I'm an arachnophobiac and I'm planning to go to Australia for higher studies, how are the spiders there?

Question

Are the spiders in Australia dangerous? how do the homely spiders over there look like? Are they too big?

Answer 1

There are many many species of spiders in Australia and most of them are outdoors and are not venomous and you probably will NEVER see them.
Regarding the venomous ones:
You likely will NEVER see the funnel web unless you go around picking up logs or rocks or go poking around near trees and bushes in the Sydney and surrounding New South Wales area.
Red Back could be anywhere but usually hidden so you won't find them either. Just don't go putting your fingers into dark corners or old abandoned places with lots of cobwebs. But if you see them - they are small and easily squashed with a well executed swing of your boot.

Huntsmans are the ones you will likely see - but still NOT that common. They are big and can bite but generally harmless if you leave them alone. I used to have one living on the ceiling above my head in my bedroom. (His name was George but he must have moved out three years ago as I have not seem him since). Huntsman are great to have because they keep your ceiling clean form other creepy crawlies.

One type of spider you need to KILL with EXTREME prejudice is the white tail - IF it is inside your house. These are small spiders with long bodies (not round) about the size of your thumbnail or smaller with a DISTINCTIVE white band running down its back. These are aggressive spiders and they bite can cause horrific skin damage due to the bacteria living on its fangs. But then again... I have lived in Asutralia for over 30 years and only have seen these spiders twice.

Remember - as much as we have venomous spiders here, generally they are NOT dangerous if you leave them alone!
Spiders are dangerous if you go poking them and bother them.

Come. Enjoy the land down under

Answer 2

All of the spiders here have 8 legs and and are less dangerous than your neighbor's dog, which has half the number of legs. The chances that you may be bothered by a spider are pretty slight. In the very low possibility that you may be bitten, there are antivenenes specifically developed for Australian spider bites by expert immunologists. These have proved good over decades of use.

Way back in the 1930s my mother knew an early-teenage girl that was bitten by a redback spider. These are very similar to the American black widow. This was before the anti- venenes were invented. Mother says the girl was sick for a few days but made a full recovery. This is the only person that our family knows in over 70 years that was bitten by a spider and got sick as a result.

There are some big spiders here, like 1.5 inches across, counting legs, but they are no more harmful than a moth. They are all God's creatures and should not be interfered with. I'm not Christian, by the way.

The legend of Australian creepy crawlies is mostly twaddle.

Answer 3

There's a spider called "funnel web spider" which is quite large (about the size of your palm), very hairy and poisoning. But don't worry, I've never seen any of them when I was visiting Sydney and its area. And, in case you get bitten, the hospitals there have the serum to help you.
So, where is the problem?
Another spider is the "redback". It's very tiny, almost black with a red back, smaller than the size of your fingernail of your little finger. I once saw one around Alice Springs area but these tiny ones are all around the country. They're bite is very painful and also poisoning (comparing to a bee's stitch). If you don't threaten this animal it won't bite. Serum is also available in hospitals.
No problem either.
Other poisoning animals are the snakes. Most of the poisoning ones live in Australia but if you don't threaten them they will go away when they can feel your vibrations of walking because they're deaf. When in the bush you better use a walking stick investigating the area in front of you if there are animals.
Oh, nearly forgot. Scorpions are there too. They might attack you.
Just be careful and wear some boots snakes and other animals can't bite through, and long trousers and a longsleeved shirt or similar. So you will be protected enough.
By the way, I never have seen any of these animals while I was in the bush, except of the redback. Spiders usually run away from you.
Good luck with your studies.

Answer 4

The two most dangerous spiders are the Sydney funnel web and the redback. Redbacks are common but they won't bother you if you leave them alone. The big females stay in or near their nests. Funnel webs are larger, black and hairy and look nasty. I've never seen one in the wild and I lived in Sydney for 30 years.

The spiders you will come across most frequently that will scare you to death are the huntsmen. These are large, hairy and come into the house. Squirting fly spray at them just annoys them but unless you drown them in the stuff, it won't kill them. They can bite you and the bite will be painful for a couple of days but they are not dangerous. They won't bite unless they feel threatened by you poking them or similar.

There are two ways to get rid of them. The rolled-up newspaper or craftily wielded slipper are both effective but will leave a splodge of green goo on your wall. The other is the glass and card trick but you have to steel yourself to do this.
Open the door so you can get outside. (This is vitally important as you don't want to be standing with both hands holding the spider and no hands to open doors) Take a drinking glass big enough to cover the spider and a piece of card. Put the glass over the spider on the wall. Slide the card in behind the spider and lift it off the wall. It can't escape. Take the spider outside, slide the card off and flick the spider out of the glass. You can stomp on it then if you want to but I wouldn't.

Answer 5

You can find some dangerous spiders in Australia. So, I recommend you to live in urban areas and far away from parks. I lived there for 4 years and I never saw one in my house because I lived in the centre of the city.

If you want more information about studying in Australia I recommend you to check this site http://www.studymove.com

I found it quite useful!

Answer 6

One of the biggest and most deadly spiders lives there. I forgot the name. I saw it on an episode of Nature on PBS. Why worry? I am afraid of them too. If you worry to much you will not have fun at all.

Answer 7

The spiders in Australia are cool ... in fact, they're down right friendly. Some of them like to hang out with you, shoot pool and slam down cold Foster's. Watch out for the pink and purple ones though ... they're gay and the yellow ones cheat at poker!

Answer 8

the funnel web is indeed deadly but it isn't the size of a palm as one person said,in fact it is not overly big at all,we have lots of poisonous spiders but the funnel web is the worst

Answer 9

hmmm - I live less than 10km from the Perth CBD and we have heaps of spiders. Redbacks are deadly but aren't that scary...we get a lot of Daddy LongLegs and (gasp) the occasional Huntsman. Hunties are not poisonous (apparently) but they are huge and furry and I hate the sight of them. The worst part is when they appear in your car when you are driving. Have caused accidents! Sorry, it is part of life here, especially in summer!

Answer 10

Check out this website:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/australian/Spidaus.html

Will tell you everything you want to know about Australian spiders...