If you’ve been to Australia, how often did you see spiders?

[feelingstifled]

Hi all. Going to Australia for the first time this year. I hate spiders, so I’m slightly panicking at the thought of encountering lots of big ones. So if you’ve been there, how often do you think we will be coming across them? Thanks !

Saw two - one a huntsman and the other a tiny thing in the whole year I was there. I was all over Australia.

Been there twice. Never saw any, until a day trip to Rottnest Island and they were everywhere. (But they just kind of sat in their webs and didn't scuttle around so they were easy enough to avoid.)

Well I live here and the buggers are everywhere - just as in the UK - with that late summer/early autumn burst of web-weaving you get in both countries. AS in the UK, it's the webs you mostly see rather than the spiders.

I'm guessing you mean the big ones. I've had two huntsmen in the house in seventeen years and I'm not the world's top web remover.. They're startling because they don't build webs, hence all the rushing around and that's why they scare the bejesus out of people. Also, I've seen spiders in the UK just as big.

The little ones, the redback, two in the same time span. I marked where they were and took care - they love the underside of garden furniture and the underlip of terracotta pots. I don't kill them and it's pointless to remove them as they just come back. If I had a small child around the house I might review this policy.

No-one has died from a spider bite since 1979.

We went for a month in 2022. Apart from spiders in captivity, we only saw one in the wild, a Huntsman's on the wall in Ayers Rock Airport. They are complete harmless, but absolutely massive.

Thank you so much everyone. This has really put my mind at rest, because seeing spiders was all I could think about instead of looking forward to the holiday! We might even move there one day as we have one adult child out there at the moment (hence the visit), and our other child is talking about moving there, and all I could think about was the bloody spiders!!

Lived there for a year.

Never.

Saw a snake on a remote bush walk once.

Just letting you know that most of us have the exterior of our homes sprayed so the creepy critters stay out.

Currently have an enormous huntsman living in the shower. He has to be ushered out before we can use it. They're harmless and eat cockroaches so he can stay.

We used to have redbacks and I do kill them. They're pretty shy though. We have a lot of golden orbs and St Andrew's Cross spiders in the garden. They are gorgeous with their golden webs.

In Sydney, a huge huntsman in our apartment once and loads of normal daddy long legs. In the rainforest, huge bird eating ones but they were in the trees. Apart from that, none.

Never, and I was in rural parts of WA and QLD.

Did see a snake though.

And wild wallabies. And wild Kangaroos.

And....a Koala in the wild, which is rare, even in Australia apparently.

I live here, on a big bush block about 45 mins from CBD. We see maybe a couple a year? There’s a season for huntsmen (don’t google) which can be big but are mostly harmless. Honestly be more afraid of dying in a place crash than spiders. More chance.

I'm Australian. Used to see huntsmen far more frequently decades ago. I've seen two that I remember in the last five years, one in Queensland and one in Victoria. These days all I see are the occasional little house (or garden, I'm never sure which) spider indoors, or a tiny jumping spider that lives in my car's wing mirror (and was riding on the outside of the windscreen the other day, stupid beast - don't know if it got blown off eventually. If you're in modern hotels I doubt you'll ever see any. If your car is parked outside it doesn't hurt to check behind the visors before you go. If a big spider drops down while you're driving you're almost guaranteed to have an accident.

Ditto to both.

Spent 6 months there, urban & rural, saw 1 spider. It was a big huntsman. I don’t love spiders either so I’m afraid it met its end but at least they are harmless. In a way because they’re so big they’re less likely to take you by surprise! Red backs tend to stick to garages sheds etc I think it’s unusual to just come across one in the house. My real fear out there was snakes 😱 - but didn’t see a single one even in the outback.

Three times now, in the suburbs, so quite green, lots of parks etc and no noticeable spiders.
Did have a lovely little gecko in the house though 😍

Massive ones- not so much- although I can post you a picture of the one that scared the crap out of me in my bathroom last week 😆 bigger issue around Melbourne and Sydney is the smaller ones that bite you- red backs and white tails- be aware of them and squash on sight......

Oh stop it. You know millions of people live there, without being attacked daily by plate sized spiders, right? You're being silly.

I lived there for 2 years and didn't see spiders anymore often than I would at home. Don't remember seeing any big ones.

Only ever saw snakes dead on the side of the road, never saw a live one in the wild.

I’ve lived here for 22 years, never ever seen a spider! And the only snake I have seen is at the zoo!

@wandawaves - in fairness- the huge ones are something tough- and depending on the surrounds they actually are around a fair bit. I say that as someone who lives in Melbourne and have the feeling that even one was too many.....phobias and fears aren't logical- and I can understand the worry, because it's something that (some) people revel in sharing they are frigging massive.

Depends where you are and where you're staying.

Older places more likely as they can just wander in through vents and open windows.

They'll hide under the visor if a car is parked for awhile.
Had one fall down in my face while driving.

These are huntys. Scary looking but harmless.

Watch out for the flying cockroaches.

@Catsmere I also had a car companion jumping spider recently 😆

I live in Sydney. We get a big (harmless) huntsman in the house once or twice a year. If you’re staying with family members there’s more chance of seeing one than in a hotel. If they have an outdoor space yes there will likely be spiders. They’re mostly in the bushes/trees. Watch out if you go out in the garden early in the morning as you can easily walk through a web.

If you will be staying in an area with funnel web spiders don’t leave your shoes outside overnight or you might get a nasty surprise in the morning. Very unlikely but they are deadly so just worth being aware. We’ve had two funnel webs in 15 years. Redback spiders will hide in dark spaces like letterboxes or under garden furniture. They’ll give you a nasty bite and you need to go to hospital but they’re very shy and will only bite if they feel threatened.

In short: will you see a spider some time during your visit? Probably. Will you be in any danger from it if you leave it alone? No.

Was the silly little beggar inside or out? 😄

I didn't! Saw kangaroos, snakes, etc but didn't notice any spiders.