Check out this post with a picture of a spider in Queensland on Mooselet's blog. When you click on the link you'll see a gigantic spider on the wall in her house! (I believe it's a Huntsman). I let out a nervous laugh when I saw this. Just the day before, V. was complaining about the roaches and other many-legged insects that we occasionally find in our house. Although they are definitely ugly, our Atlanta bugs certainly don't inspire terror in a mere photograph. Check out Australia's Wolf spider in this picture! This comes from a web page titled "Spiders in Australia," and contains a photo line-up that rivals the FBI's Most Wanted list. Despite all these spiders with their scary sizes and hairy appendages, the website warns that "two spiders should be avoided, the Sydney Funnel-web and the Redback because their bites can be painful for some days." This website really downplays the perceived danger of these spiders, pointing out that no one has died from a spider bite in Australia since 1980 (a Sydney Funnel-web bite) and nobody has died from a Redback bite since 1956 because of the development of antivenoms. That's a relief...
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Spider Land
Check out this post with a picture of a spider in Queensland on Mooselet's blog. When you click on the link you'll see a gigantic spider on the wall in her house! (I believe it's a Huntsman). I let out a nervous laugh when I saw this. Just the day before, V. was complaining about the roaches and other many-legged insects that we occasionally find in our house. Although they are definitely ugly, our Atlanta bugs certainly don't inspire terror in a mere photograph. Check out Australia's Wolf spider in this picture! This comes from a web page titled "Spiders in Australia," and contains a photo line-up that rivals the FBI's Most Wanted list. Despite all these spiders with their scary sizes and hairy appendages, the website warns that "two spiders should be avoided, the Sydney Funnel-web and the Redback because their bites can be painful for some days." This website really downplays the perceived danger of these spiders, pointing out that no one has died from a spider bite in Australia since 1980 (a Sydney Funnel-web bite) and nobody has died from a Redback bite since 1956 because of the development of antivenoms. That's a relief...
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3 comments:
It is truly creepy the first time you see one of the humongous spiders. I tend to NOT throw stuff at them since I quickly found out they can and WILL jump at you. It doesn't make it any easier knowing they won't bite you, riiiiight...I keep trying to tell myself that, but it don't work, ya know? Best thing to do is keep a great big spray can of Mortein bug spray...we have about 5 lol. They kill pretty much any bug dead on the spot. Oh and prepare for the roaches, too. ewwww. Ok, they aren't the flying palmetto bugs of the south, but the y are big and ugly all the same. Oh and there's also the biggest fattest flies I've ever seen, and be prepared to have to buy screens for your windows, many houses don't have them for some reason.
LOL, I can just imagine you cringing now. Hopefully this won't discourage you too badly cuz the bugs really aren't all that bad or even frequent visitors.
You do kind of get used to them, and here in Brisbane we don't have some of the truly nasty ones - just redbacks.
My mother has a true phobia when it comes to creepy crawlies and she managed during her visit quite nicely. So don't freak too much.
Thanks for your reassuring comments, kitten and mooselet. I have always had problems killing insects and spiders. While V. stands behinds me and curses their existence, I am usually trying to catch them with a piece of paper and then freeing them in the wild (out the back door). The thought of catching a spider with 8-inch legs is a wholly different matter! And what do you do when you have a toddler who will no doubt try to pick up a little furry "toy"? Grrrr....
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