So - whats your spider story?

[Guest beth]

Oh great, i start this thread and what happens to me?! I get a huge bloody spider crawl out of my top and onto my face yesturday! I am in the UK too, to say i screamed is an understatement!

Not keen on the sound of the driving over there either, yes maybe worse than the spiders!!

[Guest nickcoumbe]

Oh great, i start this thread and what happens to me?! I get a huge bloody spider crawl out of my top and onto my face yesturday! I am in the UK too, to say i screamed is an understatement!

Not keen on the sound of the driving over there either, yes maybe worse than the spiders!!

 

I think that this is the central point. Spiders are everywhere, they are just bigger in Oz.

 

I have got through the anxiety phase about the spiders when we land, but it is funny how that absolutely dominates any conversation that we have with people in the UK. We had a drink with some of my wife's work colleagues as it was her last day and everyone had some horrible urban myth to impart. It is like it is the only thing that people can relate to about moving there.

 

Personally, I can't wait to see my first huntsman.

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

Had two massive spiders here yesterday (UK still) - one in the bath when I went to wash my hair - put the kitten in the bath with it, he played with it a bit and killed it, then went to jump out of the bath with it hanging out of his mouth towards me - I haven't screamed so loudly for such a long time (tiny bathroom, he was coming right at me ). I think its far to say the spider rehabilitation plan is not actually working 100%. At least I can look at them now I guess though.

 

The second was under a sofa in the lounge, kitten 1 played with it a bit but then got bored so kitten 2 was summoned to eat it. They are just everywhere and soooooooo huge and nasty. urgh

[tinkertailerdog]

Long story short. Huntsman size of wing mirror glass, living inside wing mirror. Friends tell me that he will come into the car at some point. Decide to flush him out with water. No joy. I know at this point that he will get me back.

 

Next day, go to car in daylight, put child in car seat and as it's autumn flick fallen leaf off scarf. Shut car door, fallen leaf still there, look down and he got me. He was just sitting on my scarf bold as brass!!! Serious attempt to flick him off with car key. Success and he scuttles under car. He pickd the wrong spot and went under the tyre, unknown to me. On return squashed spider. Karma!!

 

What disturbed me the most was what came out of him! Pure 'puss' and nothing else!! Disgusting. I like spiders but now I know what is inside, not impressed.

[Guest Guest8609]

I think that this is the central point. Spiders are everywhere, they are just bigger in Oz.

 

I have got through the anxiety phase about the spiders when we land, but it is funny how that absolutely dominates any conversation that we have with people in the UK. We had a drink with some of my wife's work colleagues as it was her last day and everyone had some horrible urban myth to impart. It is like it is the only thing that people can relate to about moving there.

 

Personally, I can't wait to see my first huntsman.

 

Adelaide_bound - I'm reading and laughing that probably in Oz it would be a spider that would play with a kitten...

[Guest D&L]

Oh yes, the first massive one we saw was up a tree (about 6m up), in the CBD. Big bluey silver body with spindly legs - put me off walking under trees for ages!

 

When we first moved in to the house, we found a redback in the shed......soon Merteined that though! (DH sent me in to deal with it and I thought I was more scared!!). Not seen one since, thankfully.

 

Then, last Sunday night when I was putting the bins out, I saw what I think was was 'baby' huntsamn (grey hairy one) on the front porch...think I'll be putting the bins out in daylight next time and I plan on spraying the house external orifices today if the wind dies down. The worst bit is knowing that if there's a baby one, there's probably a mum and dad one somewhere, too!

 

Urgh, getting the shudders just thinking about it

[Guest wiaferg]

I have had some shocking experiences with spiders...1st week here so the huge huntsman and then a guy picked it up and let it crawl on his hand...nearly got next flight back to UK.....but after being here 30yrs they are part of life...they have their place..outside! Just had the most beautiful golden orb in our garden this year but she has now vanished.....? hibernation or possibly has died as some do as they have short life spans...hope she comes back next year though...WHITE TIPS HATE.....

[Guest nickcoumbe]

Been here a couple of months now and I thought I'd update anyone reading this and worrying about the spiders. If reading some of the previous stories makes you anxious, plough on with this post.

 

I'm not normally bothered by creepy crawlies, but I have started get take it more seriously over here. It is easy to obsess about this, but believe me; It really isn't that bad. Everyone in the UK will have you believing it is awful, but they are totally winding you up and it does not reflect the reality in anyway. Spiders are part of life, but they are a very, very, very small part of life and actually less frequent than in the UK by some margin. If you actually ask Australians what they do, most of them follow the advice I'll give below and are only too happy to tell help you out.

 

Here's what I've seen so far:

 

I've seen two redbacks. One dead and one alive in it's web (at the bus stop!). It was honestly just sitting there doing nothing and paying no attention to us at all.

