Whoa!!!

[2ManyZs]

Bad thing about them is there are more than one variety.

Here's a Brown Recluse. One of six poisonous spiders in the US and probably the worst IMO.

[halz]

Probably more widely known outside Australia is our Redback spider. These are quite small, about 2cm max, and the red stripe can vary from Red, Orange, Grey, White or be absent altogether. In Western Autralia is you see spider and guess "Redback" you will be right 90% of the time.

They are not fatal (except perhaps to small children) but all the same, don't go getting bitten!

[2ManyZs]

This post really has caused a case of arachnaphobia hasn't it?

Here's the female Black Widow, its poison is more potent than a rattlesnake, yet it injects such a small amount that it rarely causes any adverse effects with adults. Males are not poisonous.

Glad I'm not a male black widow, the female eats the male after mating!! Yikes!:dead:

[halz]

Uughh ack gaarggghh! twitch, flinch... I'm appalled, yet I can't look away - I'll just have to pray that Mike's disks crash again to break this awful spell..!

[halz]

One of six poisonous spiders in the US and probably the worst IMO

Rule of thumb: ALL spiders are poisonous untill stepped on.

[Rob]

This from the University of Sydney web site:

Sydney Funnel Web Spider:

This is one mother of a spider!

It is a large (6-7 cm), black, aggressive, ugly looking spider with massive fangs. These are large and powerful enough to easily penetrate a fingernail. When disturbed it tends to rear up on its hind legs, a defensive posture that exposes the fangs. They don't jump. During a bite the spider firmly grips its victim and bites repeatedly; in most cases the experience is horrific. The venom is highly toxic. Before an effective antivenom was developed, significant bites usually resulted in severe symptoms and death was not uncommon.

[2-77zs]

Let me share a little something with all of you, FREEKY PEOPLE!

I'm sitting here in my nice cozy chair, as usual being entertained by you all. Reading this little humorous post, when I get to those freeky, awful, disgusting, creepy, spider pics you all posted.

Just then I feel something crawl up leg, my skin tightens and my spine twitches as I reach down to feel the uninvited now making his way up my leg.

All in my head you may ask???

I thought that also, until I feel it, hard round and very unexpected.

So off I go, screaming like a little girl. My wife and kids in bed, me dancing around the office like a choreographer on a bad cocaine twist.

After I settle down a bit, I look up at the screen and see all these nice pics of creepies, so I begin to search for my attacker. Oh I found him alright.

He was a little green piece of fuzz hanging from the bottom of my chair fabric by a little string.

FEEL STUPID?? Yeah you could say that!

Thanks for freaking me out , love you guys.

[Rob]

[Alex 240Z]

I will be checking under my sheets before I go to sleep tonight !!!

[Gav240z]

Cool post however when I lifted the panels on my Z all I found was dirt and some rust thank goodness.

I used to find huntsmen spiders at my old house they loved the garage there. Where I am at the moment my bed room is above my garage and I don't have problems with spiders really which is good.

However I do remember when I was a kid I went to open this book and a white tail spider run down the page and onto my lap I screamed and my mum flushed it down the toilet.

I don't really have a fear of spider though just snakes I hate snakes.

[Alfadog]

I've got a story...

Once near Sydney in a National Park I was running down a track (I was about 10 I think at the time) and I noticed my shoe was undone so I stopped and ducked down to do it up. Right there in front of my foot was a funnel-web spider's nest. They dig a hole in the ground IIRC? Not reeeeaally close, but it still scared the hell out of me. Those spiders are the most poisonous in Australia.

[1 Bravo 6]

Sat watching a huntsman devouring a black house spider the other day, (the beauty of being retired, time to watch spiders eat each other).

Was quite interested to see one of the local friendly butcher birds hover at the wall just long enough to catch the huntsman then land on the railing in front of me, bash it on the rail a few times and eat it.

Didn't know butcher birds did that.

Good, nice, friendly, spider eating butcher birds.

ROFL ROFL

Rick.