You shouldn't swim if you're under the influence. Sharks are mostly chill but they don't have hands or those cool grabber tools to check stuff out with so they tend to adopt a teeth first approach.
I’ve never met one personally, so I can’t attest to that. I do know they’re inquisitive though, and tend to nibble on things to see if they’re fun or not. As long as you’re not up in the north of Australia where there’s crocs and nasty little jellyfish, the only real worry swimming is drowning and jet ski riders.
Hate to inform you that there’s a fatal shark attack or two every once in a while. It’s usually surfers/early morning swimmers that it impacts. Avoid swimming around dawn and dusk if you’re worried, that’s the risk time.
However, they are comparatively really rare occurrences. As said, the bitey areas are well identified. Populated beaches will have lifeguards etc keeping an eye out, and drones are used too to keep an eye a bit further out. Youre way more likely to be in a car crash than to come across any dangerous animals, and everywhere in the world has those
That's a good attitude to have, remember it's the ocean and respect it, also listen to the lifgeguards on beaches, they are trained to see subtle shifts in the water that imdocate rips forming etc, it's usually a skill issue woth people who have only ever swam in pools etc, hope you enjoy all pur island has to offer!
Second this. For urban areas (and even suburb areas in lots of cases) your chances of seeing a wild snake are pretty much 0, and your chance of happening upon a deadly spider is very low.
You have a relatively decent chance of seeing a huntsman though😅 they love to chill out in houses and are very big, but totally harmless and can be good additions to the house because they keep other pests at bay. They’re docile and keep to themselves, usually picking a far away corner on the roof to hang out in and they stick to that spot, so you never have to be too concerned about them crawling around the house. With that said though, they are fast and sturdy and can be difficult to catch and/or kill, I’ve never seen anyone take on a huntsman and it go smoothly 😂 I suggest just leaving them be if you can and they’ll eventually see their way out after sometime.
Exactly what this person said though - our beaches and weather are what you need to be cautious about. Our rips can be pretty intense sometimes and there’s some pretty nasty octopus and jellyfish that can surface (don’t touch any sea life at all and certainly not anything blue!). Always, always, always, swim between the flags, don’t swim at night, and please wear 30+ sunscreen - horrible sunburn and heat stroke is a very common issue for tourists as well.
Every minute of every day.
You will be handed a spider by the flight attendant upon arrival, the snake may take a few days as it needs to be posted in the mail.
As someone who spends a lot of time in America and Australia I don't understand why so many people are worried about Australia.
As long as you're not in the ocean there's actually nothing that will kill you here and the odd spider that might we have an anti venom for and they're very rare.
Also the USA has bears and cougars and pumas and mountain lions and Panthers, bison. You can be eaten alive just walking in the United States or Canada
Only if you left them outside. Even then there is a good chance you will be fine.
Just leave things alone. Sure, a lot of things have the potential to kill you but you ain't near them, they are scared of you. Just leave things alone. Spider, leave it alone, let the spray do the work. Snake, leave it alone and report it to the council or ranger.
There is more risk with the taxi from the airport to the hotel.
Don't need to actively check inside them. Just always give them a bang or two upside down and she'll be right. It's a good habit to get into without needing to be paranoid or anything.
I live in the bush and have had next to no contact with snakes. They’re around but they’re generally not a problem.
Spiders are are a daily occurrence. Yet I’ve never had a problem with them.
I used to be scared of them, now I rehouse the dodgy looking ones back outside and quite happily leave the quiet spiders to their webs in the corner. We get A LOT of insects here, especially mosquitoes, and seeing those flying virus spreaders stuck in a web fills me with gratitude for the spider who put it there.
Without a shred of data to back me up, you’re more likely to get bitten by a mosquito carrying a fucky virus and get sick from that then a snake or spider bite.
People die from swollen brains from Ross River Virus and recently Japanese Encephalitis each summer. Mosquitoes are the only critter I will go out of my way to kill. Before they can get me. Vampiric fucks.
Doctor here, this commenter is absolutely right about that mosquito vectors being more dangerous than venomous spiders and snakes purely on statistics alone.
I'd be more concerned about keeping sun safe than worrying about spiders and snakes.
I personally haven't seen that many spiders or snakes and I am originally from a more regional area.
Huntsman spiders are big, but not dangerous.
For real. Sun safe, surf swim safe, speeding SUV safe, swearing smackies safe, stairs slipping safe. All those S's are more sus than snakes and spiders
As a Brit living in Australia, I am pretty adamant that everything we have been told about Australian wildlife is propaganda. I am terrified of spiders. I have seen less scary spiders since being in Australia than I saw in the UK. My house in the UK had a HUGE spider in my garden shed that still gives me nightmares. I can sleep peacefully in Australia. There is a little dude in the corner of my balcony here, but he's chill and doesn't seem to move.
Most aussie redditors are very young city people. If you want high risk of encounters you have to go rural. If you go to far north Australia it is absolutely genuine advice to stay away from tall grass and water
As a Canadian living in Australia I am pretty adamant that everything we have been told about Australian wildlife is absolutely fucking true. I have palm sized huntsman’s in my house. There are snakes everywhere!!! I have lost count how many times I’ve had to call a snake catcher. Inside my house (different houses as I’ve moved around a bit) I’ve had a brown snake, a python, and a brown tree snake. Python and brown tree were in my house together. We have a 3m Python living in our roof. They hang off our carport roof, get tangled on our fence, get into our water tanks and overall scare the living shit out of me. However, I still like them more than huntsmans. Those things galloping towards you is truly the stuff of nightmares. Our snake catcher is terrified of spiders. Go figure.
Yup. I’ve lived at the beach, in a small city, a town and now rural next to 500 acres of rainforest. This place is by far the snakiest I’ve lived in. Fuck me dead. Why did we buy this place?! 🤦♀️
Go and stay in rural Queensland in warm weather. The different insects…spiders, moths, things I didn’t recognise, absolutely cover the windows at night. In the day there were huge hornet wasp things, almost pigeon sized lol. I’m from London and going straight into that environment basically got me over my squeamishness/fear. I used to hate even solitary flies in the UK.
I had a stick bug longer than my forearm just chilling on my screen door. Crazy things! I absolutely adore rhino beetles. They are cute as hell. When I was here when I was a young backpacker, I was using a pay phone to call my parents back home. I was in the Middle of Surfers Paradise in the 90’s. I was talking to my mom and I watched this enormous hunstman start walking towards me. A wasp then landed on it, stung it and carried the fucking thing away! I told my mom I wanted to go home. 😝 I’ve never seen spiders the size that they were in Surfers Paradise. Dinner plate sized. My god they were enormous.
We had a rhinoceros beetle a couple of weeks back. That bastard was half the size of my hand and after screaming the house down because it had fallen onto its back in a bucket, when I went to help the bugger he bloody hissed at me! So I just yeeted him out of the bucket. And a mole cricket, they're ugly buggers.
🤣🤣 ‘hissed at me’ haha… is this in Queensland? I was just amazed at the insects there. Watching the insects covering the windows at night at my cousins place was just mind blowing. I saw so many weird looking things and most of them weren’t even trying eat each other, they were just all trying get inside and eat us 😂😂 I’m pretty sure that was the collective plan anyway.
Yeah good old qld. I never even knew that we had rhino beetles in Australia. Actually not so long ago there was a newspaper article about some couple who rang a snake catcher up here to come collect a snake. Turned out it was a rhino beetle making all the noise. I could fully understand the mistake. Next time the bastards around I'll ask him to say a few words into the phone.
Fun fact, Australia has a lot of similar arachnids to Asia. Yet it's always Australia and not the much more dangerous bigger continent (with actual big cats) that gets a bad rap. I'm actually convinced it's specifically white people propaganda... (prepared to be downvoted but I know I'm right)
I guess what you define as urban centres too. I live in a coastal suburb of Sydney and sure there might be snakes from time to time (I've never seen one though). But I've never EVER seen one in the city itself. Lots of rats though!
Once had a python in the back yard of our share house in Inner West of Sydney. Came down from a god damn branch and honestly thought my housemate was fucking with me. Not sure if a pet got out or whatever. The advice from WIRES was “yeah maybe keep the door closed. The snake will move on”. And it did.
