Someone sent me this! (it is funny...)

quote:

Originally posted by Gardengnome:
Up until a couple of years ago I felt the same way Mike, even though we do have a couple of nasties here (redbacks and white-tails). Then one of the latter bit me on the hand and left me with a serious infection and a pus-filled swelling literally the size of an egg - no more Mr. Nice-Guy!

I no longer tolerate them in the house the way I used to (even Huntsmen), and especially not in the car.

GG

Aaarrrggghhh! I would do the same! Dunno what a Huntsman is (yet, before googling)

Have a look here Mike;

http://www.australianfauna.com/huntsmanspider.php

I've never seen one 15cm across, 8-10 is more common.

GG

quote:

Originally posted by Gardengnome:
Have a look here Mike;

http://www.australianfauna.com/huntsmanspider.php

I've never seen one 15cm across, 8-10 is more common.

GG

Hi GG
Sure looks evil! My wife would really shriek at one like this - the 2cm ones sent her on to the settee!

Seriously though Mike, they are harmless - normally.

Once they get inside they'll hang out in the corners of the ceiling, creeping around during the night. They don't build a web, they literally 'hunt' their prey. If they know you're after them (and they do!) they move like greased lightning!

When you get into your car and find you left the window open overnight the first thing to do is gently pull the sun-visor down a fraction and check there isn't one hiding there.

I've had one nest in the dashboard too.

GG

quote:

I've never seen one 15cm across, 8-10 is more common.

WOW!!! I was a spider fan when I was a kid, but a spider that size is a bit intimidating, especially when they can scurry around like lightning! It sounds like they are tarantulas on speed! A lot of tarantulas move rather leisurely.

Are the huntsman spiders only native to Australia?

How quickly we forget....

Harry Huntsman....
>Memory Lane<

Belatedly sorry Jabber - reckon I must have lost a couple of days somewhere.....

Yes, the Huntsman is native to south-eastern Australia. So wherever you are you're probably safe, unless we've started exporting them.

They're especially suited to the rough, loose bark of gum trees but they LOVE cars, and I can personally vouch for the speed. They'll crawl into the door cavity and lie low until you open the door then zip over the seal and up into the dash.

Story one;

One night driving home from a mate's I spot one on the bull-bar above the headlight. I accelerate to about 120kmh (75mph) and it's hanging on by only two legs when I have to slow for traffic. It proceeds to walk up the bonnet and disappear down the vents in front of the windscreen. Bang, Bang, Bang - that's all the interior vents slamming shut!

When I got home I filled the vent chamber with insecticide and waited......nothing. Finally I opened the bonnet and there it was crawling out of the hinge aperture. It ran to the top of the cab and when I approached reared up on its hind legs in a very threatening posture before racing down the car to the rear of the canopy. When I got near it there it again reared up than ran to the front. "This is gonna go on all night" I thought to meself.

I got the garden hose with a trigger nozzle and, taking a Dirty Harry stance, waited till it reared up and blasted it into next door's garden. Next day you could see its tracks in the dust on the car!

Story two;

For a couple of weeks I'd gotten used to seeing a tiny little spider on the inside of the windscreen, no big deal, don't worry about it.

Then one night I hop into the car to go somewhere and in the reflected glow of the headlights I see one, two, three, fou....... dozens! A glance 'round and there's hundreds of 'em crawling all over the interior and hanging from the roof lining on their little threads!!!!

I dived out and fetched the insecticide, filling the interior with a literal fog of gas - so thick the flashlight made a solid beam from one side of the car to the other.

The next morning there are hundreds of little bodies, like tiny clenched fists, lying all over the car, so I brush them out and head off to work.

Halfway there, in fast, heavy traffic, a somewhat aggrieved mother Huntsman exits dashboard and proceeds to hurtle 'round the interior, finally, and thankfully, popping out of the sun-roof. You've never seen a sun-roof slammed so fast!

When I finally got to work there was no sign of her, but for a long time I checked every nook and cranny before driving off - especially the sun-visors.

GG

We have a spider called a wolf spider. It is very similar to your huntsman spider. They will actually chase you!
A friend of mine was bitten by a brown recluse spider and almost lost his leg because the bite rotted the flesh. These little guys are very tiny, but nasty.

Aaagh, Gardengnome, that's awful! I'm not sure I would have ever gotten into that car again.

We have black widow spiders, and no shortage of them. They're poisonous, too. This weekend and next weekend I plan to clean out the storage shed to have a yard sale, so this subject is right on time.

Lexie, it's great to see you again!

Yes, Serenity, an elderly friend of mine was bitten by a White-tail and nearly lost her leg (at first they thought she'd lose her life), however she's a tough old bird and recovered, allbeit with a deep scar.