 

Seen a few baby huntsmen, dead and alive and again the live ones really don't have any interest in us whatsoever.

 

Black house spiders, seen one inside and a couple outside. Not dangerous as far as I know, but they are a food source for white tails, as are most other spiders.

 

Daddy long legs/harvestmen. As in the UK, seen hundreds.

 

White tails. Now these we have seen a fair amount. We had a few small ones in the house and as the spring goes on they are getting to mature size. They still aren't as big as the hairy house spiders you get in the UK, not by a long way. Our house does seem to be bad for them (2 a week on average) and, from what I understand, the further towards nature you are (we are on the hills going up towards Mount Lofty) the more you will get. We also have a very leafy garden, so lots of places for creepy crawlies to hide. Nobody I know or have talked to about it has anything like as many as we have. Our house was not lived in for a bit before we moved in (although it had been cleaned previously) so there were quite a few inhabitants to relocate first.

 

There is good news:

 

No spider I have come into contact with has ever done anything other than run for cover or stand very still and pretend not to be there. I have had one run across my hand when I inadvertantly disturbed it from it's hiding place. I have walloped a white tail with a book, thought it was dead and carried it out on a dustpan and brush and found it to be still capable of moving, and it still just tried to get away. No bites or anything even close to it.

 

If you want your house to be pretty much spider free it is relatively easy.

 

1. Keep it clean and uncluttered. Don't leave clothes or towels on the floor, particularly at night. Shake out anything that you have that you have left lying around before you do anything with it.

2. Remove all creepy crawlies without exception and remove any webs etc. that you find. Do this on external walls and the wheelie bins/sheds etc. as well.

3. Before you move everything in (if possible, but if not do it once you have moved in) do some spraying (remember to wear gloves/face protection and a mask). Worried about spraying? I would say that judging from the amount of chemicals available on display in supermarkets/diy shops etc. every household uses them to some extent. 20 milllion Australians can't be wrong. Also, whilst all pesticides are obviously dangerous they are mostly derived from plants and are probably nowhere near as toxic as household bleach!

 

Spray barrier spray on the outside of the house as directed, but particularly near air bricks, windows, doorways, screens, under gables or anywhere you can think of. The less you have on the outside of the house, the less there is to come inside. This is equally true about friendly stuff. It is all just a food source for something else.

 

Set off some bug bombs in every room and in the loft/garage if you are so inclined. You can even leave all your cupboards open and do them. It kills everything. We didn't even know we had cockroaches until we set one off; even then we only found one and it was very dead.

 

Spray some indoor barrier spray around air ducts, in the corners of rooms (top and bottom), around drains and anywhere else you can think of. Most importantly around skirting boards, door frames and the insides of windows and doors. Most spiders that move around the house stick to the skirting boards and door frames.

 

4. Keep a can of fly spray and a catching glass and cardboard handy.

 

5. Relax

 

You will still get the odd spider in the house, but since the barrier spray has gone on all the woodwork the only whitetails I am finding are dead ones and they are never further than 1.2m from where they came in. They just curl up and die, albeit slowly, so don't handle dead ones without gloves or using some sort of glass and cardboard arrangement.

 

I have yet to find any creepy crawly that the barrier spray, or insect killer doesn't work on.

 

So to summarise: Spiders are not a big deal. If you want complete peace of mind do some spraying and keep the hoover/large book/fly spray handy.

 

The mosquitos on the other hand are complete b*******!

 

[Guest D&L]

That's an absolutely brilliant post, nickcoumbe! I must say, I totally agree. Mortein is wonderful stuff when used correctly....but by gum does it stink! Just waiting for it to settle in the shed after spraying liberally this morning, before I can put my bike away.

 

Also, I can't quite bring myself to bug bomb the house now we're living in it and have our stuff all set up - does anyone else bug bomb regularly? I'm worried about things like the bed and sofas getting coated in the stuff and us inadvertantly inhaling/ingesting some. Or am I being neurotic??

[Guest nickcoumbe]

That's an absolutely brilliant post, nickcoumbe! I must say, I totally agree. Mortein is wonderful stuff when used correctly....but by gum does it stink! Just waiting for it to settle in the shed after spraying liberally this morning, before I can put my bike away.

 

Also, I can't quite bring myself to bug bomb the house now we're living in it and have our stuff all set up - does anyone else bug bomb regularly? I'm worried about things like the bed and sofas getting coated in the stuff and us inadvertantly inhaling/ingesting some. Or am I being neurotic??

 

Not neurotic, no; I can totally see your point.

