Going to have to be extremely careful with Demps - found out he's a good hunter...

First topic message reminder :

A spider hunter.

A big, fat-bodied spider was crawling around our living room yesterday, while mum and I were having our Movie Night. The first time it crawled past, Demps shot up and frowned at it, watching it go.

The second time, he dashed behind the armchair and dove underneath the computer desk (a space only half his size) after it, so he had to be pulled back out. The spider scuttled away.

Third time, he shot up again and mum stopped him before he could pounce. I caught it in a glass and took it outside, so that Demps didn't crunch the abdomen and leak its nasty spidey juices all over the carpet.

Well they are both beautiful suburbs to live. Surrey hills is just devine. I lived in a few places... Birkenhead Point was where I last lived there. About a 20 min drive to Bondi. We used to go for brunch & a splash on sundays.

When my Lotto numbers come up, I'll be visiting!   

I was watching a video about our biggest, fastest spidey and the crazy man holding the spider said that their 1.2mph speed would be like a race car to us, if it was scaled up!

Bit late on the reply. Woops!

No you're fine. I just led Lynda astray from the topic. My fault.
Damn conversations...
But I can still out "wack" any spider speed.

More than 4 legs..... (I need a fly swat icon) 

I think it's fun to let conversations wander!

We've only had one Giant House Spidey this year, that we're aware of. Thank God! I don't like whacking them, as they're apparently great for pest control and not dangerous, unlike your creepies!

Our spiders are not all dangerous. But I must confess... i am a murderer without feeling. Unless its a "daddy long legs" (even then, if I didnt invite you into my house) I don't particularly care to check the species, if it's poisionous, or even how it's family is ...... "wacko the billyo".

I should imagine the way you see them is different out there, though, than it is here. We don't have anything to worry about with the majority of our species, so we don't need to be on our guard at all. 'Strike first, ask questions later' is probably a reasonable reaction to spideys over there!

I've got to admit that I don't tolerate any creepy-crawlies of ANY kind, or insects come to that, in my home. It's MY home, it's not yours - go outside where you belong.

This goes for butterflies and moths too, but these I can catch in my hand and let fly out the window no problem. Bees of any kind I won't kill but for obvious reasons won't catch in my hand, but I'll get them out the house.

Spiders of any sort - No No No. (Thank you, I'll deal with flies my own way, don't need you - ugh).

"Strike first , ask q's later"  YEP! But you would generally have to go looking to find a trully nasty critter. They are not generally found in houses.

Moths & butterflies I will catch & put out.... spiders, flies, ants, cockroach's, bees, wasps...sorry guys. Not welcome here.

If it's a wasp, I'll usually just catch it in a glass and put it out the window. If it's a bee, I'll usually just leave the window open for it or waft it out. Spiders get put out in a glass. Flies are allowed to find their own way out, unless there are a lot, in which case I flap them out. We've never had roaches!


What annoys me is the big panic over here about the False Widow. They've been here for ages, but people have only started to panic because the media got a hold of the story.

The only times they've ever been dangerous here have been when somebody has had an allergic reaction to a bite. Nobody in the UK has died from one of their bites. Most of those reported bites were just assumed to be False Widows bites anyway, because people jump to conclusions.

All of these horror stories about people having to get the area around False Widow bites cut away - completely inaccurate. False Widow venom doesn't even break down tissue.

Rant over!

What the ##### is a false widow? Is that a black widow that dosent exist?

Full name is the noble false widow, but it's usually just called False Widow. Different genus from the black widow, but they can look very similar. Venomous, although nowhere near as bad as the black widow. They rarely bite anyway, so most of the hype about them has just been caused by people jumping to conclusions and stirring up drama where there is none.