Huntsman spiders in your cars in Australia?

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Blade

I must be one of the unlucky ones. I have have so many Huntmans inside and on the outside of my car. I have seen them running across the front windscreen and my drivers side window smiling at me.

The last time I had one in my car scared the life out of me. I had my two kids with me. We called into shop when returning to my car I was careful not to bump the big white van parked beside me with my car door. I started the car then I felt something on my head, then fall down my cheek into my lap. I looked down and couldn't see anything, I just thought it must have been some dried paint flakes, (I was scraping some paint off the ceiling before I pick the kids up from school)

Before I put the car into reverse I decided to take another look. I moved my legs then all of a sudden this XX@#%^$^@@ Huntsman spider ran up my chest at 200 miles per hour (properly faster) straight towards my face. I screamed at the same time I arched my back which pushed my foot hard on the accelerator, flung the door open hitting the big white van parked beside me, I got out still screaming and flung the Huntsman on the ground.

The guy in the big white van got out to see what was going on. Because he could hear the car motor revving at red line, my car door smash his van and me screaming. All I could say to him was "spider, head, cheek, lap and there it is". It run under my car, I am glad he saw the spider because he would have thought I was nuts.

After all that I still made sure the Huntsman was safe and I didn't run over it when I reversed car. My kids thought I was the funniest thing they had ever see me do. Huntsman's are harmless spiders, it's just they grow so big they can scare the life out of you. Try not to let Huntsman Spiders scare you to much because they are more scared of you and they won't harm you.

princessdisaster76

huntsman spiders are good they eat flies and mosquito's.

i have seen them in cars and i have had one living in my flat with me, i let him be and he let me be, we did have to have a little talk about him being in the shower at the same time as me though.

huntsman's are pretty harmless, not poisonous at all and it doesn't really hurt if they bite.

They are actually a bit of a delicacy in Cambodia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider

tamara m

it does happen, it is far more common in the Northern half of the country.
And its never the small ones that find their way into your car! My personal experience was with one that was 15cm in legspan- absolutetly terrifying when the monster materializes above your head in the car.

shergar

Yep, they are a bit big and scary. But they are not aggressive spiders. They will only bite if you try to harm them, ie, tread on them.

Yes they can get in your car, as they can make themselves very flat. They will live in the door pillars of your car for ages and you will never know. Other spiders will too. They sometimes will sit on top of your sunvisor and this is how they get the reputation of falling on you: you flip the visor and they fall off into your lap. A heart pounding moment. To be honest, this rarely happens to people.

What I do is spray a surface insecticide (Baygon is really good) around all the entry points on the car. Kills everything for months.. Particularly around the door seals.

As for the overall spider issue, do what the Australians do. We check our boots before we put them on, don't put our fingers into places we can't see (particularly where there are webs), spray your house for spiders.

Australia has an unwarranted reputation for spiders, mainly because we have a few poisonous ones. It is all a bit scary at first, but don't worry, you will soon work out what you will need to do to cope when you are here.

Diane G

LOL. No need to be afraid of them, they are harmless.
Just say "Gidday little fellow, what are you doing here?!"

I had a cute little furry Huntsman in my car for several weeks in Sydney. He was about 4 inches in legspan and a light brown colour and loved hiding in the air vents.

First time I saw him I was in traffic and got a bit of a surprise, but after that, knowing he was in the car, I actually look forward to seeing him, often talking to him while in peak hour traffic.

One day he was a bit restless and was walking around the dash a fair bit. I figured he would have been pretty hungry by then, so when I had the chance, I pulled over near some bushes, had him walk onto my hand and took him over to the leaf litter and let him go. I tried to choose a place where he wouldn't become dinner for a hungry magpie.

I missed the little fellow afterwards, but at least he would have been able to find something to eat in the garden... I didnt feel like filling my car with bugs to feed him! LOL!