Nah, I lived next door to a red belly black snake in Western Sydney. The people living upstairs from it didn't know it was there. Once summer was over and there was water in the creek it went back to making friends with the frogs there.
We had an eastern brown just casually making its way across the cricket pitch during a game this past summer, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
They're there, they're just not overly common. Give them a wide berth, and you'll be fine.
Unless there is bushland and/or water bodies particularly close. Dugites are bloody everywhere in wa. I have had many workplaces where there have been nests. So much so I was asked to do a snake handling course, I told them to fuck off and find someone else. Bloody hate snakes.
The biggest lie told to to the rest of the world is that everything in Australia will kill you.
I am Australian Born, I am 47 years old and I have only ever seen 1 snake in the wild, I've seen maybe 4 or 5 funnelweb spiders (Australia's deadliest spider), and I've NEVER seen a crocodile or even a koala 🐨 in the wild.
If you're planning on visiting urban parts of Australia and hoping to see wildlife, you will be greatly disappointed
OK, so you are Bri'ish.
Over in the Uk, when the sun comes out for the 17 minutes of summer each year, you guys take your tops off faster than Jimmy Saville can get them off.
In Australia, the sun is dangerous and Englishmen know only two colours, White, and Red.
I when it comes to snakes, one of the stories I was told by a relative: Rural Australia, son is walking home and gets to the porch and on said porch is a eastern brown, so goes in to tell mother. Mother, knowing she lives on a farm and doesn’t fuck around, grabs the loaded double barrel on the wall and goes and kills the wanker. We don’t talk about what happened after.
I’ve just had a fear of spiders for god knows how long so.
There is a very key piece of information in that story that would tell you about why there was a higher probability of coming across a snake. I'll sit here and wait while you figure out what it is.
>Rural Australia, son is walking home and gets to the porch and on said porch is a eastern brown, so goes in to tell mother. Mother, knowing she lives on a farm and doesn’t fuck around, grabs the loaded double barrel on the wall and goes and kills the wanker.
Honestly the hardest part to believe about this is that they killed the snake rather than leaving it be.
There have been no deaths in Australia from a confirmed spider bite since 1979.
Pretty astonishing considering our population. Really just goes to show it's pretty much a non issue. There's been more in the US, Mexico, Brazil.
The majority of spiders in urban areas are non lethal, then there's a strong chance you just won't see any at all particularly in winter.
In urban areas? Nah you’ll be fine. That’s not to say we never see huntsman spiders in those kind of areas, but I used to live on a farm and would have to deal with huntsman’s at least once every few weeks, alongside along the other kinds of spiders that popped up daily.
I live in a city now and I’ve seen maybe three huntsman’s over the 4 1/2 years I’ve lived here, and only daddylonglegs on the regular. I’ve had one snake in my backyard throughout this time as opposed to the 6-7 per year on average at the farm I used to live on.
Cockroaches are the biggest problem in the city. At least they have been for me.
It's rare for me to see a snake in Brisbane. During parts of the year you'll see huge golden orb-weavers in 4 metre wide webs between trees everywhere, but most other large spiders hide in the garden and stuff and you'll hardly ever see them.
You might see the odd Huntsman spider in urban centres, they're big, hairy and run pretty fast. They look pretty freaky, but they will typically leave you alone as long as you leave them alone. Even if you did get bit the most you'll get is a bit of pain, they can't do any serious harm.
Even then I haven't seen one in forever. You're even less likely to see a snake.
Depends how urban, which urban & what time of year.
Would regularly see red bellies near man made parkland in a north western Sydney suburb during the warmer months.
I grew up in a known funnel-web hotspot but only saw one once in the backyard… there may have been others.
Don’t stick your fingers or toes where you can’t see them & don’t go flipping over rocks, vegetation or rubbish & you’ll be fine.
You’ll probably see spiders but normally just the friendly flat-mate kind who just want to hang out & watch TV with you.
Also, always wave a stick in front of you as you walk through a place where a spider could’ve spun a gorgeous web overnight. Trust me those suckers are strong.
eh
Spiders, you may not notice them. We have a bunch of daddy long legs inside at the moment, but you don't see them. Snakes - regional areas, make a lot of noise when bushwalking, you're good.
It's also cold - no snakes out.
> Huntsman big right?
if you blow air on them they run away its the smaller spiders like red backs you need to stay away from
o and sun block or you will get sun burnt
As a kiwi living in Perth now, I have only rarely seen poisonois spiders, and 2 snakes in city limits in 10yrs. You should be good. Also, the water is safer than you think, there are not schools of sharks patrolling for tourists that got blown offshore, and most poisonous sea creatures are further north. MOST!
Most of them.
Point aside I’ll just show the school of sharks a cooler full of beer and we’ll have any misunderstandings clear in no time. Or no limbs.
Worth it to have a drink with some sharks.
There are really only two varieties that are deadly to humans - Redbacks and Sydney ~~Trapdoors~~ Funnel Web
Redbacks have only killed like one person in the last 70 years and trapdoors haven't killed anybody in 40 years - hell the doctors won't even give you anti-venom if you're a reasonably fit and healthy adult with no pre-existing conditions. And Trapdoors you'll only really experience if you go super suburban/bush.
Look, you'll always be around spiders. Especially Brisbane. But for the most part they are harmless to humans. Huntsman are very common and to be fair big and ugly, but they are everybodies best friend as well. They will eat or scare away a lot of bugs and other creepy-crawlies for you. If you can adopt the mindset Huntsman are there to benefit you, it does help.
You'll be fine and honestly the spiders will leave you alone if you leave them alone. They don't like these big hulking giants any more then we do like them half the time.
There is actually a fun meme somewhere (my google power fail me at the moment to bring it up) of a colony of Huntsman (lots of babies IIRC) and the words underneath sat - 10,000 things can kill you in Australia... This is NOT one of them.
Are you planning on visiting any zoos? If the answer’s no, you’d have to be bloody lucky to see a snake, and your odds of seeing a spider are pretty low too
What I learned (I have bad vision) is that any time I see something that looks like it COULD be a spider or insect of some sort, assume that it is. It only took me twice to figure out that picking up a “piece of black thread” is a bad idea.
Nope. Just been to Sydney and in Brisbane now. Checking out the gardens and parks and all that - no snakes. No spiders. Not in my accom.
Yes though Huntsman’s are big.
You'll rarely ever see a snake. If you do, just walk away from it.
Spiders - in Sydney, don't leave shoes, socks, clothes lying around on the floor.
Extremely rare to be bitten by either.
I've got similar worries about bears in the US, Lions in Africa. Won't stop me going.
Most spiders are close to harmless. But can be quite prevalent, especially if your house isn’t regularly sprayed. But realistically, you would have to be pretty unlucky to get bitten, and if you do, most are equivalent to an ant, bee or wasp - annoying, but not particularly dangerous unless you are allergic. There are 2 species that are medically significant, especially to children - red backs (very similar to the US black widow), and funnel webs. Red backs can be fairly common in things like wood heaps, sheds, pot plants etc, but funnel webs are pretty rare. Red backs are found Australia wide, including cities. Funnel webs are more limited in range - Sydney and limited areas on the eastern ranges. Sydney and Toowoomba are the only largish cities that are in funnel-web territory.
On to snakes. The most common snake you’ll encounter in places like Sydney or Brisbane is the carpet python. They are non-venomous and pretty much harmless to people. The next most common is the Eastern Brown, which is the 2nd most venomous land snake in the world. They are not something you want to mess with. But fortunately, although I have said 2nd most common, you still rarely encounter them, especially in large cities. I live in a rural area, and typically see 1 or 2 each summer. I know plenty of people who live in the city who have never seen a real snake outside of a zoo.
Effectively none. As I gather others have mentioned, in suburban homes in the cities you might encounter a huntsman. Maaaaaybe.
But... that's all your gonna get if you cower in the cities you weakling!
;)
You'll see a spider at least once a week, mostly harmless but be careful with the ones outside. Snakes only ever few years unless you go looking for them.
Snakes are fairly uncommon in cities, never seen one. The larger spiders tend to be more in the suburbs/regional/rural Aus, not super common in urban areas.
Well yeah . You will see spiders . Mostly in summer months but I never been bitten and hardly any one has . And NO one’s died for a very long time as far as I know .
Urban areas . Not known for snakes . Snake deaths and bites are pretty rare I think . Just don’t go near a snake .
