http://www.timesonline.co...231301.ece



Australia is known around the world for its large and deadly creepy crawlies, but even locals have been shocked by the size of the giant venomous spiders that have invaded an Outback town in Queensland.

Scores of eastern tarantulas, which are known as "bird-eating spiders" and can grow larger than the palm of a man’s hand, have begun crawling out from gardens and venturing into public spaces in Bowen, a coastal town about 700 miles northwest of Brisbane.

Earlier this week locals spotted an Australian tarantula wandering towards a public garden in the centre of town where people often sit for lunch. They called in a pest controller, but not before using a can of insect spray to paralyse the spider.

Audy Geiszler, who runs Amalgamated Pest Control in Bowen, said that the spider was a large male with powerful long fangs and was so big that when he placed it - dead - in the palm of his hand its legs hung over his fingers.

Mr Geiszler said that he had been inundated with calls from worried locals reporting sightings of the giant tarantulas, which have been pushed out of their natural habitat over the past month by heavy, unseasonal rain.

While not deadly like other Australian spiders, the eastern tarantulas are venomous and can grow up to 6cm (2.4in) long with a leg span of 16cm (6.3in). Despite their common name, they do not eat birds, but can kill a dog with one bite, and make a human very sick.

They are also known as whistling or barking spiders for the hissing noise they emit when they are disturbed or aggravated at close range.

I just squealed out loud.




I hate spiders!

I am not coming back to this thread!

i find spiders cute..

hokie said:

well then, the spiders will just have to come to you.

We were just talking about this with Charlotte and Leo!!!!!

EEEKKKK!!!!!

:bark bark:
[Edited 5/7/09 15:11pm]

rushing07 said:

LMFAO WTF???

its the little ones u have to be afraid of.....

of-funnelwebs are scary

but never been close and personal with one

redbacks and white tails on the other hand




ps- im glad u put spiders in the title, otherwise u would give many an orger (including me) a heart attack

this type of spider lived in my house....my 11 year olds pet. Believe me...I used to wake up in the middle of the night to make sure it was in its cage. Body and legs together were bigger than my palm....fast as lightning and it was just a juvenile....I lost a lot of sleep

StillGotIt said:

u used to wake up in the night- how the bloody hell did u get to sleep in the first place

sinisterpentatonic said:

you know...the flash just makes it worse...like burns it into your cornea....you are sooooo wrong for that

prb said:

This one looks cute, but ugh, wouldn't want to see one in person.

Oh Jeezus why did I click this thread!!!! I'm a spider-phobe!

I HATE SPIDERS...THEY TERRIFY ME,

I'm outta here.

wildgoldenhoney said:

No lie...people refused to visit my home when we had that thing. My husbands big macho friends ran out the door when my daughter brought it downstairs and refused to come back in...and it was in the carryaround case...its not like she had it in her hand.....

Heaps of people here get these "Barking Spiders" as pets!

babynoz said:

I'm surprised you never noticed the spider medallion Gambit wears...

Byron said:

Not that I'd want them all up in my house or anything...
but come on, that's kind of cool looking.

I dunno, over the last few years i've grown fond of snakes, spiders, etc.

Florida will do that to ya tho.

i'm sure SCDLS would say "don't believe the hype they're only 6 inches"

hokie said:

me too!!

i don't understand people hate spiders. personally, i'm scared of animals that actually have killed like big dogs:pitbulls, rotweillers, etc.spiders are so small and cute. with their cute eight eyes.


wait i'm pretty sure spiders have killed people..
i'm just saying big dogs make me more anxious than spiders.
[Edited 5/7/09 20:57pm]

baroque said:

For the most part I realize it's an irrational fear, but it's a phobia. I can't help it. We used to have black widows all over when I lived in Mississippi. Those things freaked me out. My dad was bitten by a brown recluse and that rotted his flesh. They just freak me out. Not just spiders, but bugs, bees, etc.

I'm getting the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

hokie said:

my mother goes through the same thing with snakes.
personally, i used to be afraid of types of animals.
i would avoid going to parks if i could for my irrational fear of bee's.
but when i started reading about animals, and actually touching them.
my fear melted away. i guess its the whole veggie thing to as well.
personally, the things that gives me the heebie jeebies are parasites: fleas, ticks, worms, etc.

baroque said:

I'm allergic to bees. I won't be touching snakes any time soon either.

I think I'll just stay inside all summer.

hokie said:

the library will be your friend.

baroque said:

Yes. Or Target.

Byron said:

It figures I would create a thread that I don't really want to visit lol

Byron said:

you just HAD to post this didn't ya. just couldn't pass up the chance to SHARE this with your friends at the ORG, eh. :shudder: whistling... barking.... hissing spiders