Are Australian spiders really that big?

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Sonnie, let me tell you of the war.

It was the day of '54, my squad was pushing dem Aussies back to their jungled base. We had the battle won, and victory was certain. When bam, outta da jungle came Aussies, riding tank-sized spiders, wielding their death spears, yodeling their death yodel.

That death yodel would paralyze you with fear, then their tank spiders would literally rip you in half.

I lost my entire squad to the death spiders, and have been suffering from severe alcoholism to cope with the horrible sight.

 

[IndomitableSam]

Much happier worrying about rabid raccoons and the rare bear here... Bears scare me less.

 

[AD-Stu]

For 99% of visitors, coming across a gigantic spider in Australia is about as likely as being eaten by a wild grizzly bear in the US. I've never seen anything bigger than an ordinary huntsman, and I've lived here 30 years.

 

[Slaanesh]

Daddy-long-legs are poisonous, but they don't bite humans, so they're fine.

Spoiler: my response to you

Daddy Long Legs are not venomous. Just a stupid urban myth. They have no venom glands. Familiarize yourself with this link [http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html]. The Daddy Long legs spider(yes there is a difference) are venomous, but its so weak that it just gives you a mild, short, burning sensation. It doesn't even need treatment.

one word: touche (how do you get the accented e?)

Try holding down ALT and type 0233. Check out this link [http://mrpatterson.com/accent%20marks.htm], look at the bottom of the page for the legend.

Much happier worrying about rabid raccoons and the rare bear here... Bears scare me less.

How? How in the hell can you be more afraid of raccoons then a god damned bear? Is there something about Australian Raccoons that I should know about? Why is Australian wild life so damned scary?

 

[SilentCom]

the coconut crab, is actually a spider:

this is a medium sized one, btw, they can get bigger.

Why did you have to post this?!? I almost forgot about the nightmares, but now they'll be back... D=

OT: Palm sized spiders are rather large, most of the spiders where I like are finger sized.

 

[Thaluikhain]

How? How in the hell can you be more afraid of raccoons then a god damned bear? Is there something about Australian Raccoons that I should know about? Why is Australian wild life so damned scary?

If the raccoon carries rabies, that might make it more dangerous and aggressive than a bear, especially if they are more common.

...

People worry about the funnelweb spider that lives in Sydney, they don't worry much about the hordes of deadly fruit bats. Funnelwebs haven't killed anyone since anti-venom was developed, at leats not by poisoning them. But the fruitbats carry a disease which can still kill humans.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I might be abit biased here but... May I just ask why people have such a problem with spiders? *looks over at my tarantulas*
Sure they are ugly buggers and sure, I grew up around scorpions and spiders ( my father is a zoologist ), but I honestly can't understand what the panic is all about.
FYI, my largest one is an Indian Ornamental spider. A legspan at about 7.1 inches, which is a bit more than a handful for me, granted I've got pretty small hands but... Hurts like a ***** when she gets stressad out and bites me, but she's starting to get used to me now I think. Only had her for a couple of weeks.

The definition of a phobia is an irrational fear of something. Usually the object of the fear poses no threat at all. So yeah most people realize that being afraid of spiders is irrational, as you are much bigger than them and most of them are harmless. But it's an irrational fear.

OT: I've never been to Austrailia, but there are plenty of poisonous spiders where I live. Like Brown Recluse Spiders and Black Widows. Also this is the story of my life:

Spoiler

 

[ChupathingyX]

Not really, the only large spiders I ever find in my house are Huntsman spiders. Other than that the rest are small. Of course there are other large spiders in Australia, but Hunstman are the only semi-common ones I've encountered.

Please tell me how a spider that large manages to get through windows/doors without you noticing.

I can't figure out how...

Huntsman spiders are very flat and can fit through very small spaces, I've see them do it in fact. Even the smallest crack in the wall, or that space under your front door, they can make it through. Also, they breed in houses too, and I have seen little groups of babies in the bathroom and other places...

...no where is safe...no where!