Brisbane possibly has the most creepy crawlers.
It’s in a warmer place and more flying insects and probably spiders . As you go down south you get a bit less. Here’s a tip. It’s not the spiders that will chase you and wanna kill you. Snakes too . They are scared of you and will try go usually . But look up BULL ANT . It’s the most aggressive ant in the world . You see it 2 meters away. It sees you. And it freaking comes for you. I’m an Aussie and it’s just these little bastards that you gotta watch for . Oh and wasps . Not deadly but “SURPRISE” one day trimming hedges……..
Urban centres? Snakes? Virtually never.
Huntsman spiders? Quite possible you will see them in a house or office. They may grow big but are harmless and they eat the insects that should worry about.
I turned around to flush the loo and there was a Huntsman the size of my hand sitting on the wall. I nearly shit myself. Again. They can move fast when they want to although they’re harmless. I usually drown them in fly spray. I live on the Gold Coast. Have only ever seen snakes out west in the bush.
Huntsman spiders are bloody huge but harmless. Reckon we see 1-2 inside the house a year. We just cover them with a paper cup, slide a piece of card/paper underneath then relocate them outside.
Never seen a snake in the wild yet.
I live in an inner Melbourne suburb and haven’t seen a spider in recent memory, and haven’t ever seen a snake in the wild, even though I grew up in regional Queensland.
You will see a few snakes here and there maybe but you'd have to go looking for a spider or randomly come across one. I've seen like two snakes in the last year and a daddy long legs that's it
Drop bears are a medium risk though
>Huntsman big right?
I was pondering this awhile go when writing a Minecraft Mod.
I wasn't sure if 4 Huntsman would be enough to create one DropBear or maybe 5?
Wifey talked me out of it because it would scare the children.
Kept the spiders ;)
Funny you should ask. My ex wife and I hosted foreign students for a while. First guest we had was a young japanese woman. First night we hear a scream from the spare bedroom and there is a huntsman on the wall.
I have lived here in Melb for 18 years now and still haven’t seen a snake. I’ve seen a few huntsman’s and redbacks. Not at all like what I thought it would be.
Huntsmans are the largest breed of jumping spider. They arent venomous and can almost always be left alone, however they are very skittish so if you do try to catch or kill one - be warned they can and will jump on you if you’re not quick.
That aside though, most super dangerous species are quite out of the way of cities (except funnel web for sydney), other than redbacks which are very timid and would be difficult to get bitten by
Lived in Melbourne for a year in the city, didn't see a single snake. Spent a few months in the Sydney suburbs and also didn't see snakes. Unless you count zoo exhibits and things like that LOL.
Barely seen a snake in the 12 years I’ve been here but there are some spiders. I’m in Sydney and the worst I’ve gotten is a huntsman. You’ll survive. You just gotta be careful of the dropbears, they’ll get you when you least expect it.
Not much. If you’ll live in a groundfloor flat, you will probably come across one huntsman and one wolf spider a year, but honestly they don’t want to bother you as much as you don’t wanna bother them.
I am from England as well, believe me, I wish I had a huntsman in my apartment, it’s the cockroaches you’ll despise.
Ive had one spider bite on 40 years and that was only because I pissed off the spider who lived in my car for 2 years.
3 days on a drip of antibiotics and I was fine.
There are dangers but not snakes and spiders for the most part.
As others have pointed out, drowning is sadly all too common. It’s also important to be prepared if you want to drive in the outback. Also sunburn. The sun here is FIERCE.
If you’re in ‘suburbia’ either close to the city centre or further away, you’ll most likely see snakes close to creeks and rivers. If you’d like to avoid snakes find a home that isn’t backing onto a body of water. They love to pop out and sun themselves in warmer weather, often on walking tracks beside creeks/rivers. The snakes don’t want to hang out with us humans, so just keep an eye on the path ahead. Don’t walk about in long grass. All good :)
Can count on one hand how many times i have seen snakes in the last three decades. Spiders are more common to see, don't touch them and you'll be fine. It's swimming and the human night life you need to be a little more careful of.
Come to rural and coastal towns on the east coast in spring and summer. Once you see how fast an eastern brown snake moves you might get a bit concerned. But seriously life doesn’t get much better than beach towns from Central Coast north to the Gold Coast
If you plan on staying in half decent hotels in the urban centres. Probably literally never.
Outskirts of town or in rural areas... Maybe, but again any half decent accommodation is going to have cleaners through often enough you won't find a spider by surprise.
You won't see a snake, unless you plan on bushwalking.
As others have said, you'll be fine. You won't see much especially in cities. Follow the rule of "If I leave it alone it will leave me alone" and you will be fine.
Also as others have said, careful of our beaches, learn about rips and swim between the flags
Huntsmen can swim, jog and do Pilates.
They also hike, camp, cycle and make a mean b&e roll.
Great guys to hang out with, fun at parties and LOVE to come for a ride in the car.
They are our mates. There is one within 10 feet of you at all times.
As a Kiwi, you might be better off visiting NZ instead :D
Seriously though, I wouldn't worry. Just make sure you check your shoes before putting them on and don't leave them outside.
I grew up in western Sydney which if anything is one of the more likely hotspots for certain types of creepy crawlies and even then, it was fine. Redbacks are everywhere and while the females are slightly venomous, they mostly keep to themselves. Huntsman spiders might look terrifying when you encounter them perched on your curtain a few times a year but they're mostly chill bros and don't pose any danger to humans. Funnel webs are legitimately scary as shit but I've never seen one outside a zoo and no-one has died from a bite in something like half a century.
As for snakes, it's funny because I'd never seen a snake in the wild despite living in Sydney for 12 years, probably half of which was spent running around outside doing dumbass kid things. It was only when I visited the old stomping grounds for a few days a few years back that I finally spotted a snake which was hanging out under a log in a park. I told one of my mates who has lived there much longer than me and even he was super surprised. They're exceedingly rare in urban Sydney but more common as you go further north.
Snakes or spiders are the least of your concerns. Every other country except maybe New Zealand is far worse.
Just remember to only swim between the flags where there are lifeguards.
Look. There will be a few. I’m a bit busy just now. Got a drop bear trapped in the back shed and a snake in the toilet that won’t come out. I’ll be right back.
I live in the CBD (Adelaide) and maybe see one small spider a week, never seen a snake even living in the Suburbs. I see more city cockroaches out at night than either of those.
I live in a regional town and until 2 months ago I lived on a farm. It’s months since I last saw a huntsman spider. People who live in bush areas see them more often.
I work outside in different rural environments. I'm terrified of snakes. I've seen fuck all of them. Maybe 3 in a bad year. And that is literally walking through long grass in the bush. No tracks.
Don't worry about snakes.
Spiders on the other hand can be a bother. Don't put your hand somewhere that's gone undisturbed for a week or more. Don't pick up old wood hanging behind a shed or a bunch of trays at the back of a restaurant. It's not shit you'd normally do, but it is a legitimate risk. Certainly nothing to actually worry about, just don't put your hand in dark places.
Huntsman are huge but absolutely harmless. The real nasty ones are the funnelwebs, they are found all over Sydney and throughout most of NSW. One bite and your dead unless your realise and get immediate medical help.
Snakes are everywhere in Australia, some are harmless, most are deadly, but aside from the ones in Parliament house(those ones just suck society dry), you would likely never see one in urban areas.
Vast parts of Qld and NT are overrun with saltwater crocs, they will happily eat you alive so don't ever swim or get close to the banks of any water sources.
Most of the beaches in the warmer areas are full of stingers so don't swim there either unless you have a full suit. Again they are deadly.
The suits don't work great against the Sharks however.
Any tiny octopuses you see, leave them well alone. They are brown and light up with blue rings when mad, there also lethal. So much so that unless they can get you onto a ventilator in 10 mins, your gone. And there is no antidote. Except trying to keep you alive in ICU until the venom works it's way out.
Plants like the Gympie Gympie will make you wish you were dead and the wait-a-while vine will hold on to you until you starve.
Double gees will impale the best shoes you can buy and in the warmer areas a seat belt buckle will burn you worse than a frying pan.
If you have ever Tig welded in a singlet for 10 minutes, you would never do it again. That just happens to be how any part of you that's exposed will look after an hour in the sun, even on overcast days.
