ok found this little creature on the fence

[h0ughy]

and was instructed to get rid of it - before i do what spider is it

[PCH]

Jeepers Houghy,

with spiders, it doesn't matter what sort it is :scared:

EXTERMINATE EXTERMINATE EXTERMINATE

[Bobj]

Looks like the golden orb spider

http://www.usq.edu.au/spider/find/spiders/116.htm

Had one in the garden that was about the size of a saucer. Fed it on grasshoppers each day.

[TrevorW]

Definitely a GOW female by the looks of it

[bones]

Yeah looks like a golden orb weaver spider. The first time I had ever seen them was about 12 years ago. I was out on a site inspection on a bushy vacant block of land that was proposed for subdivision at Saratoga. After wandering through the bush I felt I had wandered into a labrynth of webs of about 6 of the suckers without knowing about it. :scared:. It was quite an effort to work my way out of them short of getting a big stick!. From that day on I just called them Sataroga Bandy Bandy's because of where I first saw them and because of the bands on their legs.

There was a news article a few months back of one in Atherton - North QLD (where they grow a lot bigger than here) that has a bird caught in its web and was having a feast! Here's teh link for those who haven't seen it.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,24540947-5001021,00.html

[Kevnool]

I would still be running, I wouldn't of taken a pic , more taken to it with a looooong handle broom.
Cheers Kev.

[bloodhound31]

Yep! Orb weaver mate.

BTW, excellent shots mate.

Baz.

[marki]

Right, wheres the shotgun?

Mark

[h0ughy]

thanks for the identification fellas

[AstralTraveller]

Geez you lot - leave the poor little thing alone. It's not as though it's about to hurt you. They don't even bite if you walk through their web. I wouldn't dream of hurting it.

[Kal]

I had one in my front yard recently. Pretty harmless spider, directly prodding it with a small stick and it wouldn't even get agro (just had to make sure as I was walking about 1 foot from it each day :P )

[bloodhound31]

You may need it...Australia, where even the spiders have health-bar indicators....:lol::lol:

[Robert9]

Golden orbs spin a magnificent web. A new one each evening. Great for catching flies, mozzies, and people who hate spiders, whom they devour with great relish. They enjoy the company of admirers and wouldn't dream of harming them.
Robert

[TrevorW]

Bones that was a very small bird

biggest known GOW are 100mm (4-5 inches) in length including their legs the smallest bird is the Weebills body length 40-50mm and up too 90mm including a long tail.

Both species are prolific in the North of Australia.

Good yarn though typical press spin on it and yes if could be as big as someone hand spreading the legs out.

[h0ughy]

alll i did was shift it to a tree across the road in the road reserve

[AstralTraveller]

Hurray!!! :jump2: :jump2: :jump2: :bowdown:

[Starkler]

Well done Houghy. :clap:

The only spiders I kill are daddy long legs (blasted cobweb factories), whitetails and redbacks.

[marki]

I don't know if you guys have seen these but here are a few pics of the results of necrotising arachnidism which this spider is capable of. In WA we have the white tail spider which does a similar thing. It is not the venom but rather a fungi which lives on the fangs of the spider.

[Kevnool]

And what happens when it crosses the road again and takes refuge in your observatory one night.....The mind boggles.

Cheers Kev.

[TrevorW]

Thanks Mark for those nice images

how do they treat it

Cheers

[marki]

Trev, they were confused about what caused it for a long time but in the case of the white tail it was a type of fungus that secreted enzymes capable of disolving human flesh. From memory (really stretching here) it can be stopped by regular antibiotic injections. That does not mean its the case for all though, just the WA version:).

[Rokketboy]

From my understanding of the whitetail bite, some people are affected some aren't. Its not common to develop the flesh-eating symptoms. Sort of like a alergic reaction to the fungi or something like that. Most people suffer no ill-affects.

[mark3d]

oh man the picture of that thumb nearly made me sick its worse than the spider lol

.

[marki]

True but it still happens and when it does it is the nasty little fungi that cause it. It really depends on whether the spider is infected with the fungus or not but I really have no intention of finding out myself. Those pics below show the result of a chap being bitten by a brown recluse (pic below). We don't get them here (USA) but they do have aussie relatives :scared:. Not very pleasent at all.


Mark

[stephenb]

I wouldn't have a problem with this one, but huntsmans? they freak me out.

[Rokketboy]

Huntsmans? Really?
My sister and I used to play around with them as kids. Mum used to encourage them in our house. We had a second toilet that they were allowed to breed in. Man, when they hatched, it was baby huntsmans wall to wall just about lol.

[stephenb]

LOL you're sick man, sick! :rofl::eyepop:

Nope, When they start coming into the house, that's stretching the friendship a bit far!

[kinetic]

Can the moderators please lock this thread....I think I'm going to
need therapy after reading through all that!:scared::eyepop::scared3:

Steve

[BerrieK]

Mark thats not your hand is it? I've seen the progression of a lady who was bitten on the buttock by a spider with nasty fungus laden fangs and ended up with necrotising fasciitis in said buttock. Not pleasant at all.

Baz, is that the spider you posted behind the clock at the end of daylight saving?

We get golden orbs here too - they are really fun to watch grow as long as their chosen web site is not across a walkway.

[Jen]

:eyepop::eyepop::eyepop:OMG kill em, kill em all i say :scared::scared::scared:
:scared3:
:eek::eek:

[stephenb]

Finally, someone who is sayin' what I'm thinkin' :rofl::rofl:

[Jen]

:scared::scared: what your crazzyyy man :doh: remind me not to come visit you :lol:
:scared3:

[Jen]

:thumbsup::thumbsup: jen hides behind Stephen with the spider spray :scared:

[merlin8r]

Just bought my first house, and the yard is full of Orb Weavers. Normally I'm terrified of spiders, but these guys keep the local bug population way down. No cockroaches or mosquitoes in the house.
So long as they stay out of my way, I stay out of theirs. Don't be so quick to judge. The world would be a much more awful place without them.

[stephenb]

(Stephen contemplates spinning around with lightning speed, pushing Jen between him and the 3-inch wide huntsman, whilst screaming like a girl):whistle:

Of course you are quite correct merlin8r. They serve their purpose in the garden and mostly harmless.

[Jen]

:lol::lol::lol::lol: lol Stephen :rofl:

Yeah i know they are harmless but they are hairy, creepy and ugly urghh :scared:

[marki]

Hell no Kerrie. If it was I would never have made the post because I would have blasted my monitor the moment I saw the picture Houghy posted :bashcomp:. I have been bitten by a redback which was ok until they gave me the anti venom. That really made me ill and strangly very angry as well.

Mark

[acropolite]

A bit like me really...:rofl:

They look like a lovely spider, I can't imagine a spider the size of a plate though. As for relocation, I'm a bit that way with Huntsman spiders, If I can, I put them outside, but only if I can manage it without too much drama, if they make a run for under the bed then it's termination...

Everyone thinks Huntsman spiders don't bite but I can vouch for the fact they will if cornered. A friend once put her hand on one accidentally, one nip was enough resulting in a couple of minutes of screaming, together with a rapid stomping of feet (imagine a terror stricken female running on the spot) which I still remember to this day, I'll swear her feet didn't touch the ground. Her arm became quite swollen but she was OK by the next day.

[marki]

Haha I was wondering when Jen was going to find this:).

Mark

[h0ughy]

thanks guys for the replies and information- enough said - i am locking this now