 

[DustyDrB]

Me before reading through this thread: I already know I'm not going to Australia just because of those demon spiders

Me after reading through this thread: Australia must be destroyed! Sink it into the ocean and let the sharks kill those eight legged bastards!

Seriously, I fucking hate spiders. I freaked the hell out last night when I saw one about the size of a penny. Though I am pretty sure that was a brown recluse. Its bite is able to cause some serious necrosis. Good thing I had a clipboard to throw on it.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

yes, that would freak me out. Speaking of Australian animals, I heard about something called a drop bear. Is that a real thing, or something that's made up?

When ever I think of Australia, for some reason I think of Dylan Moran's description of Australia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_43-4xjnVA&feature=related

Yeah man, they're real. I was at a camp one time and the director got mauled by one. Pretty traumatising, i hate them.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

Sonnie, let me tell you of the war.

It was the day of '54, my squad was pushing dem Aussies back to their jungled base. We had the battle won, and victory was certain. When bam, outta da jungle came Aussies, riding tank-sized spiders, wielding their death spears, yodeling their death yodel.

That death yodel would paralyze you with fear, then their tank spiders would literally rip you in half.

I lost my entire squad to the death spiders, and have been suffering from severe alcoholism to cope with the horrible sight.

Hah, you sissy, we eat those things for lunch when we're not wrestling with them. I'm glad you lost the war, you would've been destroyed in seconds by our pot plants if you'd won.
Ya Bloody Bogan

 

[Powereaver]

ive seen some big spiders in the form of huntsman spiders but they are 100% totally harmless they just like being nocturnal and doing crazy things at night on the ceiling so its like.. STOP THAT IM TRYING TO SLEEP! they also seem to like my shower *shrugs*

 

[SongsOfDragons]

Coconut Crabs - are apparently very edible in the islands where they are found, as their diet of coconuts flavours their meat. Mmm.

Tarantulas - at least you can see them and they don't sneak around. If you drop one a few inches they shatter like glass. I've held one in my hands before, and it was cute, in a leggy kind of way.

Spiders - don't have to be big to kill you. Case in point: Funnel webs.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

IF there was ever a tiny chance of me going to Australia, it has been reduced to UNDER 0% after this thread.

If it makes you feel better our native bees don't have stings.

I considered myself the epitome of braveness when despite being arachnophobe i'd capture spiders in my house with a glass and let them free in a display of generosity. Those are spiders no bigger then my pinkie at its worst, legs included.

With the australian spiders... No fucking way. And large spider visits are common? Up to a dozen times a year? Fuck that!!!!!!

Bah, just find yourself a nice Aussie lass who thinks it's cute and endearing when you freak out and piss your pants at spiders and will gladly pick them up and toss them out the window.

 

[Eyclonus]

Interesting Fact: Australian Scientists have found what may in fact be the Human Soul, its a substance found only in the stomachs of spiders originating from the Australian continent after they have bitten a living human being.

 

[Jaythulhu]

*snippy*

Is it just me or is that thing rearing up to strike?

*snip snip*

Indeedy. I'm guessing it wasn't happy about me taking photos.

 

[Flabbagazta]

They don't have venom, It's a bacteria

 

[IndomitableSam]

How? How in the hell can you be more afraid of raccoons then a god damned bear? Is there something about Australian Raccoons that I should know about? Why is Australian wild life so damned scary?

Because I live in Canada. My family is in Australia. Raccoons are very pushy, testy things and don't scare as easily as bears. Plus they eat a lot of garbage, so even if they're not rabid, a bite is pretty dangerous. A bear will usually run if it sees you. A raccoon will attack or at the very least hold its ground.

The last one we had holed up on our deck and we had to hose him down for like 20 minutes because he rolled over, got up, and waddled away. One of our cats found him first, thankfully they didn't attack each other.

The thought of the spiders my family have in their homes (Brisbane) make me happy that where I live, you can usually see what's going to kill you and eat you. And being eaten by a lynx is so much more awesome than dying by spider bite.