Huntsman spiders

[Guest markjl]

4 weeks till i land and i have to admit i have a fear of large spiderS!

 

So a few questions how often do you get huntsman in you house? and do they mainly get in because you leave the windows/doors open?

 

Is there any good ways to repel them? kill them? keep them from getting in my flat?

[rachel31]

i don't really like any spiders large or small however the huntsmans that do get in will eat the small ones that you really dont want in your house, ie whitetips. in my 11 months here I have had two in my house, not through doors or windows I don't think as they all have fly screens on them, they just get in. I did bug bomb my house with mortein before we moved in and it seems to have worked and we keep a can in the house too just in case.I need to be quick though as hubby just puts them outside!!!!!!

[Guest Guest75]

Just read these....

 

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/barbie/14893-huntsman-you-tube-try-not-laugh.html

 

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/barbie/14473-huntsman-spider-our-bedroom-video.html

 

Stuff like that will make you immune..........

 

Seriously it's not as bad as you think,there are not spiders lurking in every corner waiting to jump on you

[Guest guest3462]

I have a terrible fear of spiders, mortein bombs are fantastic and last from 3-6 months. They also stop ants and other bugs from coming in. We have only ever had a couple of big meanies in the nearly 2 years we have been here, but the huntsman is a friend (not that i'd ever let one freely roam round the house!!!) as it eats all the nasties that can make you ill like redbacks and white tips. We have a resident redback in our garage which always seems to be there no matter how many times you squash it!! And one in the gas meter box and that is all, I have never yet had the pleasure of meeting a white tip. My friend is a plumber and he showed me his photo collection of the beasties he has come across and I have to say that plumbing is definately not a job I would ever be looking into!!!

[Guest WhatNow?]

Tyke, that was the funniest thing I've seen in ages! I had a similar sized one on my garage wall for about 6 months and he seemed to never move - was in the same spot every time I went in there. I got quite attached to him and was devastated when one day he wasn't there and even more so when cleaning the garage out later I found his squashed remains under a carpet!

 

Trying to catch them is quite gross as they usually end up getting one or more legs chopped off by the edge of the container. Worse still I had to watch once as my two cats ritually dismembered a smaller huntsman and then ate him (he was on his own, wasn't going to interfere!). Ugh!

 

To answer your question Markjl - they do get in despite the fly screens - I'm convinced mine find their way through the air con system which would probably not happen if I used my surface spray more often. Big ones like that are around but are not too common though and I haven't seen a single spider in my house during this cold winter.

[Guest Guest75]

Tyke, that was the funniest thing I've seen in ages! I had a similar sized one on my garage wall for about 6 months and he seemed to never move - was in the same spot every time I went in there. I got quite attached to him and was devastated when one day he wasn't there and even more so when cleaning the garage out later I found his squashed remains under a carpet!

 

Trying to catch them is quite gross as they usually end up getting one or more legs chopped off by the edge of the container. Worse still I had to watch once as my two cats ritually dismembered a smaller huntsman and then ate him (he was on his own, wasn't going to interfere!). Ugh!

 

To answer your question Markjl - they do get in despite the fly screens - I'm convinced mine find their way through the air con system which would probably not happen if I used my surface spray more often. Big ones like that are around but are not too common though and I haven't seen a single spider in my house during this cold winter.

 

Sorry to the OP but Huntsman make me giggle!!

 

Watch out for them sitting on roller doors in garages - they WILL go down your neck:arghh:

[Guest WhatNow?]

Thanks Tyke - that will really make everyone feel better!

[Guest Guest75]

Thanks Tyke - that will really make everyone feel better!

 

 

I'm an expert in "Huntsman Terror" now - even had one land on my face as I was up an olive tree harvesting. I could not let go as it was slippery ,tried blowing him off but he was clinging onto my nostrils. :arghh:

Eventually managed to shake him off!

[Guest WhatNow?]

Funniest thing I ever saw was when one attached itself to the underside of sis's cat - cat went berserk!

[Guest Guest75]

Funniest thing I ever saw was when one attached itself to the underside of sis's cat - cat went berserk!

 

Do ya really think we are helping the OP????

 

Sorry:err:

 

Best keep our favourite wild life stories to other threads ;)

[Guest The Dimmocks]

We have seen one huntsman and that was in our first rental. Saw our first red back last week, it was in the garden. We do get a few wolf spiders though. Not seen a white tip yet.

 

It not as bad as you think it will be and you will soon stop looking round rooms when you enter them LOL.

 

Good luck with your trip

[Guest Team 'W']

To be honest i was just like you when we decided to make the move , the sheer thought of a huntsman or a WHITE TIP aarr terrified the bloody hell out of me ...the white tip more so because i watched a documentary about it and the after math of their bites...[bIG MISTAKE TOO WATCH] LOL

 

But after being here just over a year you learn to live with them and to be honest the huntsman makes me a wee bit nervous but i can cope with them now once your used to the size they grow to u'll be rite ...

Cannot stand the white tip and if i see one its all out war till i have squished it...and i am a stickler for the fly screens being closed ALL the time ,but they still get in ..just remember to check your beds at night before you get in it and bang your shoes before you put them on..DONT leave clothes or towels on the floor ,if you do shake them before you pick them up in a bundle ..

So there you go !!

 

Hope this settles your mind a wee bit from someone who cant stand spiders ..

 

Good luck with everything ..

 

ELAINE X

[Guest tinkham_lee]

We get a lot of white tips in our house, have had a red back and a couple of huntsman in the garage and lots of wolf spiders on the fence. Probably doesn't help our house is next to a reserve and opposite a wetlands.

