaving it overnight. And inside the letter box every couple of days (which was helpfully located right under a tree).

Also made sure I banged any shoes that were left outside like wellies. I would turn them upside down and then drop them then stand back for a bit. (There was only one inside ONCE, but it meant I did it all the time).

But, I lived in a very bushy area (The dandenongs). if you are in cities then much less likely.

Dustyblue · 05/01/2022 07:12

@whinetime89

This fluffy darling was in the bathroom last week :/

Ah, she's no size at all.

What did you name her?

Prescottdanni123 · 05/01/2022 07:37

Not Australia, but I have visited Africa on a few occasions where they also have their fair share of spiders. I always stayed in quite rurally on safaris and only ever saw one spider. They just want a quiet life and aren't going to come looking for trouble. They will want to keep their distance from you.

NightLight2 · 05/01/2022 07:38

I forgot to mention that the funnel webs we find at the bottom of the pool are usually in there for a few days before we get around to getting them out. Weird thing though is that sometimes they’re not dead, after a while they unclench from their curled up shape and move away. So just keep an eye on backyard pools as dead spiders may not actually be completely dead - but this spider thing is usually only in cold weather when we wouldn’t swim anyway.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Swipe left for the next trending thread