Sydney mums - tell me about spiders

[SeymoreButts]

Our move to Sydney is getting closer and I'm freaking out about anything and everything now but that's another post in itself.

I was watching DS (3) playing in my mum's garden yesterday and he is still obsessed with bugs and creepy crawlies. After much pleading from me he has stopped squishing them, now he just observes them closely and occasionally comes running in with a particularly big spider to show off.

So, if we do get a garden when we move (not sure what type of house or area we're going to opt for yet) out of the apartment DH's company are putting us in, will I have to tail both DCs all the time to prevent a bite from a Sydney funnel web? DH's simple solution is that we should live somewhere without a garden.

Obviously I googled it at 2am this morning when I was wide awake worrying about the move... and read that small children can die from a bite in less than an hour if not treated.

I must be disproportionately unlucky. In two weeks in Sydney I was bitten by a white tip, nearly stepped on a funnelweb (in MILs garden in bloody Paramatta FFS) and was scared out of the shower by a huntsman the size of my hand.

That really is unlucky jamjar!

MrsColumbo - I do shake out the washing before I bring it in - partly because of spiders, but also because the time I forgot to a bloody huge cockroach came running out of a pair of trousers and up my arm. Yuck.

I take back my statement about never having seen anything nasty since we've been here - we had a redback in the garage today. It's been Morteined!

I grew up in Sydney and have never seen a funnel web. We were always taught to check the pool before we got in and to shake out towels. I just spent years in canberra and was quite traumatized by the red backs everywhere - all over the dc's toys.

We are staying with my dad in the north shore of Sydney at the moment and there are bandicoots, bush turkeys and ticks in the garden. Also a possum trapped in a cage in the attic ( we are waiting for pest control to come and pick it up)

God I hate ticks! I'll never forget the revulsion when I saw a tiny little red-legged tick burrowed half in to my 2yo's baby arm - ugh! Thankfully we got the whole thing out but it still took about 3-4w for the wound to heal.

Yup, poor dd has a big bump on her leg from one she had a couple of weeks ago. At least my dad can get them out with his little dog tick removers. I tried to get a massive one out of dh's head once and left half behind and the doctor was quite scathing about it.

You will almost certainly never see a snake if you are moving to an urban area. They are very shy and will be long gone by the time any human comes blundering through.

I grew up in Sydney and have never seen a funnelweb and only one redback (a couple of weeks ago in my parents' basement). Admittedly I have always lived in the inner city rather than the leafier/bushier suburbs.

Boiling water is the thing for killing cockroaches instantly, if you have recently had a cup of tea (as I usually have).

The idea of ticks gives me the heebie-jeebies. A friend of my dad's had to be hospitalised to have 150 of them picked out from under his skin after clearing his dad's garden in Avalon.

ARGH! ninedragons, that's disgusting - 150?? Urgh. Poor bloke. :(

Oh yuk nine dragons, how on earth could you not realize that you were becoming tick lunch!

I never put my towels on the washing line or they are as hard as surf boards cos of the heat & sun on them, so they are the only thing I put in the drier. I only shake out dark things in case I can't see spiders on them - once had a very pregnant huntsman under a doormat I'd hung up. Fortunately it was dozy & didn't move til DP got home to deal with it.

We have snakes in the garden about once a fortnight in the very hot weather. Once I was quite alarmed to see our usually placid grey-haired gentle neighbour violently smashing one with a spade but he explained it was a brown snake. We used to get quite a few snakes drowning inthe pool along with frogs, lizards & the odd bird until we got a pool cover. Only seen about 2 cockroaches, dead, so that is one upside to living in a concrete box!

Idelvice, rock-hard towels soften up if you pop them in the drier for 2 or 3 mins. Saves a lot of energy - well electricity anyway. One of those drier softener sheets also helps and can be used multiple times for this purpose. Tennis balls help too.

where are you again, idlevice? (Still love your name, but the way!)

I know! His dad died and he had to clear out the garden at the wrong time of year and wasn't dressed properly. A friend of my mum's also lives up there and when she gardens, she wears jeans tucked into wellies with gaffer tape around the top.

Vinegar in the rinse cycle also helps with the washing - we had that problem in Canberra.

And the problem with ticks is they don't burrow in right away - they just sit on your clothes for a bit until they get a chance to latch on. I once had three ticks appear on my stomach over the course of an evening. I removed one, then 15 min later there was another. Www.

Oh yes, I do only pop the towels in the drier for a bit to get them mostly dry - I hate using it otherwise as I'm convinced it shrinks things. Actually probably me getting bigger rather than things shrinking

We're in sutherland shire, near a river so we might get a bit more wildlife cos of that. Also get nicer wildlife too, not just nasty things.

note to Sydney mums - we're doing another meet up at the Aquarium for anyone who's interested? Friday 9th September - I hope to make it this time! This one is to bring DC with if you want to :)

Oh godddd, ticks! I remember dry heaving after I removed one from the dog and had a look at its little legs wriggling, it was so bloated and horrible.

We've just got back from a week in France, DS seems to be getting the message about creepy crawlies. Although he spent hours chasing redwinged grasshoppers around the garden.

DH's start date is 1st November so hopefully I will be able to make the next Sydney meet up!