Aussies, how do you deal with the critters! Yikes!

[Aelia Jusa]

Ew, that spider is nasty! I haven't seen any deadly spiders, or snakes, or anything else venomous for that matter (I have seen some 'deadly' wombats at the zoo though ). Just redbacks, and they're not that dangerous really, no one dies of them, what with the anti-venom and all, and I think only the females are dangerous [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Elric of Scotland]

Been reading with intrest and came to the conclution that the thinnest book in the world must be the Australian book of harmless creatures...

[LennonCook]

Originally posted by Elric of Scotland: Been reading with intrest and came to the conclution that the thinnest book in the world must be the Australian book of harmless creatures...

Or the book of Brittish-American spelling agreements.

[Leonis]

Sir Kenyth, the mouse spider has recently been bumped up in its potency status, the thinking is now that it may have been responsible for many attributed funnelweb deaths.
Also, you know the Daddy Long Legs has the most powerful venom in the world? Their fangs just don't pierce human skin but I seen how it takes seconds for insects to die...

Australia's not too bad even in the bush/outback - people like to talk it up but you get used to being careful and seeing large insects/arachnids wandering around.

That being said I remeber a time when a young Yorick was sitting on a tree stump out in the bush one day and the dog which had come walking with us went mad and started barking it's head off at him.
He jumped off the stump, the dog dove in and pulled out a huge redbelly blake snake which it then proceded to kill...
Yorick's butt came so close that day...

[Lioness]

*has very bad image of Jerome getting mauled by poisonous sheep*

Thanks Johnny, that's twice today you've made me feel better. hehe

[Donut]

I heard from a girl in Bundaberg that she was having a shower one day, looked down, and saw loads of small snakes coming up through the plughole!

[johnny]

Originally posted by Lioness: *has very bad image of Jerome getting mauled by poisonous sheep* Thanks Johnny, that's twice today you've made me feel better. hehe

Thanks Lioness, i'm doing the best i can !

[Sir Kenyth]

Originally posted by Leonis: Sir Kenyth, the mouse spider has recently been bumped up in its potency status, the thinking is now that it may have been responsible for many attributed funnelweb deaths. Also, you know the Daddy Long Legs has the most powerful venom in the world? Their fangs just don't pierce human skin but I seen how it takes seconds for insects to die...

Aha! The old "Daddy Longlegs" semi-myth! There are a couple problems with this statement. The true Daddy Longlegs is a small spider with a tiny body and long spindly legs making it appear much larger.



It's venom is no more or less toxic than most common spiders. Another problem is that there is another harmless creature that is commonly misnamned "Daddy Longlegs". The common "Harvestman".



Though part of the arachnid family, they are not spiders and do not have either venom or silk glands. I believe they subsist mostly on aphids, mites, and other tiny prey.

Interesting, huh?

Reading this thread makes me very glad I live in Western Europe. The only venom I have to put up with is that of the verbal persuasion - injected by lethal groups of beasties known as familius irritatingus, found only in domestic environments but every bit as lethal as their rural counterparts [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Lioness]

Daddy Long Legs are actually the most poisonous spider in massachusetts...but, uh, that's not saying much. [img]smile.gif[/img] And isn't it those long legs that prevents them from hurting people? They can't reach with their mouth what they're standing on.