People laugh at me because, when lifting furniture or similar that's been in place for a long time (especially if there's a hollow space under there), I always get down and have a look before I stick my hands underneath to lift.

Better wear gloves, Falcon.

GG

GG -- Thanks for the entertaining personal Huntsman stories! Those stories are the makings of horror movies! What I can't figure out is what the heck is this huge spider eating in your car?!? With the Huntsman spider being so big, does it eat small birds, reptiles, & mammals too? Since it is so light on its feet, it sounds like it is fast enough to be able to catch them if it wanted to. Are there any LARGE insects native to Australia that the huntsman spiders like to feed on?

I never heard of the white tail spider, but I did a search and found <this link>. Sounds like quite a nasty!

RE: The brown recluse spider is probably one of the nastiest spiders to be found living in the USA. While it is typically only an inch or less in diameter, it's venom causes the flesh to literally die around the bite site. The amount of venom injected in the bite will determine how large the diameter of the affected tissue. I've never seen a brown recluse "in the wild" that I know of.

RE: The black widow spider is another spider found in the USA, more commonly in areas that have milder winters than those that don't. It's venom is also fairly potent, but not as bad as the recluse, I don't think. I don't recall for sure, but I don't think the widow's venom causes the tissue damage the recluse's does. The female black widow is kind of pretty, about the size of a large pea, shiny jet black with red or white markings (often an hourglass shaped marking) on the bottom of the abdomen. The male is maybe a tenth the size of the female and is not as well known as the female, as he commonly gets eaten by his "wife" shortly after mating! Oddly enough, when I was in the 5th to 8th grades, my family lived in North Carolina, and for a couple years I had "pet" black widows during the summer! I kept a couple in a couple mustard jars on the kitchen counter. Mom was pretty cool about them as long as they were in jars! I actually became adept enough to be able to pluck a spider web and determine by feel whether it was a black widow web or a house spider web (they LOOK very similar, but usually feel different -- the tensile strength of the widow web is generally higher). Never got bit, though. Interesting trivia -- black widow babies are totally WHITE when they hatch. Oops! I better stop now that you all know what a bizarre kid I was!! Oh yeah, I liked grass spiders and praying mantis, too!

Lexie, now that you remind me, I remember that huntsman pic you posted. I didn't remember how big you said it was! Not sure I believe it since you couldn't get the spider to hold a ruler!

They wouldn't be near big enough to threaten birds Jabber, but I wouldn't be surprised if they fed on skinks and other little beasties. As cars seem to be magnets for spiders I imagine the Huntsman subsists by eating other, smaller, arachnids as well.

I've heard of the Black Widow of course but not the Brown Recluse. Sounds like a nasty little devil. Sydney's got the Funnel-web, which really is a killer. There's an antidote these days and I don't think anyone's died recently.

While there's a fair bit of controversy about whether White-tails etc. can cause the flesh-rotting effects many believe, I have been bitten as I said on an earlier post. The effect was painful and nasty enough to convince me to give all spiders the benefit of the doubt and not trust ANY of them.

All this talk of spiders has made me edgy - I'm off 'round the house with a can of Baygon and a mallet!

GG

Re: Black Widow Spiders (General)

• For male BW’s (there can’t be any widowers), I assume there are only two classifications – virgins and dinner.
  
• “Till death do us part” would be changed to “Till sex do us part”.
  
• Must be next to impossible to find an “experienced” male BW.
  
• Extended foreplay is probably a good idea.
  
• Not much call for BW pre-nuptials.
  
• Can a male use the, “Not tonight honey – I have a headache” excuse?
  
• “Safe sex” for BW’s is a challenging concept.
  
• Can a BW give a hickie?
  
• Not much chance of males cheating.
  
• All BW children are brought up in a one-parent household.
  
• At least Mother’s day is celebrated.
  
• Q: What did your Dad look like? A: Leftovers.
  
• Q: What do you last remember about your Dad? A: Burp.
  
• Can a BW have a vasectomy?
  
• Is there a BW “Right to Life” group?
  
• What happens if the couple is infertile? (Is adoption an option?)
  
• Who gives away the bride?
  
• Check appropriate Male BW marital status: __ Dead

Re: Black Widow Spiders (Pets)

• Does one name them?
  
• Can they be taught tricks, besides bite?
  
• Do they like to be petted?
  
• Do they like to play with human children?
  
• Do you take them to the vets when they get sick?
  
• Are there pet cemeteries (for the females)?
  
• Are BW leash laws enforced?
  
• How big are BW tags?
  
• Is there such a thing as BW liter?
  
• How long before they are house broken?
  
• Are there BW shows?
  
• What does it take to become a judge?