hanno wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:57 am

Spigzy wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:40 am

hanno wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:02 am

Generally harmless though they can bite hard.

Au contraire (sort of), I think the huntsman is #1 in the list for causes of death in Australia. Mainly as they like to sit in the sun-visor of cars, and the driver unwittingly tilts it downwards when driving towards the sun, giant bloody spider drops in their lap, driver loses control of vehicle ...

Calling Bruce Irwin, Aussie myth, or true story cobber?

Not true. Redback and Funnel-web Spiders are highly venomous and have caused fatalities in the past but none since 1979 when effective anti-venoms were introduced. Myth.

Spigzy wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 11:15 am

hanno wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:57 am

Spigzy wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:40 am

hanno wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:02 am

Generally harmless though they can bite hard.

Au contraire (sort of), I think the huntsman is #1 in the list for causes of death in Australia. Mainly as they like to sit in the sun-visor of cars, and the driver unwittingly tilts it downwards when driving towards the sun, giant bloody spider drops in their lap, driver loses control of vehicle ...

Calling Bruce Irwin, Aussie myth, or true story cobber?

Not true. Redback and Funnel-web Spiders are highly venomous and have caused fatalities in the past but none since 1979 when effective anti-venoms were introduced. Myth.

I'm not denying direct cause of death Hanno, but look at the post-1979 evidence ... a quick Google haul ...

A huntsman spider caused this....

https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au ... car-crash/

and this ...

https://mashable.com/2016/11/02/lake-ca ... australia/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... e-car.html

And if that's not enough for you, they are frequently mentioned in "Top Ten" Australia dangerous animals list which includes drop bears ...

timmydownawell wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 1:07 pm

Years ago, a friend of mine was housesitting for me in my unit in Sydney, when I got an email from him, telling me the following:

He was in the shower with soap on his face and reached for his face cloth. It felt scratchy and then he realised he had just washed his face with a huntsman.

True story.