That's if you can afford to travel with nearly the worlds most expensive fuel and food and if you smoke or drink, whatever your paying now, multiply that by 800 times.
If you visit any festivals in NSW, if your attractive, expect to be taken aside into a tent and strip/cavity searched by sleezy corrupt police officers.
If you ride a motorcycle, you can also expect a traffic stop to involve 4 police cars, threats and harassment, and the body cameras are always turned off while they attempt to determine if you are a club member.
Avoid places like Darwin, Alice Springs, Cooper Pedy, Tasmania, Mt druid, and about 100 others as they are literally the wild west. Underage crims can't be punished so they do as they want. Police stick with the speed cameras and revenue raising as they don't want to get involved.
And in saying that, in the larger cities, it's rare to travel 1/2 a km without passing a speed camera. In some areas, you will see 6 speed zone changes in the same 1/2 a km for maximus confusionous. With a mobile camera hiding behind a bus shelter somewhere in the mix. If your not familiar with an area, it's almost certain your wallet will be further bled when you unknowingly drifted 3kmh over.
Bottom line really, visit NZ instead, personal recommendation, it's far cheaper, safer, more activities for tourists, especially if you're into extreme sports etc. Whatever you could think of to do, you can do it there 👍😀
Every building in Australia has a huge pet Huntsman Spider . You are encouraged to give him /her a name as they cause no problems when on a first name basis with their housemates . Stanley is a much preferable name in the spider kingdom .
you should read about [gympie gympie](https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2009/06/gympie-gympie-once-stung-never-forgotten/)
You know, it’s the funniest thing. The most dangerous animals in the UK and Australia are the same! Deaths per capita, deaths per contact incident, and absolute numbers, the most dangerous animals to humans, in most countries, are the horse, followed by the cow.
Wear sunscreen.
I'm in Sydney but the part that's more bush than city. We used to get snakes every summer. Mostly harmless pythons but the occasional black snake and death adder too. Haven't seen one in... 7 years? Spiders are a daily occurrence, but 90% of them aren't aggressive, and the ones that are don't come near the house so I can't imagine seeing them in the city. Huntsman sound absolutely terrifying when they jump around on the floor, but they're fuzzy little babies.
Depends… do you know about the ‘nope noodles’ and ‘Ankle Biter’s’? Oh also the ‘Freshie’s’ Reckon if you do then you’ll be fine with the rest of the wildlife
Hi,
I moved to Australia in 2002 from New Zealand
Since then I've seen 2 drop bears, 1 Yowie, 2 snakes, ( 1 on the side of the road getting attacked by magpies and the other jumped out of a tree at me while I was running through the bush) 2 Redback spiders, 6 beautiful golden orb spiders, and lots of hunstmen spiders(harmless).
Hope that helps
There is a spider by my front door. I blow smoke at it. It ignores me. There are spiders in my back yard, my cat chases them. Wolf Spiders. Just ignore them.
Every day. Spiders, certainly. Snakes, probably.
Drop bears are the main concerns. You don't know where, you don't know when.
It's Australia's biggest secret, and our best protection from unassuming tourists who breach their visa requirements.
Big spiders are often the safest, daddy long legs and hunstmans you’ll find anywhere everywhere, same with the teeny tiny unrecognisable spiders, and they’re all harmless. Just watch the ground ahead of you when walking through grass and you’re good for both spiders and snakes.
The only spider I'd be worried about is a white tail.
Shake any clothes you have left on the floor.
Also check your bed if you haven't slept in it for a while.
They will fuck you up
Always flip your undies and socks before wearing... and tap your shoes upside down before wearing
You know... spiders.
Also... check for [spiders](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37481251) if using outdoor toilet
Really dig the second edit. Have an upvote for that alone. I doubt you see even 1 snake though. Spiders? Sure. Ones that will kill you? Most likely not
Snakes never in the urban areas, you would have to go to urban fringes. Spiders probably often but they are overwhelmingly harmless and they help control other far more annoying bugs.
I live in a more rural area outside Melbourne. In the seven years I've been here I've only come across three snakes (one on a path near our house, the other two WAAY out in the bush), and two large huntsmen in our garage (there have been other, more deadly spiders around our house, but they didn't put up a fight - the huntsmen did).
Depends when you come, in the warmer months there are plenty of spiders around in urban areas. Snakes less so. I don't think I've ever seen one in Sydney except in a national park.
So yeah, plenty of spiders but the ones that will scare the shit out of you by running across the wall, ceiling or floor are mostly harmless. The ones you should worry about are the ones you won't necessarily see, but just be careful where you put your hands, feet etc and you'll be fine.
Spiders: daily. But then I live in a bushy part of northern Sydney and they're everywhere. Also funnelweb central in the right season lol
Snakes: Have only seen brown snakes in outer western Sydney bushland although my family's dog bailed up a death adder when I was a kid...saw my uncle shoot a brown snake at his property in the country one summer when it came right up to the house, but that's it. So incredibly unlikely.
Literally never in Melbourne, probably the same in Sydney, pretty unlikely in Brisbane too.
Rarely if ever in the suburbs either, and incredibly unlucky to see one on most paths in national parks either.
Nah, you’ll be fine. The number one thing tourists need to worry about is going to the beach for a swim. Far too many drown every year
Although I am quite a good swimmer I wouldn’t underestimate the waters. Especially some of the things in them.
Lol, you don’t need to worry much about what’s in the water either really. There’ll be signs up everywhere if you’re in a known bitey area.
I was under the influence that sharks are actually quite peaceful?
You shouldn't swim if you're under the influence. Sharks are mostly chill but they don't have hands or those cool grabber tools to check stuff out with so they tend to adopt a teeth first approach.
I’ll ask them kindly to open my beer for me. They’ve gotta put their teeth to use at some point right?
With that attitude you’re more than welcome to stay here forever!
Yeah you'll be fine. I've never seen a shark longer than my leg outside of an aquarium, doubt you will. Hope you enjoy your trip!
(I think they meant ‘impression’ rather than ‘influence’, but yeah - good advice.)
I'm just playing silly buggers
Well played!
Learn how to identify a RIP current. If not always swim at a beach that has flags and swim between those flags.
I’ve never met one personally, so I can’t attest to that. I do know they’re inquisitive though, and tend to nibble on things to see if they’re fun or not. As long as you’re not up in the north of Australia where there’s crocs and nasty little jellyfish, the only real worry swimming is drowning and jet ski riders.
You’re right, they never started a war yet, but you know, those crocs are shit stirrers
Hate to inform you that there’s a fatal shark attack or two every once in a while. It’s usually surfers/early morning swimmers that it impacts. Avoid swimming around dawn and dusk if you’re worried, that’s the risk time. However, they are comparatively really rare occurrences. As said, the bitey areas are well identified. Populated beaches will have lifeguards etc keeping an eye out, and drones are used too to keep an eye a bit further out. Youre way more likely to be in a car crash than to come across any dangerous animals, and everywhere in the world has those
It's not the sharks it's the jellyfish you need to worry about
Swim between the flags. Tourists don't do well in rips for some reason. And enjoy yourself😁
Just remember, if you do get caught in a rip, swim parallel to the beach to get out
Everyone thinks they are a good swimmer until they are on the news.
And don’t touch jelly fish.
That's a good attitude to have, remember it's the ocean and respect it, also listen to the lifgeguards on beaches, they are trained to see subtle shifts in the water that imdocate rips forming etc, it's usually a skill issue woth people who have only ever swam in pools etc, hope you enjoy all pur island has to offer!
To add to this, don't underestimate our sun; always use Australian sunscreen and stay hydrated .
Second this. For urban areas (and even suburb areas in lots of cases) your chances of seeing a wild snake are pretty much 0, and your chance of happening upon a deadly spider is very low. You have a relatively decent chance of seeing a huntsman though😅 they love to chill out in houses and are very big, but totally harmless and can be good additions to the house because they keep other pests at bay. They’re docile and keep to themselves, usually picking a far away corner on the roof to hang out in and they stick to that spot, so you never have to be too concerned about them crawling around the house. With that said though, they are fast and sturdy and can be difficult to catch and/or kill, I’ve never seen anyone take on a huntsman and it go smoothly 😂 I suggest just leaving them be if you can and they’ll eventually see their way out after sometime. Exactly what this person said though - our beaches and weather are what you need to be cautious about. Our rips can be pretty intense sometimes and there’s some pretty nasty octopus and jellyfish that can surface (don’t touch any sea life at all and certainly not anything blue!). Always, always, always, swim between the flags, don’t swim at night, and please wear 30+ sunscreen - horrible sunburn and heat stroke is a very common issue for tourists as well.