 

I actually did all the rooms in phases and stripped the bedding and moved the mattresses etc. to a "safe room". With the kitchen I put as much of the crockery in the dishwasher and fridge (All the food in the fridge too) then cleaned all the surfaces afterwards. Again, cupboards are good hiding places for critters. Even if you wipe down afterwards you'll feel better knowing that every nook and cranny is done! We found spider eggs in all sorts of places, including the cutlery drawer so I wanted make sure that anything we missed when we cleaned was definitely dealt with. I wish that we had done it before we moved in, but I don't feel that there is a major issue with doing it regularly, as directed. As I said, when you wash the floor and add a small amount of bleach you are using something that is much nastier, and probably in a greater concentration.

 

The chemicals that are used are pretty common pesticides. Without being alarmist, practically everything you consume will have been sprayed with this stuff at some point, and unless I am mistaken, as they are plant derived they actually fit under many organic growing standards.

 

You don't want to be ingesting stuff needlessly, but after I bombed the house it felt so much cleaner. If you don't have a major problem to start with you might be better off not doing it, but I think our house was bad and I had spent the 6 months prior to coming getting myself in a complete state over it.

 

I feel much better now I've lived here for a bit and know that the issue is both minor and controllable.

[Sears Family]

Hi

 

I've been bitten a few times (been here 1 year) - so watch out for Park benches!! Nothing major just irritating and took antihistamine tabs, all good

 

Have not bombed the house for a while but may do so this weekend following the 'fun' this week! Got home after a long day at work, homemade curry boiling away on the stove and hubby sorting the washing out. Munching away nicely on the curry, suddently looked down at my next mouthful that seemed to be a pile of legs!!

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

Yep you've got it...I had a nice big spider commit suicide in my dinner Looked like a House spider...had to check the corpse and thank god found the missing leg on my plate!!

 

Gross!! Needless to say I gagged a bit...saw the funny side though...Time for a bomb!!!

[Guest D&L]

Thanks, nickcoube again! We are in the inner metro area, so not actually what I would have expected to be a 'problem' area (I did the research before we even started looking at houses!), and it's not too bad at all. And I bombed the place before we'd moved anything in, and made sure all cupboards were open etc. So I guess I'll not bomb again, unless we start having a problem with interlopers. But I'll definately keep up with the external barrier sprays (and look in to the internal ones, too).

 

Thanks for the sensible, and not alarmist advice

[Guest jlr248]

I don't like the sound of all these spiders indoors!! I have just bought 5l of Mortein spray for indoors and out. Does this work? I plan on drenching our home in the stuff. Spiders beware!!

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

BOOM!

 

Found recently in the bathroom. The vase it's in is 5 inches across.

 

It was on the ceiling CLEANING ITS FANGS. I am not kidding.

 

Muh-ha-ha-ha-ha-hah!!!

 

Huntsman I think. Beautiful.

 

[Guest nickcoumbe]

I don't like the sound of all these spiders indoors!! I have just bought 5l of Mortein spray for indoors and out. Does this work? I plan on drenching our home in the stuff. Spiders beware!!

 

Yep, it works fine.

 

It doesn't mean you'll never get another spider in the house, but it does keep them under control. We tend to find only dead spiders inside and it definitely keeps all the other insects down as well.

[Guest bigal]

When we first moved into our house 14 years ago at Morphett Vale, upstairs above the hallway window was a Huntsman spider whilst looking at it we twitched the curtain,it then decided to give birth an amazing site I will never forget as I reckon about 300 tiny huntsman cascaded over the top of the curtain and dispersed over the entire ceiling,initially we panicked I masked up with a T shirt over my nose and mouth and sprayed the entire ceiling with Mortein[insect killer],left them for an hour then hoovered up the remains,I unashamedly admit spiders or insects in the house we kill,why take the risk,a Huntsman aint gonna hurt you,a Redback could if you have a low immune system,White Tails are bad news if you suffer a reaction, if killing them bothers you catch them and put them outside.

[Guest alex27]

We just spent four weeks in Sydney for our visa validation visit...i was completely obsessed with huntsmen the entire time. I was scanning every ceiling, looking under every chair, checking my clothes etc etc. I am absolutely terrified of spiders. We didn't see one...but I thought about them almost always...My OH was getting so annoyed and telling me that we can't move to Australia if I am going to act like this etc. I don't know what the answer is...I love Australia but the thought of having a spider like the one in the pic on the previous page...ugggh I saw they do a course at the Taronga Zoo, a fear of spiders thing. Maybe hypnosis?! The worst thing is that Aussies don't even seem to mind them. They just say, no worries-they won't kill you. As if that is why I am afraid of them!!

[niknjas]

Hi

Been here two years, hate spiders with a passion and normally scream for hubby. Within the first three months of being here, got bitten whilst doing the garden. Wearing flipflops and bit me above the ankle (now do gardening in boots) and ended up with a trip to the hospital and home nurse for a week to admininster iv drugs.

 

Took a year to see my first huntsman and it ran as fast as I did.

