1. Ah, that’s nothing. Just a huntsman.

   Did that sound good? Guess who’s been over to Aussie’s blog already? I cheated! ROFL!

   Comment by Jay — May 9, 2008 @ 11:15 pm

2. Oh Jeebus… no. Jerry Seinfeld had it right about women though… how is it we can stand a full bikini wax but the mere thought of a spider sends us over the edge. No explanation myself, just can’t bear them and they’re everywhere in this country. There’s gotta be a spray or something to get them off the windows. Grrr…

   Comment by Deborah — May 10, 2008 @ 8:19 am

3. Jay: Cheater!! Ewwww…makes me shudder!

   Deb: I know, I know…I can clear up poo and puke, remove ticks, de-worm… have given birth to two children but spiders… ugh. #2 had an enormous hairy great yoke in his room the other night and we all ran around screaming like girls. Including Jen, I might add.

   Comment by englishmuminireland — May 10, 2008 @ 8:38 am

4. Spiders are cool. Freaky, but cool. Yeah I believe Huntsmans are harmless enough. My neighbours once bought a new couch and stored it in an old family house for a couple of days while they got rid of the old stuff. When they moved it in they heard a skittering noise on the lino later that evening and thought “Ah shite, we brought a mouse with us”. Nope. Big effin spider of destiny. And that was in Tipp.

   Comment by Thriftcriminal — May 10, 2008 @ 9:40 am

5. Aw, English Mum, I’m delighted you liked my spider I’ll only be a nutter, if I’m your own Aussie nutter I think I’m so calm about these creature encounters because of the Bulldozer who’d catch everything he came across (snakes, sharks, big earth worms, possums, lizards, frogs etc) and bring them to show me. Brothers, hey?

   Jay, you’re such a tricker !

   Comment by Coastal Aussie — May 10, 2008 @ 9:47 am

6. I really don’t mind spiders here but I’m sure if I was to move to Oz I may just freak out!

   Comment by Ruth E — May 10, 2008 @ 11:01 am

7. Thrifty: Hmm, it must be a man thing. Although it obviously skipped my Hubby who can’t stand anything little and skittery. I would tell you about the incident with the mouse when a certain man wasn’t very manly but… oh, here it is:

   http://englishmum.com/2006/11/28/being-terrorised-by-mickey-mouse/

   Heh. Sorry Hubby.

   Aussie: That’s it. You are hereby bestowed with the Order of English Mum’s Token Nutter Award. Be proud.

   Ruth: Me too. We should get Bugs on this one – she’s good with crawly things, being an expert in such matters.

   Comment by englishmuminireland — May 10, 2008 @ 11:33 am

8. Heh, my uncle used jack-russels to catch mice. They would lurk under the feed bin in the stables and he brought a length of bamboo. Swished it under the bin and they would try to run up the wall, where he would again use the bamboo to knock them down. Then the dogs descended on them. The rottweiler even got one once, it stood on one by accident in the mele

   Comment by Thriftcriminal — May 10, 2008 @ 11:53 am

9. Ha ha ha, I’m so proud, that I’m absolutely bursting with proudness !

   Comment by Coastal Aussie — May 10, 2008 @ 12:01 pm

10. Thrifty: Ah bless. Not to be left out. I’m ashamed to say that I edited that story at the time, because in reality the dog gobbled up the mouse and ate it whole, but I didn’t want the kids to know. There. My secret’s out.

    Aussie: Ah, congrats. Any speech?

    Comment by englishmuminireland — May 10, 2008 @ 12:10 pm

11. Yay, go Bert!

    Comment by Thriftcriminal — May 10, 2008 @ 12:14 pm

12. When I lived in Adelaide, we had a huntsman used to live on the wall, it left us alone, we left it alone, we were more worried by the great orb that lived on the washing line, and the brown snake in the shed ….

    Great place Oz, but did you know, 10 out of the top 15 dealiest snakes live there, and, crocs, blue octopus, cone shells, sea snakes, sharks, numerous spiders, stone fish, jelly fish to name a few that will happily kill you ….. great place to live though !!!

    Comment by Moon — May 10, 2008 @ 2:20 pm

13. Yikes! That’s making me want to run and hide behind the sofa! I can cope with the little spiders, but that’s a beast!

    Comment by wee jen — May 10, 2008 @ 3:46 pm

14. Thrifty: Not Bert. It was our last greyhound but she got out and got run over. I think Bert of Very Little Brain would have difficulty catching a cold, let alone a mouse.

    Moon: Was having this exact same conversation with Aussie. Would love to go to Australia (and some of #1’s friends moved to New Zealand, so would love to visit), but ew…spiders…snakes…jelly fish… *shudder*.

    Jen: Yeh, that’s not your typical Irish house spider now, is it. Good trip, by the way? x

    Comment by englishmuminireland — May 11, 2008 @ 10:22 am

15. I have no problem with insects but jeebus you could put that thing on a leash.
    Mice and rats are what sends me screaming.

    Comment by Medbh — May 11, 2008 @ 4:44 pm

16. Medbh: Ooh, me too. And to think I used to have hamsters as a child. Makes my skin crawl now!! x

    Comment by englishmuminireland — May 11, 2008 @ 5:18 pm

17. I freaking hate spiders. Good thing I have great reflexes ’cause I almost wet myself. Now I will not scroll up again after I leave this comment. *shudders*

    Comment by SleepyJane — May 12, 2008 @ 7:36 am

18. Mmmm, I have a hubby scared of spiders so I am the brave brave spouse, I go marching through the house and i’m not afraid of anything! (he he, did you ever sing that song, actually about a mouse)..although my youngest is also happy to collect them from indoors and set them free in the garden, we have had some monster spiders in S.A but here they have been kinda normal and not so scary…so far!

    Comment by Natalie — May 12, 2008 @ 8:02 am

19. Much as I hate spiders (and my old house used to have some HUGE ones so much so I couldn’t get their legs to fit under a large glass) I have to say that in 5 trips to Australia I have only encountered 2 huntsmen close up and never seen any of the dangerous ones! The largest animal I saw was the 6 foot goana (large lizard) that wandered past the back of our tents when we were camping in the Warrumbungle National Park – it had picked up the scent of our steak on the barbie

    I would say go for it – book your hols down under. The closest you are likely to come to the dangerous animals will be in the Zoo!!

    Comment by Taffy's Mum — May 12, 2008 @ 8:17 am

20. Sleepy: I KNOW. It’s the hairiness…and the legs…and the big fat body…ewwwww.

    Nats: Yeh, #2’s the spider catcher n our house. Although even he freaked at the one in his bedroom the other night. Pathetic really. Especially compared to the ones where you come from!

    TM: Ah, I’d love to. Hubby’s back today (hurrah!) and I’ll be angling towards booking a little family bonding time. Or should that be Bondi-ing time. Heh.

    Comment by englishmuminireland — May 12, 2008 @ 10:41 am

21. Well, here in Canada, most of the dangerous things that might attact are at least cute and cuddly and you are really pleased to have seen one before it rips your scalp off. Mind you, we do have black widows and I did nearly sit on one while taking a trip to a pit toilet while camping. Luckily, I checked the hole before sitting – well, I had just seen the X-Files episode where some mutant human had been living in pit toilets and sucking people down into them, so I had to check. Saved me from a painful bite and an embarrassing trip to the local hospital!

    Comment by Don't Bug Me! — May 12, 2008 @ 6:36 pm

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