 

Another trick of the huntsman is they get into your car and sit on the sun visor, so when you pull the visor down it ends up on your lap sorry.

[Guest Tterrier81]

i have been here just over 6 years now and i have the worst fear of spiders ever, but in that time i have only seen about half a dozen huntsmans so its not that bad, unlke other people i unfortunately cant let them roam around eating other bugs, my fear is so bad that i leave the house until my mrs disposes of it, this normally involves a slipper but she didnt like killing them so one day she found one, put it in a cup and took it out to the garden, just as she had put it down a magpie swooped down and took off with it, hope it enjoyed its lunch

[Damms]

Reading some of these posts makes me shiver OMG !!!! and Ive lived here for over 3 years Ive only seen one fully grown huntsman and that was outside. seen a couple of redbacks one in the BBQ cupboard and one in the shed. maybe our trick was that we get the outside of our house and shed sprayed every year in the spring? it must work...

Kim

[Riponian]

I never thought I would relax about the spiders as I too hate them but we seem ok had a few big huntsman and a huge white tip not long after we moved in but not had anything for a good while. We have Mortein bombed the house but now finding that my husband reacts badly too them so we just spray the exterior now.

I have heard of a plug that is supposed to repel them so hoping to gives that a go if I can find out any info on them, I will be getting several.

 

I try not scream as don't want to make the kids scared of them.. my son is really good if he sees anything we have taught him to squash it or shout us for help!

 

Not had one in the car yet and dreading that day as don't know how calm I would be... I don't check the bed as much and don't check in every room before I walk in any more.

Had some Red backs in the BBQ cupboard also and could not believe how big they were!!

 

The white tips are nasty and hate them with a passion!!! not been bitten by one but not taking any chances the little *****!

[monty9110]

I've been here almost 2 years and have only seen one huntsman..

 

Seens loads of massive white tailed spiders... They drop out of the ceiling vents of our eveporative air conditioning, so there must be loads in the roof space!! Not seen too many in winter but im sure numbers will increase as the weather warms up..

 

Only ever seen redbacks in the garage, so if im searching through our unpacked boxes, im very wary!!

[Diane]

Just don't do what this guy did (in the UK!!!)

 

Man blows himself up trying to kill a spider - Telegraph

[Guest markjl]

Thanks for your input guys! i know the huntsman are suppose to be very tame and they eat alot of other pests but the size freaks me out and i do not want one in my living space lol!

 

It seems to be a mixed bag from what everyone is saying on here, with a some people seeing only a couple in years of being there... i wonder if that has anything to do with the area i.e everyone living closer to parkland/bush gets more and the people in more built up areas see less?

[Cannons]

We've been here 6 weeks now and I'm dreading the day I see a Huntsman or White Tip . We are due to move into our long term rental on Sunday and I have been down with the mortein bombs aleady, still got to do outside vents etc I'm taking no chances. I'm so scared and know that if I was driving and there was one in the car I would crash and risk killing everyone in the car so it has been bomed too lol!!!! Its such an irrational fear I really wish there was some kind of cure. I know people say the Huntsman are good spiders but for me all spiders are bad and should be squished - sorry spider lovers!!!!

[Guest verulam]

My sister in law got a shock when she put on her rubber gloves to do the washing -up...yes, youve guessed, a huntsman was inside!She did a wonderful dance around the kitchen! LOL. Now she doesnt wear washing up gloves.

I used to find huntsmen inside the mailbox sitting on top of the pile of letters ...so the mail was left til hubby came in.

The worst thing I found was one night my Australian OH was lying on the lounge floor watching TV in the dark and he decided to make a cuppa, so up he got and put the light on. There, crawling along the carpet where he had been was a HUGE centipede! ewwwwww!

Now we are living in the UK and even though he knows UK spiders are fine, he squishes them as soon as he sees them.."A good spider is a dead spider" he says. I think the UK spiders have been on steroids this year cos theyre big!

[Scousemouse]

Ah, spiders, my worst nightmare!

2 years in, ive seen 2 huntsmen, both in the house............UGLY as, but boy they kept the fly population at bay!!

2 redbacks, the first girl bought it with a hammer in the garden, the 2nd we just left alone....she wasnt asking for room and board, so live and let live i say!

 

ANTS on the other hand, are a living torture, bloody buggers bite for no reason; get so few in the house, so no biggie there, but the swines lie in wait for my feet as i walk to the car..................grr.

 

Not seen a white tip...............and i am a control freak about clothes on the deck, so if the kids get bitten, tough luck for being lazy buggers!!

 

Thank the lord for large cans of mortein!!

[Guest kangomik]

Redbacks will make you crook, and you will find them if you look for them, they are easy to find due to their webs.

Hate white tips still have the scars on my legs and it took over 12 months to heal properly.

Huntsman look after my tool box in the work shop, don't move to much but i am told they can jump a fair way.

Daddy log leg spiders keep those, they eat tthe others (not huntsmen)

How do they get in? look around your windows and doors, the gaps are huge. Then look at the over hang of your roof into your roof space, thats how possums get in, then they just drop through the vents.

 

MORTIEN - may not kill em straight away, but will do most of em quickly, don't forget to spray regularly. when you think i haven't seen one for a while, get the spray back out.

 

In all honesty unless you live close to reserves or in bush land then you will not see too many, but they will make you jump. I guarantee that where ever you see your first huntsman you will always check to see if they are still there.

 

Once you get over the shock red backs are a very stunning looking spider, worth the pictures for the relies back home

[Guest markjl]

Can any one send me a link to this spray? does it repel/kills all spiders?

[Guest rich]

I stood on a spider yesterday as it was en-route to the house. It had a white stripe on its back and when I squished it there was a crunchy squelch.