 

Last week, whilst everyone at school / work saw my first real live redback with egg sacs close by in the utility behind a chair. Sprayed it to within an inch of it's life. Splatted the egg sacs to past an inch of theirs. Kept the redback in the dustpan for everyone to see when they got home. told the kids if they see these to come and tell us immediately.

 

Still hate spiders but having to toughen up a bit but don't try to climb the walls when I see one now. Mortein does not seem to be working as well now, think I might need to get the professionals in.

 

Niki

[Guest Guest75]

I'm afaraid you just have to get on with it and (politely) - toughen up a bit.

 

Lots of bugs ,beasties and nasties here but if you live in the suburbs you will hardly see them.

 

On the other hand, we live on a small acreage and have seem most stuff visit us..........

 

We often see these 4 inch + centipedes

 

 

 

This Huntsman was catching flies between the fly screen and window in our kitchen, excellent natural pest control!!

 

 

 

We have a lovely lizard which lives down the dirt track. I always have to keep my eye out for him as he sunbathes on the track and will not move,even if a car is coming!

He really is tame, I have to get out and just touch his tail,then he moves.

Last week he was sat there in his full glory, Mrs Tyke came out to see hi. I said "just stand behind me ,then when I touch his tail he will go off in the other direction"

Ermmmmmmmmmmmmmm no, I touched his tail ,he went behind me and tried running up Mrs Tyke's leg!!! You should have heard her scream. I was just gasping for oxygen with the uncontrollable laughing!! Poor lizard!!

 

[Guest Guest75]

Just to add,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niknjas]

Just to add,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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euugggghhh - gross Tyke to all of those apart from the centipede, now feel a bit sick. We get lots of millipedes and don't mind those. Phoebe has christened all of them "Penolope" for some reason and likes playing with them. Thought it was supposed to be boys that were the grub magnets

[jtct]

Saw a Huntsman when we first arrived - left him alone so he could deal with the other nasties. The only redbacks I've seen were dead. Lots of small millipedes when it rained but fewer now and we get a vist from the blue tongued skink when its hot - bit scary looking but he just basks on a hot rock then disappears again. Keep brushing away any webs and have the Mortein handy - nothing yet! The one place we get heaps are the car wing mirrors - not neat webs like UK spiders but a messy mass.

 

They know not to mess with me! Will be careful in the spring when in the shed (its pretty empty at the moment) I wear shoes not thongs for gardening and always shake the gloves before putting them on. Had loads of bites from the mossies when I forgot to spray myself one warm evening at 'Night Owls' recently but so far ..............

[Guest Barney Rubble]

When we first moved into our house 14 years ago at Morphett Vale, upstairs above the hallway window was a Huntsman spider whilst looking at it we twitched the curtain,it then decided to give birth an amazing site I will never forget as I reckon about 300 tiny huntsman cascaded over the top of the curtain and dispersed over the entire ceiling,initially we panicked I masked up with a T shirt over my nose and mouth and sprayed the entire ceiling with Mortein[insect killer],left them for an hour then hoovered up the remains,I unashamedly admit spiders or insects in the house we kill,why take the risk,a Huntsman aint gonna hurt you,a Redback could if you have a low immune system,White Tails are bad news if you suffer a reaction, if killing them bothers you catch them and put them outside.

 

Bingo !

 

Our 5 year old (at the time) came down to our bedroon saying the ceiling was moving and he didn't like it,after trying to seriously coax him back to his room i hear the wife carrying on and being the 'man of the house' (when it suits er indoors) i rushed down an from the light rose in the centre of the ceiling we hundred of these little f$%^#rs going everywhere.

 

I was amazed but the missus didn't see the funny side when i said, Ok 1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ,5, 6 oh damn it i've lost count again; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 . . . . .

 

Well i think she put a bigger hole in the ozone layer with the aerosol can's she used !

 

Next came our friends who brought the boys 'Bug Catchers'

 

We found a redback and kept it for a few days and then decided it was time to 'put nasty spider to sleep' we sprayed it white with the mortein and left it for two days. Went to throw the contents of the 'bug catcher' into the bin and as the leaves twigs hit the bottom the spider crawled under the trash and hid

 

Man those things are tough

 

Overall i guess we've seen about half a dozen redbacks, loads of whitetails and a few huntsmen.

 

Not that bad really for 20 years worth

[Guest ali]

I'll be moving to Adelaide some time this coming September. The only thing that is annoying me (scaring me to death) is oz spiders! Is there any way, any way at all to keep them out of your house? Any chemical, alarm, nets... that are useful?

[Guest ali]

I'll be moving to Adelaide some time this coming September. The only thing that is annoying me (scaring me to death) is oz spiders! Is there any way, any way at all to keep them out of your house? Any chemical, alarm, nets... that are useful?