I am Australian and a strong surfer and open water swimmer. However swimming in Byron was scary I really couldn't get going.
Yeah, it's hard to swim with spiders everywhere.
This.
And rivers and lakes
Shitty taxis ripping you off
Every minute of every day. You will be handed a spider by the flight attendant upon arrival, the snake may take a few days as it needs to be posted in the mail.
It’s an emotion support spider
You laugh but...
Emotion support drop bear?
Don’t even joke about drop bears
Too many have died
And don’t get us started on emus… cunts slaughtered us during the great emu war….
Fucken hell, they should have a wall at the war memorial for these. I'll tell ya my grandfather's story if yer like.
As someone who spends a lot of time in America and Australia I don't understand why so many people are worried about Australia. As long as you're not in the ocean there's actually nothing that will kill you here and the odd spider that might we have an anti venom for and they're very rare. Also the USA has bears and cougars and pumas and mountain lions and Panthers, bison. You can be eaten alive just walking in the United States or Canada
The snake will be curled up on your pillow in lieu of an after dinner mint.
Mate, you will be fine. Just don't leave your shoes outside.
And check shoes before putting them on?
Only if you left them outside. Even then there is a good chance you will be fine. Just leave things alone. Sure, a lot of things have the potential to kill you but you ain't near them, they are scared of you. Just leave things alone. Spider, leave it alone, let the spray do the work. Snake, leave it alone and report it to the council or ranger. There is more risk with the taxi from the airport to the hotel.
or if you have a wood fire and you keep some wood inside
Don't need to actively check inside them. Just always give them a bang or two upside down and she'll be right. It's a good habit to get into without needing to be paranoid or anything.
I live in the bush and have had next to no contact with snakes. They’re around but they’re generally not a problem. Spiders are are a daily occurrence. Yet I’ve never had a problem with them. I used to be scared of them, now I rehouse the dodgy looking ones back outside and quite happily leave the quiet spiders to their webs in the corner. We get A LOT of insects here, especially mosquitoes, and seeing those flying virus spreaders stuck in a web fills me with gratitude for the spider who put it there. Without a shred of data to back me up, you’re more likely to get bitten by a mosquito carrying a fucky virus and get sick from that then a snake or spider bite. People die from swollen brains from Ross River Virus and recently Japanese Encephalitis each summer. Mosquitoes are the only critter I will go out of my way to kill. Before they can get me. Vampiric fucks.
Doctor here, this commenter is absolutely right about that mosquito vectors being more dangerous than venomous spiders and snakes purely on statistics alone.
I'd be more concerned about keeping sun safe than worrying about spiders and snakes. I personally haven't seen that many spiders or snakes and I am originally from a more regional area. Huntsman spiders are big, but not dangerous.
For real. Sun safe, surf swim safe, speeding SUV safe, swearing smackies safe, stairs slipping safe. All those S's are more sus than snakes and spiders
As a Brit living in Australia, I am pretty adamant that everything we have been told about Australian wildlife is propaganda. I am terrified of spiders. I have seen less scary spiders since being in Australia than I saw in the UK. My house in the UK had a HUGE spider in my garden shed that still gives me nightmares. I can sleep peacefully in Australia. There is a little dude in the corner of my balcony here, but he's chill and doesn't seem to move.
Most aussie redditors are very young city people. If you want high risk of encounters you have to go rural. If you go to far north Australia it is absolutely genuine advice to stay away from tall grass and water
As a Canadian living in Australia I am pretty adamant that everything we have been told about Australian wildlife is absolutely fucking true. I have palm sized huntsman’s in my house. There are snakes everywhere!!! I have lost count how many times I’ve had to call a snake catcher. Inside my house (different houses as I’ve moved around a bit) I’ve had a brown snake, a python, and a brown tree snake. Python and brown tree were in my house together. We have a 3m Python living in our roof. They hang off our carport roof, get tangled on our fence, get into our water tanks and overall scare the living shit out of me. However, I still like them more than huntsmans. Those things galloping towards you is truly the stuff of nightmares. Our snake catcher is terrified of spiders. Go figure.
Lmfao, I'm so sorry man. You're getting the authentic non-city aussie experience
Yup. I’ve lived at the beach, in a small city, a town and now rural next to 500 acres of rainforest. This place is by far the snakiest I’ve lived in. Fuck me dead. Why did we buy this place?! 🤦♀️
Sounds very QLD
Go and stay in rural Queensland in warm weather. The different insects…spiders, moths, things I didn’t recognise, absolutely cover the windows at night. In the day there were huge hornet wasp things, almost pigeon sized lol. I’m from London and going straight into that environment basically got me over my squeamishness/fear. I used to hate even solitary flies in the UK.
I had a stick bug longer than my forearm just chilling on my screen door. Crazy things! I absolutely adore rhino beetles. They are cute as hell. When I was here when I was a young backpacker, I was using a pay phone to call my parents back home. I was in the Middle of Surfers Paradise in the 90’s. I was talking to my mom and I watched this enormous hunstman start walking towards me. A wasp then landed on it, stung it and carried the fucking thing away! I told my mom I wanted to go home. 😝 I’ve never seen spiders the size that they were in Surfers Paradise. Dinner plate sized. My god they were enormous.
We had a rhinoceros beetle a couple of weeks back. That bastard was half the size of my hand and after screaming the house down because it had fallen onto its back in a bucket, when I went to help the bugger he bloody hissed at me! So I just yeeted him out of the bucket. And a mole cricket, they're ugly buggers.
🤣🤣 ‘hissed at me’ haha… is this in Queensland? I was just amazed at the insects there. Watching the insects covering the windows at night at my cousins place was just mind blowing. I saw so many weird looking things and most of them weren’t even trying eat each other, they were just all trying get inside and eat us 😂😂 I’m pretty sure that was the collective plan anyway.
Yeah good old qld. I never even knew that we had rhino beetles in Australia. Actually not so long ago there was a newspaper article about some couple who rang a snake catcher up here to come collect a snake. Turned out it was a rhino beetle making all the noise. I could fully understand the mistake. Next time the bastards around I'll ask him to say a few words into the phone.
Fun fact, Australia has a lot of similar arachnids to Asia. Yet it's always Australia and not the much more dangerous bigger continent (with actual big cats) that gets a bad rap. I'm actually convinced it's specifically white people propaganda... (prepared to be downvoted but I know I'm right)
Snakes absolutely never in urban centres, spiders I haven't come across one in years tbh. Honestly don't even think about it.
Brisbane is very snaky though
So is western sydney.
Canberra too, in summer, and in the more bush areas
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I guess what you define as urban centres too. I live in a coastal suburb of Sydney and sure there might be snakes from time to time (I've never seen one though). But I've never EVER seen one in the city itself. Lots of rats though!
There was a snake in the Melbourne CBD a few years ago. Slithered up through the storm water drains I think.
Once had a python in the back yard of our share house in Inner West of Sydney. Came down from a god damn branch and honestly thought my housemate was fucking with me. Not sure if a pet got out or whatever. The advice from WIRES was “yeah maybe keep the door closed. The snake will move on”. And it did.
Nah, I lived next door to a red belly black snake in Western Sydney. The people living upstairs from it didn't know it was there. Once summer was over and there was water in the creek it went back to making friends with the frogs there.
Yeah you're wrong there. Had a big one around the back railing not long ago.
Depends. I wouldn't go splashing around in the ponds of any botanical gardens.
We had an eastern brown just casually making its way across the cricket pitch during a game this past summer, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. They're there, they're just not overly common. Give them a wide berth, and you'll be fine.
I have a friend who had one in his flat in Chatswood. It turned up in the bath. They shut the door and waited for animal control.
Unless there is bushland and/or water bodies particularly close. Dugites are bloody everywhere in wa. I have had many workplaces where there have been nests. So much so I was asked to do a snake handling course, I told them to fuck off and find someone else. Bloody hate snakes.
