Let’s get it over with - here is the rest of my spiders list with pictures, descriptions, symptoms, and treatment. With this list you can stop living in fear, because it tells you exactly what you’re dealing with. Sorry, little spiders, you don’t have the advantage of surprise any more!

Still, some ugly pictures lay ahead so don’t say I didn’t warn you and proceed at your own risk

Brown house spider

Usually found in dark places: cupboards, inside or under furniture, in sheds. It has a small brown body (4 - 10mm) with tiny white spots and long legs.

Symptoms if bites

Headache, nausea, small blisters around the bite site. Not deadly.

Redback spider

All the other spiders look scarier than this little creature and yet it is the one you should really watch out for. The females can easily recognized by the red “hourglass” on their rear ends, whereas males have the same shape of marking, only white. The females are twice as large as the males; their body size is 10mm vs. 4mm in males.

Unfortunately these spiders like living close to us, humans, which is why we should be very careful when moving rubbish bins or old containers, sitting on the steps of our verandas or using outdoor toilets - always look under the seat. Personally, I always wear gloves for gardening or if I have to touch anything that’s been sitting outside for a while.

Symptoms if bites

Bad news - this spider is deadly. Good news - there is antivenene in every hospital, you just need to get there quickly. The symptoms are sharp pain, sweating, loss of coordination, vomiting. The bite site becomes red and swollen and in five minutes the pain increases significantly and spreads all over, the person gets very thirsty.

Treatment

Get to the closest hospital as soon as possible or call an ambulance.

Daddy Long Leg

This is the most common spider and I have 5 of them living in my house at this very moment. I don’t do anything about those little guys for one reason - they kill and eat Redbacks! Which is why I think of them as guardians rather than intruders. On contrary to what many people will tell you, they are not venomous and present no danger to humans.

Daddy Long Leg are harmless, live in dark corners of a house, under the ceiling, behind doors or in cupboards. They have extremely long slender legs and smallish body and don’t look scary at all. If I could pick a “favorite” spider, it’d be Daddy Long Leg

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