Aussie animals? They're not ALL out to kill you...

[upwinder]

I have one of these little guys living somewhere in my car...quiet and he doesn't eat much 

[PonoBill]

Like a fat version of our cane spiders. they are harmless unless you're a bug, and unbelievably fast. I've seen some as big as my hand, but most are smaller. We catch them with a wineglass and toss them out. We'd let them stay in the house but they have an annoying habit of winding up on the ceiling above you as you sleep--or try to. I know if one landed on Diane in the middle of the night I might be beaten to death in the panic that ensues.  So out they go.

[DavidJohn]

I remember once when I was just a kid I was laying on my bed asleep.. Woke up to see a huge huntsman spider on the ceiling right above me in my bedroom.. I sat up and jumped out of bed just in time to see it drop from the ceiling and land on my pillow right where my head was... Sheesh! .. It was as big as my hand.. I'll never forget that.. They love driving in cars.. My wife won't travel in a car unless the sun visors are flipped down because she had a bad experience once when she lifted down the visor in her car and one dropped onto her lap.. Don't know why that makes me laugh.. 

DJ

[SEA]

Cane spiders bite and leave big ass welts !!!  Usually while sleeping , thats why they wait above you

[Rail 2 rail]

Ugh, spiders are awful.  I had a old nissan that I used to park under the trees.  THat thing was so full of spiders that it was freaky to drive.  Bad memories.

[stoneaxe]

I actually like spiders....kept a terrarium of them when I was a kid. Just locals that I'd find in the bushes. Very cool watching them weave webs. Even today I rarely kill them unless my wife is completely freaking out. I usually just catch them and toss them outside.

[supthecreek]

When I lived in Noosa Australia, I had a Funnel Web Spider living outside my front door...
on the 2 mile path to the beach I walked by:
5 ft lizards that climbed trees
poisonous ants
poisonous snakes
in an area where occasional blue ringed octopuses are found in the rocks entering the water... (look up those little cuties)
Then of course... every time they checked the shark nets at the break, there were all kinds of sharks hanging from them..
Good times

and I didn't even mention the "Triples"

[pdxmike]

Upwinder--yeah, right.  You say they're harmless, then when we come to visit, our guard is down and you laugh when they attack. 

What'll your next lies be--drop bears are really just photoshopped Koala Bears?  Koala Bears themselves are real, and not just invented by Qantas Airlines for their commercials?  DJ is nearly 7' tall ? (Oops, someone already tried that lie in the board test.) 

[NoSaltSuper]

I actually like spiders....kept a terrarium of them when I was a kid. Just locals that I'd find in the bushes. Very cool watching them weave webs. Even today I rarely kill them unless my wife is completely freaking out. I usually just catch them and toss them outside.

I'm with you Stone, I rarely kill em. Plus, I like watching my wife and daughter's reactions when I catch them bare handed and set them free.

But, there are many spiders that will get squished, if they look like biters.

[sup_surf_giant]

“What I don't understand is how women can pour hot wax on their bodies, let it dry, then rip out every single hair by its root and still be scared of spiders.” - Jerry Seinfeld

[leroy13]

Hi all, Just to clarify, if you get caught killing a snake in Australia you can be fined up to $10,000 dollars. That's why we take it out on spiders. Like the US we have sharks and our version of Alligators called Saltwater Crocodiles which you stay out of  the way of. The most dangerous animal in Australia with out doubt is the "Yobbo" They can  be male and female and most dangerous when their Rugby or Australian Rules football side has lost. Be particularly wary of them when they are holding a green can labelled  VB (Victoria Bitter), affected by Meth Amphetamine and driving a car. Fortunately they are not too common if you are down the beach. Needless to say that is why so many Aussies go the beach.  By the way VB is a lovely ale if you like beer. Cheers and Peace to you all.

[ObviousSup]

Like a fat version of our cane spiders. they are harmless unless you're a bug, and unbelievably fast. I've seen some as big as my hand, but most are smaller. We catch them with a wineglass and toss them out. We'd let them stay in the house but they have an annoying habit of winding up on the ceiling above you as you sleep--or try to. I know if one landed on Diane in the middle of the night I might be beaten to death in the panic that ensues.  So out they go.

I blame cane spiders falling onto me in my sleep as a kid for why I have such a strong dislike of spiders. It doesn't take many falling on  your face to create some paranoia when you are 6.

The spider in the car story reminds me of a member of my extended family. She totaled her first car one night when Mothra flew in the window and panicked her. She was so busy fighting off the moth she ran into a tree. For some reason she isn't all that interested in camping now...

[stoneaxe]

I make sport of getting rid of the bugs I really hate. About 10-15 years ago these mega-hornets started showing up. 1 1/2" long. thick bodied, BIG stinger, and mean as hell. The very 1st one I saw stung me and it felt like someone was using a red hot corkscrew on the back of my hand. It swelled up and hurt for days. I made a point of avoiding them after that. Only problem was they started getting more common and hard to avoid. So I figured out how to get rid of them and have some silly fun doing so.

A cheap pump pellet gun and pelletized lime does the trick. The hornets will find a source of food or building materials and a steady stream of them will come from the hive to harvest. Poor a small amount of the lime down the barrel and pump it 10 times.  You can choose to take them when they land or go for points and take them on the wing. Works well up to 15' away and they have no idea where its coming from (a good thing). This is best done while enjoying a beer or two or three of course. I do this whenever I see a bunch of them and it has cut way down on the number I see near my house. Red neck hornet hunting...hey, maybe I can get my own reality TV show?.....

We've had a couple of very funny things happen because of these damn hornets. I slammed our screen door on my neighbors head when one landed under the brim of my hat just as he stuck his head out the door and i slammed it shut in my reaction...put his head right through the screen.... .
My wife, kids and I were out back under the overhang of our house watching a summer lightning storm pass. One of the damn hornets was buzzing around the house light but we were far enough away not to be too concerned with it. I had my back turned when I heard a shrill scream. I quickly turned only to see my wife's sundress floating down through the air and her dancing around in bra and panties in the middle of the yard and making bizarre noises like she was doing some pagan ritual.  The hornet had flown up her dress. Any guy would have been stung but women have some kind of special powers when it comes to clothes. I swear that dress had to have been teleported to get 10' up in the air and 20' away from us in that split second.