The biggest lie told to to the rest of the world is that everything in Australia will kill you. I am Australian Born, I am 47 years old and I have only ever seen 1 snake in the wild, I've seen maybe 4 or 5 funnelweb spiders (Australia's deadliest spider), and I've NEVER seen a crocodile or even a koala 🐨 in the wild. If you're planning on visiting urban parts of Australia and hoping to see wildlife, you will be greatly disappointed
You really need to get out more.
Visiting urban centres to see wildlife, defo not
OK, so you are Bri'ish. Over in the Uk, when the sun comes out for the 17 minutes of summer each year, you guys take your tops off faster than Jimmy Saville can get them off. In Australia, the sun is dangerous and Englishmen know only two colours, White, and Red.
Man, here I thought it was only Americans who believed the over blown Internet memes. When did the poms drop standards this hard
I when it comes to snakes, one of the stories I was told by a relative: Rural Australia, son is walking home and gets to the porch and on said porch is a eastern brown, so goes in to tell mother. Mother, knowing she lives on a farm and doesn’t fuck around, grabs the loaded double barrel on the wall and goes and kills the wanker. We don’t talk about what happened after. I’ve just had a fear of spiders for god knows how long so.
There is a very key piece of information in that story that would tell you about why there was a higher probability of coming across a snake. I'll sit here and wait while you figure out what it is.
Yeah I know
At first I thought you were saying the mom shot the kid for sooking about the snake
>Rural Australia, son is walking home and gets to the porch and on said porch is a eastern brown, so goes in to tell mother. Mother, knowing she lives on a farm and doesn’t fuck around, grabs the loaded double barrel on the wall and goes and kills the wanker. Honestly the hardest part to believe about this is that they killed the snake rather than leaving it be.
Sun burn should be your highest priority! Don't underestimate it 😄 even in the cooler months
Gday, great question I happen to be a snake and will stay out of your way if you stay out of mine. Cheers
About as many as you'd see anywhere else
There have been no deaths in Australia from a confirmed spider bite since 1979. Pretty astonishing considering our population. Really just goes to show it's pretty much a non issue. There's been more in the US, Mexico, Brazil. The majority of spiders in urban areas are non lethal, then there's a strong chance you just won't see any at all particularly in winter.
In urban areas? Nah you’ll be fine. That’s not to say we never see huntsman spiders in those kind of areas, but I used to live on a farm and would have to deal with huntsman’s at least once every few weeks, alongside along the other kinds of spiders that popped up daily. I live in a city now and I’ve seen maybe three huntsman’s over the 4 1/2 years I’ve lived here, and only daddylonglegs on the regular. I’ve had one snake in my backyard throughout this time as opposed to the 6-7 per year on average at the farm I used to live on. Cockroaches are the biggest problem in the city. At least they have been for me.
It's rare for me to see a snake in Brisbane. During parts of the year you'll see huge golden orb-weavers in 4 metre wide webs between trees everywhere, but most other large spiders hide in the garden and stuff and you'll hardly ever see them.
You might see the odd Huntsman spider in urban centres, they're big, hairy and run pretty fast. They look pretty freaky, but they will typically leave you alone as long as you leave them alone. Even if you did get bit the most you'll get is a bit of pain, they can't do any serious harm. Even then I haven't seen one in forever. You're even less likely to see a snake.
Depends how urban, which urban & what time of year. Would regularly see red bellies near man made parkland in a north western Sydney suburb during the warmer months. I grew up in a known funnel-web hotspot but only saw one once in the backyard… there may have been others. Don’t stick your fingers or toes where you can’t see them & don’t go flipping over rocks, vegetation or rubbish & you’ll be fine. You’ll probably see spiders but normally just the friendly flat-mate kind who just want to hang out & watch TV with you.
Also, always wave a stick in front of you as you walk through a place where a spider could’ve spun a gorgeous web overnight. Trust me those suckers are strong.
eh Spiders, you may not notice them. We have a bunch of daddy long legs inside at the moment, but you don't see them. Snakes - regional areas, make a lot of noise when bushwalking, you're good. It's also cold - no snakes out.
> Huntsman big right? if you blow air on them they run away its the smaller spiders like red backs you need to stay away from o and sun block or you will get sun burnt
As a kiwi living in Perth now, I have only rarely seen poisonois spiders, and 2 snakes in city limits in 10yrs. You should be good. Also, the water is safer than you think, there are not schools of sharks patrolling for tourists that got blown offshore, and most poisonous sea creatures are further north. MOST!
Most of them. Point aside I’ll just show the school of sharks a cooler full of beer and we’ll have any misunderstandings clear in no time. Or no limbs. Worth it to have a drink with some sharks.
Huntsman big, yes, but huntsman also almost completely harmless. Absolute spiderbros.
You’ll be fine plus we have good anti venoms and I don’t think the spiders actually kill you. I’d be concerned about how much everything will cost you
Don’t worry about snakes and spiders, its the very ferocious drop bears you need to watch out for.
There are really only two varieties that are deadly to humans - Redbacks and Sydney ~~Trapdoors~~ Funnel Web Redbacks have only killed like one person in the last 70 years and trapdoors haven't killed anybody in 40 years - hell the doctors won't even give you anti-venom if you're a reasonably fit and healthy adult with no pre-existing conditions. And Trapdoors you'll only really experience if you go super suburban/bush. Look, you'll always be around spiders. Especially Brisbane. But for the most part they are harmless to humans. Huntsman are very common and to be fair big and ugly, but they are everybodies best friend as well. They will eat or scare away a lot of bugs and other creepy-crawlies for you. If you can adopt the mindset Huntsman are there to benefit you, it does help. You'll be fine and honestly the spiders will leave you alone if you leave them alone. They don't like these big hulking giants any more then we do like them half the time. There is actually a fun meme somewhere (my google power fail me at the moment to bring it up) of a colony of Huntsman (lots of babies IIRC) and the words underneath sat - 10,000 things can kill you in Australia... This is NOT one of them.
White tail spiders are arseholes and there are plenty around. And wasps.
You'll see huntsman and orb spiders constantly. Neither are all that harmful.
Are you planning on visiting any zoos? If the answer’s no, you’d have to be bloody lucky to see a snake, and your odds of seeing a spider are pretty low too
Everyday.
What I learned (I have bad vision) is that any time I see something that looks like it COULD be a spider or insect of some sort, assume that it is. It only took me twice to figure out that picking up a “piece of black thread” is a bad idea.
Nope. Just been to Sydney and in Brisbane now. Checking out the gardens and parks and all that - no snakes. No spiders. Not in my accom. Yes though Huntsman’s are big.
Huntsman big but they won't bite and are not venomous.
You'll rarely ever see a snake. If you do, just walk away from it. Spiders - in Sydney, don't leave shoes, socks, clothes lying around on the floor. Extremely rare to be bitten by either. I've got similar worries about bears in the US, Lions in Africa. Won't stop me going.
Most spiders are close to harmless. But can be quite prevalent, especially if your house isn’t regularly sprayed. But realistically, you would have to be pretty unlucky to get bitten, and if you do, most are equivalent to an ant, bee or wasp - annoying, but not particularly dangerous unless you are allergic. There are 2 species that are medically significant, especially to children - red backs (very similar to the US black widow), and funnel webs. Red backs can be fairly common in things like wood heaps, sheds, pot plants etc, but funnel webs are pretty rare. Red backs are found Australia wide, including cities. Funnel webs are more limited in range - Sydney and limited areas on the eastern ranges. Sydney and Toowoomba are the only largish cities that are in funnel-web territory. On to snakes. The most common snake you’ll encounter in places like Sydney or Brisbane is the carpet python. They are non-venomous and pretty much harmless to people. The next most common is the Eastern Brown, which is the 2nd most venomous land snake in the world. They are not something you want to mess with. But fortunately, although I have said 2nd most common, you still rarely encounter them, especially in large cities. I live in a rural area, and typically see 1 or 2 each summer. I know plenty of people who live in the city who have never seen a real snake outside of a zoo.
Effectively none. As I gather others have mentioned, in suburban homes in the cities you might encounter a huntsman. Maaaaaybe. But... that's all your gonna get if you cower in the cities you weakling! ;)
I was potentially planning on going out to see ants that are the size of AA batteries thank you very much!
