Spider anyone?

[trainsdownunder]

Finding a big enough beaker can be a problem  and boy can some of these biggies run !

[Bealman]

Oh yeah, as you know, Colin - they are super fast. But even as they don't so much scare me as annoy me, because I see one in the house and think, "Oh no, now I've gotta stop what I'm doing (which is usually nowt), get up and catch the beggar", I still stick with the old Aussie saying: all snakes have fangs, and all spiders have eight legs.

In other words, I am exceptionally wary of both, thank you very much. 

[Newportnobby]

Black bears are the worst we have to worry about here in Pennsylvania and at this time of year they are hibernating!!

At least you don't have a problem with seeing where they entered the house, Mike!

I know a few round here that stand on chairs and flap like big feathered birds when they see one screaming obsenities.

I think if a spider screamed obscenities at me I, too, might just stand on a chair and flap

[silly moo]

We have them here and call them Rain Spiders. We usually have a couple in the house. As someone else has mentioned the smaller spiders are usually the dangerous ones.

I'm not scared of them and used to have to move them from my son's room because he hates spiders. I think the reason I'm not scared of spiders and other crawling things is because we moved to Zambia when I was eight. There are crawliies of all descriptions there and we always had spiders and lizards on our bedroom walls. If we'd worried about them we would never have got any sleep.

[mark100]

Wife (Linda) just came back from local shop and when she went to get her handbag from the rear seat saw this beauty on the back seat.  Linda had to use a salad bowl rather than our usual large vegemite jar to capture and release into the garden.
Lucky it wasn't running about the car while she was driving as she would have had an aracnoleptic fit.

[smg id=19087 type=preview align=center caption="Nice spider"]
[smg id=19088 type=preview align=center caption="Nice spider 2"]

I bet they go well as a side salad with the barbecue!

[Newportnobby]

I bet they go well as a side salad with the barbecue!

That's fine if you like your meal constantly moving/looking at you

[mark100]

I bet they go well as a side salad with the barbecue!

That's fine if you like your meal constantly moving/looking at you

I've eaten LIVE Termites straight from the tree in Mexico,  and I guzzled down half a pint of Maggots for a bet whilst fishing one day, I needed a can of coke to help them to go down. but its all protein and did no harm.

Mark.

[Komata]

Because they believe in sharing their native fauna with their neighbours, in 1923-24 the South Australians very generously sent us some examples of these spiders (Delena cancerides Walckenaer
(Araneae: Sparassidae) BTW) in a consignment of railway sleepers (ties). 

Fortunately the 'guests' confined themselves to a suburb of Auckland and as a result these creatures are now commonly known as 'Avondale' spiders; 'Avondale' being the name of the suburb concerned.  Unlike their cousins across the ditch they don't seem to be 'motor-vehicle' inclined...

Perhaps as a result of plentiful food, it is noted that 'Mature spiders with legs outstretched can measure up to 200 mm across (8")', which, to give it some perspective, is about the size of an average domestic dinner plate.   

They are an interesting 'critter' and, as already noted, very quick in their movements, and, as also already noted, they are harmless; they just LOOK nasty.

Thought this might be of interest...

[NinOz]

Nice to see pictures of your wildlife, got anymore.

Lots.
Part of my autonomous lawn mowing crew (have up to a dozen wallabies munching about the yard each day).   
Male and female roo will approach within a couple of metres.  Male roo pretty much ignores us, he is bigger than I am.  Always watch his body language though (just in case he takes an exception about something).
[smg id=19319 type=preview align=center caption="Female and Male Kangaroo in front yard"]
[smg id=19320 type=preview align=center caption="Male roo in yard, nice claws."]
The nice tiger snake.
[smg id=19318 type=full align=center caption="Tiger snake"]

[Bealman]

Oooh....  NICE snakey. Skippy's dad looks like he's not to be messed with, either.

We had a couple of big stags in our front yard last year, but they don't count 'cos they're imported blow-ins, but they're still big, can damage the car and sure as heck shouldn't be roaming the streets of an industrial city!

Cool pics, though. Do those roos move off when you go out?

[Agrippa]

I didn't know there were imported deer in Oz . My favourite Oz creature is the duck billed platypus, though I think that it lives in rivers so probably wouldn't get one in your garden.

The red deer stags in Jockshire can be fearsome, a few people have been gored by them when
they've been spooked.

[Geoff]

Now I have just seen one of my fears in life and that is snakes, I will take a punch off a roo any day but a snake I would run a mile.

[Bealman]

In reply to the above posts, the deer were imported a long time ago and have become almost a pest. I live at the bottom of an escarpment not too far from a steelworks, but it's a bit like the bears in North America... they get hungry, come down into surburbia and get hit by cars.

The tiger snake you don't wanna find in your backyard.

[NinOz]

Now I have just seen one of my fears in life and that is snakes, I will take a punch off a roo any day but a snake I would run a mile.

A snake can kill with a bite and a roo can disembowl you with a kick, both not to be messed with.

Last friday evening we were in the house and heard a strange noise, a scrap and a dull thump.  Went out to investigate and a python (carpet snake) was in a heap on the pavers.  Was about 2.5m long.  Proded it with a long stick to see if it was ok, it moved so was ok.
Looked like he had fallen while trying to climb onto the roof (raining so slippery).  We were heading out in the car and last I saw, it was climbing up the lattice towards the roof (occasionally they camp in the roof).  Unfortunately no pictures.

Bealman, the big male is not fully grown, stands about 6'2" and hasn't developed the full chest muscles of a boomer.  Don't like me approaching them, move away slowly at about 6m, but are ok when they come close, 3m or so.
Seen video of deer attacks on U-tube, they can be really freaky.

Oh great.  Just noticed some snake skin in my hobby room which wasn't there on friday.

CFJ

[Geoff]

No good me living there with all them snakes, but come to think of it there are plenty of snakes trying to run our country.