Man Cave invader

[Eveready1100]

Trev,
        The "funnel red back spiders that sit in the dunnie" aren't really an issue anymore. Most of us have our "Dunnies' inside nowadays and are made of porcelan so it's much easier to look for the telltale webs and there's a lot less nooks and crannies for them to hide in unlike the old "Thunderboxes".
      There is a species of Funnelweb spider that lives in this region, though it is a lot smaller and less aggressive than the Sydney version which is a very dangerous creature indeed. Redbacks are more just a nuisance now that there's a vaccine for the bite in all Australian hospitals. You just have to be aware that they could be hiding anywhere, like in your boots etc.
       When we first moved up here from the city, I wouldn't venture outside without long pants & boots on, but as we've acclimatised to the country life, thongs(feet) and shorts are the most everyday apparel

[spanner1954]

  well bro's i take my hat off to ya . i would have to be in a space suit im thinking ha! ha! but i would love to come out to visit as its always been a dream ( brought up on paul hogan ) lol.who knows what our future holds ? my wifes irish uncle invited us out to his sheep farm in the 70's but i declined , always regretted that but ive always been a coward    respect  spanner. . so what about the funnel red back spiders that sit in the dunnie? lol.

[steptoe]

and you haven't started on all the ants that bite,, the nettles that sting, or the miriad of other stingy/bitey things 

[Eveready1100]

I've made it sound like a really bad place to try to live with all those nasty critters around us. It's not. To balance things out are a wide variety of birds - parrots, finches, quails, turkeys, rosellas, & cockatoos are regulars, plus there's a family of ducks down on the dams - last count was seven fuzzy ducklings + mum & dad, a pair of Tawny Frogmouths which have been around for three years now, and green tree frogs. Heaps of them. And we can't forget the obligatry mobs of grey Kangaroos, Wallabies, Sugar Gliders, plus lots of smaller native animals. Always something new to see evertime I go for a walk outside. Love the place. I could never go back to suburbia now.

[B.Walker]

I remember a few years back, Me and Family were staying in an apartment in Caloundra just north of Brisbane. One morning we were sitting down for breakfast and this enormous Huntsman wanders out from under the fridge and strolls across the kitchen floor. Wife and Daughter fly into a screaming frenzy, and Son and I chase the thing with the morning newspaper. Well, what a waste of energy. First off, Caloundra doesnt have a lot of news so the rolled up paper isnt a big one and the spider just laughed at it, and second, Theyre damned fast and we lost him back under the fridge. The girls wouldnt go near the fridge for the next two days, until they spotted it out on the balcony hand rail one day and managed to tip him over the edge. I didnt think it was the same one, but i didnt tell them that.

[Eveready1100]

Trev,
      I don't want to put you you off potentially visiting our lovely land so I'll embellish you with a few details to put your mind at rest.
  Firstly, I don't live in a city, or even a town. I've got a property about 6klms outside a small provincial town smack in the middle of a major sugar cane growing area. Prior to this, I lived in Brisbane where I'd only seen a snake on very few occasions over the years and they were only green tree snakes which are harmless so the chances you'd see one in a built up area are very much diminished.
      The "brownies' I was referring to are Eastern brown snakes which are quite common in this area. I found one in the garage the day we moved in, which got me started on my scrub clearing program that I have nearly finished after nearly 4 years at it. Mostly see them down the paddock now, while I'm mowing though a big fella about 6 feet long gave my wife a real fright while we were walking the dog one time. It came out from the long grass after the dog had spooked it and went straight between her feet making a beeline for the banana grove down near the dam. Shook her up somewhat. I've also spotted a king brown which was sunning itself beside the bore pump, which had to have been at least 8 feet long though it's a much more slender species than the other ones. Nextup, we've got red bellied black snakes which are a really beautiful snake nearly a metallic jet black with a bright red underside. I've seen three of these so far, but all right beside the water, so that's ok. These have been documented to kill and eat browns so I welcome these especially as they generally stay put down the back near the dams..
     But then we have spiders too.........



This is what are known as Huntsman spiders.It's a medium sized male.This is pretty average size for what you'll find inside the house, but down the back, I've see a big female whose body was about an inch wide and leg span of well over 9 inches. These are generally harmless though they will bite if provoked. Scary part is that they are very willing jumpers and make me nervous when I'm near them.Worst part is that they don't spin a web as such so they just roam around and you'll find them anywhere.

[B.Walker]

My guess would be the Eastern Brown Snake, second deadliest snake in the world. We've got no snakes here either ('cept for lawyers and politicians) and I'm damned pleased about that. The only thing here thats going to kill us with a bite is a spider, and theyre easy to squash.

[spanner1954]

  sorry bros but im afraid i dont do snakes !! they scare the crap out of me ! here in the uk we dont have snakes like you do, we have a grass snake ( harmless and small ) a slow worm ( thats just like a worm and as harmless ) and an adder ( small but deadly ) the adders are only found well away from towns , mostly farmers kill them because they strike at sheeps throats if they are disturbed and the sheeps neck swells , cant eat  so it dies . but what are the brownies your pythons will kill ?. respect spanner.

[Eveready1100]

He's now been dubbed "Bubba" according to my better half 'cos he's only a 'littlun

[steptoe]

haven't had any here yet,,,,seen a couple on the road already

[Eveready1100]

This is the one that came knocking on the back door a few weeks ago.





There's another one that lives somewhere in the roof that's much bigger than this one, judging by the size of the skin I found. They seem to be doing their job as we haven't had a single mouse on the house this year, which is pretty good considering the country we live in.
I've been told they will also take on and kill the brown bas*ards that are quite prevailent here as well so I really don't mind having these around at all.

[Christian Raith]

Very cute and not too bad to have around, just feed it some mince or mice

[melbxs]

Is that a python?

Beautiful beast.

[Eveready1100]

        I'd been getting ready to refit the fairing seeing the headlight conversion has had all the bugs taken out of the system. plus prepped the big tank for its reinstallation (sick of having to fill up every day just to get to work) so while the paint was drying, I came inside and had a bit of a browse on the web. Here , naturally.
         Heard a couple of noises coming from the garage and, seeing my dog was beside me, not rifling around in my gear which he has a habit of doing after I've been working in there, I thought that someone was in there possibly trying to make off with some of my precious XS bits. So I grabbed a torch and ran out there to accost the villan only to be greeted by this fella sliding across the bench. Bolted back inside to grab the camera and amazingly, the thing worked so I managed to get some evidence to scare the wife with.
          He's in very good condition. He's about four and a half besser blocks long and looks like he's recently moulted cos his skin is nice and clean and unblemished.





See some bigguns around since we moved up here. They might help keep the vermin from eating the wiring on the vehicles parked in the property, eh?