Creepy Crawlers

[Sportster]

Insects et cetera?

 

[Turk]

Here in Australia, weve lucked out on pretty much everything nasty, bug wise
Red back spider
Huntsmans spider
Orb weaver spider
Inch ants
White tail spider
The occasional scorpion
Wolf spider
Trap door spiders
Earwigs
Cockroaches
European Wasps
Stink bugs
Prey mantis
Millipedes

 

[Dirtdigger]

Termites is numero uno. It is Termite heaven around here with many houses being invaded by this destructive critter. I'm paying a small fortune to keep them from eating on my house anymore than they have.
Then Cockroaches since I bring them home from a store every once in a while. I've been very fortunate finding the critters immediately and kill them.
Cricketts. Those critters drive me nuts at night with their noise. And when they get in the house, I go cricket hunting.

 

[Christy]

Thank you Sportster, I will probably have nightmares now.

The most prevalent one I come across is the hunstman spider. It is not particularly harmful, but it is big and fast, and it is what I come across the most. There are a few different varieties in my area, but all of them creep me out immensley. To give you an idea, huntsmans are so big they:
- thud when they hit the carpet
- are audible when they walk on the walls
- can't be sucked up by a vacuum cleaner (they're too big for the pipe)
- are sometimes mistaken for small cats

If you ever come across one, just hope it's not aggressive because they have been known to chase (i.e. attack). And yes, they do jump.

As a side piece of information, the spiders used in the movie Arachnophobia were New Zealand huntsmans, native to Australia, picked for the film because of their large size!!!! They were also used in the start of the Spider Man movie.

 

[Judge]

LOL...yeah with you folks down under, there's not much for us to comment on in comparison. I have yet to stumble onto a western diamondback...even though I'm only about 30 feet from raw desert right out my front door. Can't say I have seen any scorpions in the house...or much of anything else. Second floor helps.

 

[Sportster]

I've actually had a scorpion in the house once when I lived in Arkansas. I beat it profusely with a large commentary. They also have tarantulas there. They're still there and I'm here now; I don't dig spiders. That's why I wouldn't do well in Australia. Our friends "down under" have some really nasty critters. Even the ones that aren't dangerous would make me soil myself.

 

[Tarragon]

I've actually had a scorpion in the house once when I lived in Arkansas. I beat it profusely with a large commentary. They also have tarantulas there. They're still there and I'm here now; I don't dig spiders. That's why I wouldn't do well in Australia. Our friends "down under" have some really nasty critters. Even the ones that aren't dangerous would make me soil myself.

Ahem, you don't call a Tarantula a nasty critter!!??!! Well, I will add Arkansas to my list of places never to visit (Australia is número 1!!). Nothing personal, I just do not like spiders!

In the uk, it is good as there aren't that many, but we do have a few. Horrible. I have seriously thought about moving to a cold country where there aren't any!! Iceland sounds good!

 

[Sportster]

Ahem, you don't call a Tarantula a nasty critter!!??!! Well, I will add Arkansas to my list of places never to visit (Australia is número 1!!). Nothing personal, I just do not like spiders!

In the uk, it is good as there aren't that many, but we do have a few. Horrible. I have seriously thought about moving to a cold country where there aren't any!! Iceland sounds good!

Actually, as much as I hate spiders, tarantulas aren't as disturbing as the smaller spiders. I guess that's because they look like a weird animal or something. Still, like you, I don't like them. I have cans of Raid strategically placed throughout the house so I am never too far from one. I believe in better living through chemistry.

 

[Tarragon]

I will take your word for it about Tarantulas being less disturbing. I do sort of get that point though, as I've see them in zoos and they look horrifyingly scary but not as spidery as the buggers we see in our houses.

I think it's the speed at which they move which doesn't help. They should move slow because they have loads of legs and would trip themselves up easily surely!?!

I downloaded a "phobia free" app for my ipad which addresses overcoming phobias about spiders. It has helped a great deal, which I wasn't expecting it to. But, I still am not friends with them, and can't really see any redeeming features about them which justifies their existence!!

 

[Laughingowl1975]

Here in New Zealand the ones I can think of are the Clapping Cicada (which makes summer days deafening), Crickets (there's millions chirping now and they get loose in shops and houses), the Weta (I often here them making a scritching noise at night) and the beautiful but rare Puriri Moth.

Puriri Moth (Wingspan: 150 mm)

 

[Sportster]

I downloaded a "phobia free" app for my ipad which addresses overcoming phobias about spiders.

My "app" for overcoming my spider phobia is a liberal application of Raid on the offending critter. By offending, I mean any that is living within 100 feet of my property line.