So don't go writing your car off over a Huntsman if you see one while driving. They make great pets!

daniel g

because of their size,(not big,just a lot of leg) most people are
intimidated by them. they are however harmless.
they can have a rather painful nip,but don't bite unless threatened
or squeezed in the hand.
a car sounds like an unusual place to find one,but it would be
possible. they can get into some awful tight places,then seemingly
appear out of nowhere. this could startle a driver,but I would
be more concerned with driving,then do something about the
spider after I stopped the car.
I have handled many of these with no problem whatsoever.
here in the US, they rarely get as big as your hand,but some
species found in Australia can get much bigger.
I wouldn't worry about the spiders,least of all a huntsman.
enjoy the land down under.

they're usually in my house. oh wait i remember there was one in my car once. But they're okay they don't bite or anything. And i've never seen one in my bed if thats any comfort to you They're always on the walls. But my house gets more of them then anyone else i know. So you would probably find like one a year in your house.

oh and don't kill them, its so sad when people do that, not to mention it would be discugusting because its not like squashing a small ant. Put a cup or something over the spider, then slide paper up the cup and hold the cup and paper together with the spider inside and put it outside. They only come in to get away from the rain and stuff. Poor things, people are so scared of them but i've had one on my arm once and it didn't bite me :)

Elizabeth

I'm sure occasionally someone would have a huntsman in their car but it's never happened to anyone I know.

If you made sure your windows were up when your car was parked in the garage then they wouldn't get inside the vehicle.

They are harmless to humans but I can see that they would frighten some people.

tuppenybitz

yep ive had a few in my car

the ox

About 5 years ago I left the drivers side window of my van open a few inches overnight.
In the morning while I was driving I pulled my sun visor down then after a while I noticed something moving around just above my eye line and yes,it was a huntsman.
I pulled over and tried to flick it outside with a newspaper but instead it landed on the van floor and quickly ran up under the dashboard.
I had to leave it there for the rest of the day but when I got home I must admit I emptied about a can of insect spray before it fell out. Maybe,not good for the environment but I didn't want it giving me any not so little surprises while I was driving along.
So yes,it does happen but just remember to shut the doors and windows properly.

Bingalee

It does happen ocassionally. My sons wife was driving in Canberra & a giant huntsman fell onto her lap..They are harmless however,no need to be afraid of them. It's the redbacks & funnelwebs you need to watch.

Professor Kdub

We used to get a few spiders (only huntsmen really) when we lived down on the South Coast, but haven't really seen any in the car since we moved to Sydney

Zorag

Yep, we have huntsman spiders, they are completely harmless. Just give you one hell of a fright.

The ones you have to watch out for though are the funnel web, white tail and if I remember correctly one that we are just starting to hear about more is the brown recluse, ( I think thats what their called) the ones that if they bite you the flesh around the bite starts to rot away within a few days) I hope thats the correct name, as I say I'm not sure, but hopefully some one else will read this and clarify it for us.

aussie girl

well ive lived in australia my whole life and i havent seen a huntsman in any car ive been in.

they do like corners in the ceilings of roofs, i no that tho.

but yea, car could be a good place for them coz its dry and dark under the seats.

they come in when it rains, but they dont go out of their way to attck anyone. u'll be fine as long as u dont hurt it or threaten it.

if u find one, just get a cup and put it over the spider, slide a piece of paper under the cup and tip the cup upside down and hold the paper there, then just find a place in the grass or a tree and flick it out.

that way it wont get hurt and u wont get hurt either. Just probly use a cup thats not see through lol, coz looking at it night give u the shakes.

but yea. they get to be really large sometimes, but they're pretty much harmless, unless they're got a reason to attack you....and remember, they're even more scared of u than u are of them :).

ok, i hope i helped

cya later! :)

biff.1145

My Dad used to keep a 'pet' one in his car "to keep the flies away".
I often think he preferred the company of his spider to us kids in the car!

fruitsalad

I've never had one in the car, but there is often one living in the house on the walls. They become a bit like a pet after a while, and once it is gone you can kind of miss it. They don't hurt you., but yes they do look a bit creepy. Because we grow up with them we don't think about it.

Mel

I have never had a spider in my car, nor has anyone I know. We get them in the garden and the occasional in the corner of your ceiling, they're harmless.

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