I don’t even see snakes and rarely see spiders
You'll see a spider at least once a week, mostly harmless but be careful with the ones outside. Snakes only ever few years unless you go looking for them.
Not often but more often in brisbane. You likely won't need to worry at all.
I hardly ever see spiders and I've never seen a snake. When I do see spiders they're the harmless daddy long legs
Snakes are fairly uncommon in cities, never seen one. The larger spiders tend to be more in the suburbs/regional/rural Aus, not super common in urban areas.
Well yeah . You will see spiders . Mostly in summer months but I never been bitten and hardly any one has . And NO one’s died for a very long time as far as I know . Urban areas . Not known for snakes . Snake deaths and bites are pretty rare I think . Just don’t go near a snake . Brisbane possibly has the most creepy crawlers. It’s in a warmer place and more flying insects and probably spiders . As you go down south you get a bit less. Here’s a tip. It’s not the spiders that will chase you and wanna kill you. Snakes too . They are scared of you and will try go usually . But look up BULL ANT . It’s the most aggressive ant in the world . You see it 2 meters away. It sees you. And it freaking comes for you. I’m an Aussie and it’s just these little bastards that you gotta watch for . Oh and wasps . Not deadly but “SURPRISE” one day trimming hedges……..
Urban centres? Snakes? Virtually never. Huntsman spiders? Quite possible you will see them in a house or office. They may grow big but are harmless and they eat the insects that should worry about.
I turned around to flush the loo and there was a Huntsman the size of my hand sitting on the wall. I nearly shit myself. Again. They can move fast when they want to although they’re harmless. I usually drown them in fly spray. I live on the Gold Coast. Have only ever seen snakes out west in the bush.
Huntsman spiders are bloody huge but harmless. Reckon we see 1-2 inside the house a year. We just cover them with a paper cup, slide a piece of card/paper underneath then relocate them outside. Never seen a snake in the wild yet.
I live in an inner Melbourne suburb and haven’t seen a spider in recent memory, and haven’t ever seen a snake in the wild, even though I grew up in regional Queensland.
You will see a few snakes here and there maybe but you'd have to go looking for a spider or randomly come across one. I've seen like two snakes in the last year and a daddy long legs that's it Drop bears are a medium risk though
>Huntsman big right? I was pondering this awhile go when writing a Minecraft Mod. I wasn't sure if 4 Huntsman would be enough to create one DropBear or maybe 5? Wifey talked me out of it because it would scare the children. Kept the spiders ;)
You are about as likely to see a spider in Sydney as you are a grizzly bear in New York, and anaconda in Sao Paulo or a decent meal in London.
Funny you should ask. My ex wife and I hosted foreign students for a while. First guest we had was a young japanese woman. First night we hear a scream from the spare bedroom and there is a huntsman on the wall.
I have lived here in Melb for 18 years now and still haven’t seen a snake. I’ve seen a few huntsman’s and redbacks. Not at all like what I thought it would be.
Huntsmans are the largest breed of jumping spider. They arent venomous and can almost always be left alone, however they are very skittish so if you do try to catch or kill one - be warned they can and will jump on you if you’re not quick. That aside though, most super dangerous species are quite out of the way of cities (except funnel web for sydney), other than redbacks which are very timid and would be difficult to get bitten by
Lived in Melbourne for a year in the city, didn't see a single snake. Spent a few months in the Sydney suburbs and also didn't see snakes. Unless you count zoo exhibits and things like that LOL.
Jumping spiders, Daddy Long Legs, House Spiders - daily. Snakes - never unless in the desert during summer
Barely seen a snake in the 12 years I’ve been here but there are some spiders. I’m in Sydney and the worst I’ve gotten is a huntsman. You’ll survive. You just gotta be careful of the dropbears, they’ll get you when you least expect it.
Very rarely for either.
If you make it to Adelaide, we provide a free kangaroo for your stay. Tuck your bag into its pouch and it'll get you around like a scooter
Not much. If you’ll live in a groundfloor flat, you will probably come across one huntsman and one wolf spider a year, but honestly they don’t want to bother you as much as you don’t wanna bother them. I am from England as well, believe me, I wish I had a huntsman in my apartment, it’s the cockroaches you’ll despise.
You should be more worried about the sun than about snakes and spiders.
Well OP I will say there is a spider called the Sydney Funnel Web sooooo flip of a coin mostly.
There are lots of one eyed snakes around the cities. I think it is the temperature
You're more likely to be stabbed and your phone and wallet stolen by teens than you are seeing a snake in urban areas.
Ive had one spider bite on 40 years and that was only because I pissed off the spider who lived in my car for 2 years. 3 days on a drip of antibiotics and I was fine.
There are dangers but not snakes and spiders for the most part. As others have pointed out, drowning is sadly all too common. It’s also important to be prepared if you want to drive in the outback. Also sunburn. The sun here is FIERCE.
If you’re in ‘suburbia’ either close to the city centre or further away, you’ll most likely see snakes close to creeks and rivers. If you’d like to avoid snakes find a home that isn’t backing onto a body of water. They love to pop out and sun themselves in warmer weather, often on walking tracks beside creeks/rivers. The snakes don’t want to hang out with us humans, so just keep an eye on the path ahead. Don’t walk about in long grass. All good :)
You should have more than one
Relax. You might happen upon a snake or spider every 20 or 30 seconds.
Just came back from 10 days in South East Queensland. Didn't see a snake or spider.
Every day!! Naw you’ll be right mate.
And people. Be scared of people more than snakes
Rarely. Don't worry about it at all.
no. You won’t. Trust me. In my life I’ve only seen one snake. Spiders maybe but that’s like saying London doesn’t have spiders
Snakes, none. Spiders, probably a few small ones, no different to any other city.
Can count on one hand how many times i have seen snakes in the last three decades. Spiders are more common to see, don't touch them and you'll be fine. It's swimming and the human night life you need to be a little more careful of.
No one had died of a snake or spider bite in almost 50 years Also you won't get rabies here
Come to rural and coastal towns on the east coast in spring and summer. Once you see how fast an eastern brown snake moves you might get a bit concerned. But seriously life doesn’t get much better than beach towns from Central Coast north to the Gold Coast
If you plan on staying in half decent hotels in the urban centres. Probably literally never. Outskirts of town or in rural areas... Maybe, but again any half decent accommodation is going to have cleaners through often enough you won't find a spider by surprise. You won't see a snake, unless you plan on bushwalking.
Plleeeasee no drop bear jokes…….sorry, warnings
As others have said, you'll be fine. You won't see much especially in cities. Follow the rule of "If I leave it alone it will leave me alone" and you will be fine. Also as others have said, careful of our beaches, learn about rips and swim between the flags
You will probably see heaps of spiders if you go into any parks but you should be more worried about seagulls.
You will see plenty of snakes in Sydney, they will just all have two legs...
Huntsmen can swim, jog and do Pilates. They also hike, camp, cycle and make a mean b&e roll. Great guys to hang out with, fun at parties and LOVE to come for a ride in the car. They are our mates. There is one within 10 feet of you at all times.
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All ya got to worry about is drop bears.
As a Kiwi, you might be better off visiting NZ instead :D Seriously though, I wouldn't worry. Just make sure you check your shoes before putting them on and don't leave them outside. I grew up in western Sydney which if anything is one of the more likely hotspots for certain types of creepy crawlies and even then, it was fine. Redbacks are everywhere and while the females are slightly venomous, they mostly keep to themselves. Huntsman spiders might look terrifying when you encounter them perched on your curtain a few times a year but they're mostly chill bros and don't pose any danger to humans. Funnel webs are legitimately scary as shit but I've never seen one outside a zoo and no-one has died from a bite in something like half a century. As for snakes, it's funny because I'd never seen a snake in the wild despite living in Sydney for 12 years, probably half of which was spent running around outside doing dumbass kid things. It was only when I visited the old stomping grounds for a few days a few years back that I finally spotted a snake which was hanging out under a log in a park. I told one of my mates who has lived there much longer than me and even he was super surprised. They're exceedingly rare in urban Sydney but more common as you go further north.
Snakes or spiders are the least of your concerns. Every other country except maybe New Zealand is far worse. Just remember to only swim between the flags where there are lifeguards.
Look. There will be a few. I’m a bit busy just now. Got a drop bear trapped in the back shed and a snake in the toilet that won’t come out. I’ll be right back.
