Spiders in Australia

[Tyrasanchez30]

Random topic I know
I have always dreamed of going once it's possible again after the travel restrictions, but I am terrified of spiders. Well most creepy-crawlies really, but those especially.

I know they're supposed to be much larger in Australia, realistically am I likely to find the huge ones in Sydney, Melbourne etc. Or are they mainly in the outback? I've heard stories of people coming home from work and a table-sized spider is on their wall I Sydney.
What's it really like?

If there's a chance that they could be in my accommodation (anything bigger than a digestive biscuit) or in public toilets etc. I don't know what I'd do

I've a massive phobia of spiders and I lived in Australia for 7 months. In the cities I only seen cockroaches and maybe the odd small spider. I spent time in the outback and did see a couple of big ones but not very many and not very often.

That's reassuring to hear, thanks. Bet you had a great time living out there.
How big roughly were the ones you saw in the outback?

I lived in Sydney for two years, never saw any big or scary spiders.

I don’t know, but I know how you feel! I have family in Australia and would love to visit one day but I am terrified of spiders. I don’t know how I’d react to them and wouldn’t want to embarrass them

I just remind myself that not visiting such an incredible place, and my family, because of spiders would be silly - and also millions of ordinary people manage to live there. It’s not the dangerous spider and snake infested pit that it feels like to us, else why would anyone stay there 😂

I've been to Melbourne and saw any number of ones that I would consider "large" (certainly larger than a digestive) so I suppose your mileage may vary.

Maybe it's just not the place for you?

The spiders you need to be afraid of are not especially big.

I lived in Sydney for five years up until about five years ago. No spiders are not confined to the outback, they can be anywhere but I was no more troubled by spiders there than I ever have been here in the UK.

We had a Huntsman (i.e. a big spider) in the house once. We had extremely high ceilings and no means of removing it, so we did our thing and let it be up there, it moved on in the end.

Yes that's true, nobody would live there if they were that bad. I'm glad to hear they aren't really in the cities anyway.

*it was about 8 inches leg span, so not a massive one. 😁

I wouldn't worry too much honeytoast , I don't think spiders really get embarrassed.

That's terrifying, you were brave, I'd have not returned to the house! How big was the Huntsman? I daren't Google.
I admit I'd been so concerned with the size I've forgot there can be venomous ones too

Sorry I only read the 8 inches after I posted!

Someone I know had hypnotism before they went because of their absolute fear of spiders. They had a brilliant time in Australia!

I live in Melbourne, in the last 20 years I have seen maybe one big spider. When I was a kid I lived in Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula and we had loads but I think it was the house. Honestly, if you come here on holiday, you will not see a spider. Don't let this silly myth stop you from coming

Huntsmans will turn up occasionally wherever you are, but they are harmless, and they prefer to be outside where their food is. I just catch them and take them outside. A large one might be the size of your hand, but they are flat so they can hide on trees, not fat like a tarantula. It would be a pity to miss out on travel due to a fear of things that pose no real threat.

@Tyrasanchez30 I'm ok with traditional British spiders but I watched a documentary a few years ago about Australia's nature dangers... one story was about a man who went to the toilet and got bitten on the bum by a dangerous spider. It hasn't put me off visiting Australia but at least I know to always give a toilet the once over in that country before sitting down as apparently the toilet is a favourite place for spiders and snakes in Australia! Not just on the outside of the seat btw but also on the inside of the toilet.

Bungalows are the worst as spiders and snakes don't have far to travel and it's much safer to stay in a high rise apartment block or on the 10th floor of a hotel in a city rather than the outback!

@Tyrasanchez30 also in general the large spiders aren't usually as dangerous as the small ones!

Bungalows are the worst as spiders and snakes don't have far to travel and it's much safer to stay in a high rise apartment block or on the 10th floor of a hotel in a city rather than the outback!

How about camping?

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@Tyrasanchez30

Yes that's true, nobody would live there if they were that bad. I'm glad to hear they aren't really in the cities anyway.

I'm afraid they can be that bad! I lived in Sydney for a couple of years and saw quite a few redback spiders in the garden. Also one of my neighbours walked out of his house to find a funnel web spider on his path and was basically stuck there for half an hour too scared to move . For me the cockroaches were the worst, impossible to get rid, we'd get the exterminator man in and a day later they would be back...

Spent a month in Sydney and never saw a single spider, not even a little one

I was living in the suburbs, not in the centre so maybe worse- areas with gardens and trees probably get more spiders and insects than an apartment in the city

I know people in Australia who never seem to worry about the spiders, however I know someone living in the Dominican Republic and the pictures she sometimes posts online of the tarantulas she finds in her house are 😲😲

We often had huntsman spiders inside. Redbacks in the garage. Never seen a Sydney funnel web in the wild.

Depends what you mean by cities. There are strips of bushland reserve in Sydney suburbs, so there will be spiders, blue tongues and so on.