OMG a Funnel Web Spider!
By penny64
@penny64 (1106)
Australia
April 27, 2008 2:30am CST
I am still shaking. I just now finished typing a post, and walked to the kitchen to get a drink. On my way back, I noticed what I thought was a cockroach on the floor (we live near the bush and they sometimes come in). I went to hit it and then realised it was a funnel web spider. For those who haven't heard of them, they are only one of the most deadly spiders in the world. Thank goodness that my young daughter was out, and also that my husband was home. He squished it with a thong (as in a shoe, not a dainty piece of underwear.) I have a huge phobia about funnel webs. Where I lived as a child we used to see them a lot, but I have lived in my home here for over ten years and have NEVER seen one here before. Now I am feeling like they are everywhere. We've had a lot of rain lately after a long, long period of drought, so it has probably flushed them out. Look, I'm raving! This has totally freaked me out. This one was a male - the most toxic - and about one and a half inches long, and very black. Disgusting!!
2 people like this
7 responses
@jer31558 (3683)
• United States
28 Apr 08
I was fine till you wrote that in () Then a picture popped into my head of someone with a thong (the underwear variety) trying to kill a spider with it. I have heard of those spider, but know nothing about them. Are they pretty common there?
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
30 Apr 08
I think it's just something we teach our kids instinctively. I was thinking about it, and she has seen spiders at the zoo, so she might remember that. Also, we have quite a few Aussie wildlife tv shows for kids, so it is quite possible she saw one there. We all must teach our children lots and lots of things about local safety without even realising it.
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
28 Apr 08
LOL! You'd have to be a good aim. They are pretty common around Sydney. The males have a tendancy to wander into houses when they are in search of females. It has happened to lots of people. Some people seem to regularly find them inside, especially in laundries where they come under the door, whereas others like myself don't see them very often, and some don't ever see them. Everyone who grew up in Sydney knows about them. I was very surprised when I was looking up a picture that my 4 year old took one look and said, "That's a funnel web!". I asked how she knew, but she wouldn't tell me. They must have taught her at preschool.
They are solid, black or brown chunky spiders, and they don't climb walls but rather stay close to the ground. If you leave your shoes outside, it is pretty much instinct to turn them upside down and tap them just to make sure there's nothing inside. People who get bitten are normally those who have put on a shoe with a spider inside, or have been mucking around with them.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
27 Apr 08
i'm not sure i've seen a funnel web.they sound as fun as widows though.where i lived in arizona,we had those.a female took up residence in my closet the one time and had to be evicted.she had a very large egg sack going,and boy did i want that out of there before it hatched! brrrr...
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
28 Apr 08
i just looked at one,they do seem similar.
yup,we just have harmless daddy longlegs now.
i don't mind them around.they take care of house flies for me.
1 person likes this
@apsara60 (6610)
• Israel
27 Apr 08
You made me shiver too.......I have been hating spiders from my childhood.....I too have phobia for them , I cannot even see them on Television........oh my God, please do something to protect your house from them.......I am feeling feverish as I am writing about them, (don't even like to mention the name).......Why .....why did God made them........anything else is OK, but -------.........no........they are so scary.....I think I am going to dream about them to night....
. yes they are disgusting!!!!!!!
. yes they are disgusting!!!!!!!1 person likes this
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
27 Apr 08
I'm sorry to have freaked you out. I think you are more worried about this than me! Don't worry - I have sprayed around our front door with surface spray spider killer so no more will consider coming in. I am pretty sure there will only have been the one. They are not like house spiders which infest your home. This one just came in to get out of the rain. We are having a "once every fifteen years" wet spell here in Sydney. While it is awful to be the more toxic male, if it had been a female, I would have been worried about it having laid eggs somewhere. As I said, no-one I know has ever been bitten by one, and I know a LOT of people in Sydney. If anyone did happen to get bitten, an ambulance would be able to give antivenim very quickly, so no-one would die.
Please don't have nightmares because of my discussion - think happy thoughts before you go to bed!
1 person likes this
@pangeacat (619)
• United States
27 Apr 08
Holy Moly! Australia is absolutely gorgeous, but this is one of the reasons you won't see me there. I'm arachnophobic enough when it comes to non deadly wolf spiders! I couldn't imagine living in an area with spiders that are deadlier then black widows or (maybe) brown recluses. It gives me the willies just thinking about it!
I'm sorry he got into your home, and happy that your husband was able to kill it. I hope you're okay. I can understand being freaked out. I'm freaked out and I wasn't even there!
1 person likes this
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
27 Apr 08
Oops! I didn't mean to destroy Aussie tourism ... lol! Thank you very much for your sympathy. I really, really appreciate it. It is lovely that someone understands! It is not as bad as all that. While I've seen them often before, I don't know anyone who has been bitten. They are quite timid - they just like to come in out of the rain. They live in funnels in the ground (hence their name) so a lot of rain will wash them out. BTW, funnel webs are only found on the coast in the north of Sydney and also a little north of Sydney, that's all. I think this particularly freaked me out because it is the first time I've come across one since I've been a mum. I'm so glad my daughter was out, but then again, Aussie kids just know not to go near spiders ... I think we are born with that knowledge!!! Thanks again for your post.
@magrylouyu (1627)
• United States
28 Apr 08
EW! Spiders are my phobia as well. I hate any kind of spiders. I run or I will kill it as quick as possiable. I have that same feeling too when I kill one in my house. I feel like there are 1000 more! EWW. I will have to look that up. I have personally never heard of a Funnel Web Spider. Thank you for sharing.
1 person likes this
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
28 Apr 08
You are brave to kill it yourself. I've got better since I became a mum, because all of a sudden you become the protector, but I still am scared it's going to run up my leg. In one place I lived we used to get huntsmen which are large brown spiders which can move quite fast. I found I could kill them by putting a sock on a broom handle and then ramming a toilet roll on the top. I used this to hit the spiders - squished them without damaging the wall, and I could stand WELL away! My friends used to jokingly call me Macgyver (after that TV character who could build a radio out of two pieces of string, a pin and a piece of gum).
@Pookie_Pie (311)
•
28 Apr 08
Oh my goodness, i totally understand what you must be going through... i too have an absolute raving fear of spiders.
Thankfully i live in england, and we arent supposed to have any poisenous spiders over here, but regardless of this, i'm still frozen, almost paralyzed with fear in the company of a spider! I start to shake, and my throat closes up.. i want to scream (and sometimes do), or just let out this terrified high pitched squeek! Arrrggghh.. i just have a huge fear i really do.
So im specially for you, because you were sharing a room with a poisenous spider ~ ugh i just couldnt live where they lived, i really couldnt.
Id love to visit all my family in Australia (aunties, uncles, cousins, grandma).. but i really cant get over the fear that i will come into contact with a spider over there.
You must have freaked when you saw it!!
Thank goodness though your kids were out.
cxxxxxxxx
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
28 Apr 08
It would be a shame to let your fear of spiders stop you from coming over to visit your family. If you stay in a decent motel/hotel, especially in the cities, you'd never find one inside. It would be like expecting to find a rat in your room in a nice hotel in England. Wouldn't happen! The chances are that you wouldn't even see one while you were here at all, and even if you did, there are lots of brave Aussie guys who'd be more than happy to help you out ;)
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
28 Apr 08
I know. If it had to happen, it was definitely the best time. It is very, very unusual for my husband and myself to both be home and my daughter be out. Almost always if she is out then one or both of us is with her. My phobia comes from having one come in the house when I was home by myself as a teenager, so hopefully I won't pass it on to her. There is a difference between knowing not to touch and being someone who freezes at the sight of one. Thank you for your concern!