Here in New Zealand the ones I can think of are the Clapping Cicada (which makes summer days deafening), Crickets (there's millions chirping now and they get loose in shops and houses), the Weta (I often here them making a scritching noise at night) and the beautiful but rare Puriri Moth.
Puriri Moth (Wingspan: 150 mm)

I looked at an image of that moth. It is beautiful!!! I once saw a lunar moth when I lived in Arkansas. One never thinks of moths as being beautiful like a butterfly, but there are many species that are. We get cicadas here. They usually come out in July. Some people can't stand the sound, but for some reason I enjoy their song.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I love spiders. Though from what I've seen on TV and youtube, I wouldn't be so keen on some Australian spiders.

 

[Christy]

While not exactly a bug or spider, I have these little fellas running all round my house. I like these geckos; they eat all the insects and spiders, but they are also very cute! I have a heap of babies at the moment, their little fingers are amazing.

 

[Judge]

While not exactly a bug or spider, I have these little fellas running all round my house. I like these geckos; they eat all the insects and spiders, but they are also very cute! I have a heap of babies at the moment, their little fingers are amazing.

Yeah, I remember them when I lived on Guam. They could even run across the ceiling. And yes, inevitably one eventually dropped down my mother's dress. You could have heard her shriek from one end of the island to the other. Boy, she sure hated living there.

 

[Sportster]

Yeah, I remember them when I lived on Guam. They could even run across the ceiling. And yes, inevitably one eventually dropped down my mother's dress. You could have heard her shriek from one end of the island to the other. Boy, she sure hated living there.

I can sympathize with your mother. When I lived in Florida, I worked the graveyard shift in a hospital. One evening my partner and I were sitting in the gazebo so he could smoke his pipe. All of a sudden one of those long-tailed lizards they have down there ran up my pant leg and I started to do the St. Vitus dance. Mike thought I was having a fit or religious experience, as I was jumping around and grabbing myself as it made it's way up my pant leg. I finally got the thing out, but not before scaring the heck out of several bystanders and Mike.

 

[wyverary]

The worst I've seen is the occasional black widow spider, and once I had to drive a copperhead snake out of my garage. Oh, and there was that infestation of ginormous hornets I dealt with a couple of years ago; they kept finding their way into my bedroom. I suffered several stings. The odd thing is, one day they suddenly disappeared, and I've not seen them since.

 

[King_Oni]

I guess I'll just come here to read stories and see pictures of creepy crawlers.

The worst we have here are bees, and those are pretty mild compared to what I read in this thread

 

[Sportster]

I guess I'll just come here to read stories and see pictures of creepy crawlers.

The worst we have here are bees, and those are pretty mild compared to what I read in this thread

Sounds nice, King!!! Even our bees are dangerous, as the southern part of our state has reported Killer (Africanized) Bees. Since you're looking at the pictures, here's another one for you. It's the Southern Copperhead, which is indigenous to this area and around where Wyverary lives. It is venomous and can be aggressive. A friend of mine was chased by one. I know it's in other places, but those are the two I'm most familiar with:

 

[Sportster]

Thank you Sportster, I will probably have nightmares now.

The most prevalent one I come across is the hunstman spider. It is not particularly harmful, but it is big and fast, and it is what I come across the most. There are a few different varieties in my area, but all of them creep me out immensley. To give you an idea, huntsmans are so big they:
- thud when they hit the carpet
- are audible when they walk on the walls
- can't be sucked up by a vacuum cleaner (they're too big for the pipe)
- are sometimes mistaken for small cats

If you ever come across one, just hope it's not aggressive because they have been known to chase (i.e. attack). And yes, they do jump.

As a side piece of information, the spiders used in the movie Arachnophobia were New Zealand huntsmans, native to Australia, picked for the film because of their large size!!!! They were also used in the start of the Spider Man movie.

When I first moved to Florida in ’99, I got a job at a very run down Holiday Inn in Winter Park. The place was infested with HUGE spiders. I’d never seen anything like them before. Being terrified of spiders, I had some serious issues. One day I was working in a room reattaching a valance when one jumped onto my leg, jumped off, and ran down the wall. Just as you described, you could hear the thing running!!! Not until I reread your post did I realize they were Huntsman. I thought those kinds of spiders lived only in Australia, but I just checked. Sure enough, they’re in Florida. They’re called “banana spiders” down there, but they’re the Huntsman.

Those things are humongous!!! The housekeepers on the third floor heard me scream when that thing landed on my leg. I looked down and was shocked, because it covered my entire knee.

 

[Manuheleku]

While not exactly a bug or spider, I have these little fellas running all round my house. I like these geckos; they eat all the insects and spiders, but they are also very cute! I have a heap of babies at the moment, their little fingers are amazing.

Geckos are awesome, I want some for my house to eat the spiders.