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Australia is experiencing some spider invasions lately
- Thread starter Officer Big Mac
- Start date
You will be surprised then to know that the kid handled it like a champ. She joked about not sleeping in the room ever again but that just slept on the opposite end of the bed to give the spiders their space. The next day when they opened the window to let the spiders out some spiders were blown across the room by the wind. Along with her mum she collected the stray spiders using a cup and set them back safely outside.
FWIW, she was amused at the typical burn down the house responses but has very much grown tired of it. Their family lost their home to a fire last year.
Link.
Spiders are everywhere and survive in most climates here. They are less active in colder areas such as Melbourne compared to Sydney but... You will see a spider from time to time.
It isn't really an infestation though. Spiders lay hundreds of eggs and over a couple of days the numbers will go down drastically. Most houses aren't going to supply enough food for multiple adult huntsman indoors. These spiders are just moving in temporarily to ride out the weather.
Proper infestations are a different matter.
Yeah but it's not like spiders will keep out cockroaches so what's the point?
Huntsman spiders eat cockroaches. They eat all sorts of insects but roaches are supposedly one of their favourites. They are harmless to humans. Some people keep them as house pets but most are "garden buddies".
1. They do.
2. I was responding to the person saying 'spiders are the worst bug' and countering with cockroaches.
Huh, well color me surprised. I don't think I've ever seen a huntsman spider though. The spiders I get are usually smaller and I doubt they could eat a cockroach.
I guess I got lucky (plus I visited in winter). I've told her I'd move back there with her if she ever wants...but man I hope it doesn't come to that.
edit: also it's so weird seeing people afraid of cockroaches. I've got pretty bad arachnophobia (much better since I was a kid), but I'd pick up a cockroach no problem
Admit it, you got first reply because this thread made your spider sense tin- *gets pelted with eggs and tomatoes*
As opposed to an appropriate amount of spiders?
I mean.... if it were like one or two sure... but like 60+? Nah no matter how useful they are thats a problem at that point.
Australian here. A couple of years ago I went to go to bed and found my beside table and bed covered in hundreds of baby white tail spiders. They were coming through the gap in my cornices. I woke my housemate and had her help me tape the cornices up and kill or the spiders. It was one of the worst nights of my life.
Huntsman spiders I've heard are pretty friendly/docile. But if they all grow to full size in that house that would be amazing to see lol.
Everywhere you would look would be one of these
Everywhere you would look would be one of these
Although I know a few people that are terrified of a spider. If they would see a huntsman they would scream/faint....
It's always funny seeing those "they're harmless" replies, like any of that matters to people with a phobia, lol
The only spiders I get here are pholcidae and they're small and completely harmless but the sight of them still freaks me the fuck out because phobias don't operate on rationality
Something like this would be my worst fucking nightmare and I'd never set foot in that house again.
The only spiders I get here are pholcidae and they're small and completely harmless but the sight of them still freaks me the fuck out because phobias don't operate on rationality
Something like this would be my worst fucking nightmare and I'd never set foot in that house again.
Huntsman spiders aren't so bad, after the initial shock of their size.
I had a few situations as a kid where they wandered into my room, my dad used to pick them up in his hand and let them crawl around his arm to show me they weren't dangerous. It made my arachnophobia worse!
Thankfully this hasn't happened in my apartment, no spider invasion here. I've made great strides in dealing with my phobia, but in such a number I think I'd have a meltdown.
Fun fact, huntsman spiders were used as the baby spiders in the 1990 movie Arachnophobia.
I had a few situations as a kid where they wandered into my room, my dad used to pick them up in his hand and let them crawl around his arm to show me they weren't dangerous. It made my arachnophobia worse!
Thankfully this hasn't happened in my apartment, no spider invasion here. I've made great strides in dealing with my phobia, but in such a number I think I'd have a meltdown.
Fun fact, huntsman spiders were used as the baby spiders in the 1990 movie Arachnophobia.
I guess upside of New England living is that there's literally 0 dangerous spiders up here. Alright, I guess the Northern Black Widow can be a little dangerous (just a little), but they're uncommon this far north and super timid.
I think I'd initially be freaked out seeing that room, then probably spend the next few hours watching them and figuring out how to get them to leave on their own.
I think I'd initially be freaked out seeing that room, then probably spend the next few hours watching them and figuring out how to get them to leave on their own.
That's a LOT of Hunties! We had a similar 'home invasion' of Daddy Longlegs spiders 2 years ago in the downstairs rumpus room.
We've got 2 palm sized huntsmen that live in the garden but occasionally wander into the house - as has been noted, they're a good natural pest controller.
This year has been good for crazy bugs tho - we're just coming out of a big cicada bloom and the evenings are getting quieter again!
We've got 2 palm sized huntsmen that live in the garden but occasionally wander into the house - as has been noted, they're a good natural pest controller.
This year has been good for crazy bugs tho - we're just coming out of a big cicada bloom and the evenings are getting quieter again!
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I can't handle ever visiting Australia. Even in cities!
Someone told me New Zealand isn't as scary so maybe I'll consider a trip there in the future.
These same spiders live in New Zealand too, they were introduced from Australia! Sharing the love.
I'd say the spiders are fine and "hell on Earth" is probably closer to the country with half a million dead of a virus that 50% of the population doesn't believe exists.
Now, now. My country can be a miserable place full of lunatics and a pervasive air of death without excusing spiders.
I cannot handle any spider larger than 3mm in diameter. I get a fever, panic attack, pins and needles everywhere, etc. When I see a spider. How the fuck do people handle this? I would actually faint, vomit and probably need a drip if I witnessed anything like that Twitter video. I would definitely move house. That's possibly the most disgusting thing I've seen in a long time.
Except that they're literally not. There are WAY worse bugs you could have around that spiders actively hunt/passively trap and eat depending on the species. They're some of the most useful bugs you can have around and hardly any of them are dangerous to humans in most parts of the world.
I live in alexandria with no yard and my car on a main road and yet both are covered in spiderwebs constantly. I've given up cleaning my car
Bees and wasps cause many magnitudes the number of deaths in Australia than spiders. We have ample anti-venom for our two dangerous spiders.
Good thing there are no bees and wasps in other parts of the world - really dodged a bullet there!
Humans are so poor at judging risk and the media doesn't help.
You gave us Russell Crowe, so I'd say it's a fair trade.
Good thing there are no bees and wasps in other parts of the world - really dodged a bullet there!
Humans are so poor at judging risk and the media doesn't help.
You gave us Russell Crowe, so I'd say it's a fair trade.
who cares if they're poisonous, no one is eating these spiders
They're venomous but not dangerously so, and they're not aggressive at all. They're a relatively easy species to live with because they don't make webs, they can see humans from pretty far away and they're easy to keep track of.