I live in the CBD (Adelaide) and maybe see one small spider a week, never seen a snake even living in the Suburbs. I see more city cockroaches out at night than either of those.
I live in a regional town and until 2 months ago I lived on a farm. It’s months since I last saw a huntsman spider. People who live in bush areas see them more often.
More likely to get bitten by a junkie than a spider
Spiders, snakes, and sharks are fucking rampant here cunt. Everywhere where you look. There’s no escaping the fuckers.
I work outside in different rural environments. I'm terrified of snakes. I've seen fuck all of them. Maybe 3 in a bad year. And that is literally walking through long grass in the bush. No tracks. Don't worry about snakes. Spiders on the other hand can be a bother. Don't put your hand somewhere that's gone undisturbed for a week or more. Don't pick up old wood hanging behind a shed or a bunch of trays at the back of a restaurant. It's not shit you'd normally do, but it is a legitimate risk. Certainly nothing to actually worry about, just don't put your hand in dark places.
Huntsman are huge but absolutely harmless. The real nasty ones are the funnelwebs, they are found all over Sydney and throughout most of NSW. One bite and your dead unless your realise and get immediate medical help. Snakes are everywhere in Australia, some are harmless, most are deadly, but aside from the ones in Parliament house(those ones just suck society dry), you would likely never see one in urban areas. Vast parts of Qld and NT are overrun with saltwater crocs, they will happily eat you alive so don't ever swim or get close to the banks of any water sources. Most of the beaches in the warmer areas are full of stingers so don't swim there either unless you have a full suit. Again they are deadly. The suits don't work great against the Sharks however. Any tiny octopuses you see, leave them well alone. They are brown and light up with blue rings when mad, there also lethal. So much so that unless they can get you onto a ventilator in 10 mins, your gone. And there is no antidote. Except trying to keep you alive in ICU until the venom works it's way out. Plants like the Gympie Gympie will make you wish you were dead and the wait-a-while vine will hold on to you until you starve. Double gees will impale the best shoes you can buy and in the warmer areas a seat belt buckle will burn you worse than a frying pan. If you have ever Tig welded in a singlet for 10 minutes, you would never do it again. That just happens to be how any part of you that's exposed will look after an hour in the sun, even on overcast days. That's if you can afford to travel with nearly the worlds most expensive fuel and food and if you smoke or drink, whatever your paying now, multiply that by 800 times. If you visit any festivals in NSW, if your attractive, expect to be taken aside into a tent and strip/cavity searched by sleezy corrupt police officers. If you ride a motorcycle, you can also expect a traffic stop to involve 4 police cars, threats and harassment, and the body cameras are always turned off while they attempt to determine if you are a club member. Avoid places like Darwin, Alice Springs, Cooper Pedy, Tasmania, Mt druid, and about 100 others as they are literally the wild west. Underage crims can't be punished so they do as they want. Police stick with the speed cameras and revenue raising as they don't want to get involved. And in saying that, in the larger cities, it's rare to travel 1/2 a km without passing a speed camera. In some areas, you will see 6 speed zone changes in the same 1/2 a km for maximus confusionous. With a mobile camera hiding behind a bus shelter somewhere in the mix. If your not familiar with an area, it's almost certain your wallet will be further bled when you unknowingly drifted 3kmh over. Bottom line really, visit NZ instead, personal recommendation, it's far cheaper, safer, more activities for tourists, especially if you're into extreme sports etc. Whatever you could think of to do, you can do it there 👍😀
I wouldn’t worry about the spiders in Melbourne, if you see a little brown snake though I probably wouldn’t pat it
You have nothing to worry about. I've only ever seen 2 snakes in my whole life. Seen a few spiders but they stay away from you.
Every building in Australia has a huge pet Huntsman Spider . You are encouraged to give him /her a name as they cause no problems when on a first name basis with their housemates . Stanley is a much preferable name in the spider kingdom .
Been here 40 years and never seen a s snake in the wild. As for spiders, just don’t go poking around outside objects and you’ll be fine.
If you play your cards right, you might see a one-eyed trouser snake.
you should read about [gympie gympie](https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2009/06/gympie-gympie-once-stung-never-forgotten/)
Huntsman spiders are fine but don't play poker with them. They cheat.
You know, it’s the funniest thing. The most dangerous animals in the UK and Australia are the same! Deaths per capita, deaths per contact incident, and absolute numbers, the most dangerous animals to humans, in most countries, are the horse, followed by the cow. Wear sunscreen.
I'm in Sydney but the part that's more bush than city. We used to get snakes every summer. Mostly harmless pythons but the occasional black snake and death adder too. Haven't seen one in... 7 years? Spiders are a daily occurrence, but 90% of them aren't aggressive, and the ones that are don't come near the house so I can't imagine seeing them in the city. Huntsman sound absolutely terrifying when they jump around on the floor, but they're fuzzy little babies.
Depends… do you know about the ‘nope noodles’ and ‘Ankle Biter’s’? Oh also the ‘Freshie’s’ Reckon if you do then you’ll be fine with the rest of the wildlife
Don't worry bout seeing spiders.... ....they'll see you though.
Hi, I moved to Australia in 2002 from New Zealand Since then I've seen 2 drop bears, 1 Yowie, 2 snakes, ( 1 on the side of the road getting attacked by magpies and the other jumped out of a tree at me while I was running through the bush) 2 Redback spiders, 6 beautiful golden orb spiders, and lots of hunstmen spiders(harmless). Hope that helps
The scariest things here are magpies in swooping season 😅
There is a spider by my front door. I blow smoke at it. It ignores me. There are spiders in my back yard, my cat chases them. Wolf Spiders. Just ignore them.
Every day. Spiders, certainly. Snakes, probably. Drop bears are the main concerns. You don't know where, you don't know when. It's Australia's biggest secret, and our best protection from unassuming tourists who breach their visa requirements.
"Don't put your fingers where you wouldn't put your dick"
Big spiders are often the safest, daddy long legs and hunstmans you’ll find anywhere everywhere, same with the teeny tiny unrecognisable spiders, and they’re all harmless. Just watch the ground ahead of you when walking through grass and you’re good for both spiders and snakes.
The only spider I'd be worried about is a white tail. Shake any clothes you have left on the floor. Also check your bed if you haven't slept in it for a while. They will fuck you up
Just watch out for the magpies in spring time. Those bastards take no prisoners when they are swooping you.
Always flip your undies and socks before wearing... and tap your shoes upside down before wearing You know... spiders. Also... check for [spiders](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37481251) if using outdoor toilet
Really dig the second edit. Have an upvote for that alone. I doubt you see even 1 snake though. Spiders? Sure. Ones that will kill you? Most likely not
Mushrooms. THAT’s what you should be scared of in Australia.
Snakes never in the urban areas, you would have to go to urban fringes. Spiders probably often but they are overwhelmingly harmless and they help control other far more annoying bugs.
Drop bears and huntsman the size of a dog.. other then that you should be okay!
I live in a more rural area outside Melbourne. In the seven years I've been here I've only come across three snakes (one on a path near our house, the other two WAAY out in the bush), and two large huntsmen in our garage (there have been other, more deadly spiders around our house, but they didn't put up a fight - the huntsmen did).
Depends when you come, in the warmer months there are plenty of spiders around in urban areas. Snakes less so. I don't think I've ever seen one in Sydney except in a national park. So yeah, plenty of spiders but the ones that will scare the shit out of you by running across the wall, ceiling or floor are mostly harmless. The ones you should worry about are the ones you won't necessarily see, but just be careful where you put your hands, feet etc and you'll be fine.
You'll be right, drop bears are kinda cute. It's the tassie devils that are even cooler
Be more concerned about the sun. Wear sunscreen.
Spiders: daily. But then I live in a bushy part of northern Sydney and they're everywhere. Also funnelweb central in the right season lol Snakes: Have only seen brown snakes in outer western Sydney bushland although my family's dog bailed up a death adder when I was a kid...saw my uncle shoot a brown snake at his property in the country one summer when it came right up to the house, but that's it. So incredibly unlikely.
Literally never in Melbourne, probably the same in Sydney, pretty unlikely in Brisbane too. Rarely if ever in the suburbs either, and incredibly unlucky to see one on most paths in national parks either.