Just to avoid confusion - huntsman is a species of spider that grows relatively large and disgusting but is generally harmless.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
I had forgotten to mention that I moved houses just recently. About 2-3 weeks ago. I am pretty much in the same area, just five minutes down the bike path from where I was earlier. The suburb I lived in before is called Naremburn. I have moved five minute walk away and my address is now Willoughby. It's an old house at the bottom of a cul de sac street, pretty much in the bush. I was wary of the fact that there's "too much" green around it and spiders might be an issue but I did not expect one to crawl into my room in less than a week! I should have anticipated it considering I kept my bedroom window open 24/7 - I mean, what was I thinking being so naive? I must have forgotten the country I live in.. The reality struck on a Sunday night around midnight when I saw something moving on the floor. The instant chills that took over me in split seconds. Yuk, a huntsman in my room, the size of my hand and it looked like it was missing one leg. Gross. I felt immediate cold sweat and panic taking over me. I did not know what to do about it. I was on my bed in my underwear and I had no tools to kill it. Mind you, I can't even kill it. I am too scared and too disgusted to go anywhere near that thing.. So, I took a risk and left it in my room in hope that it wouldn't move out of my sight and headed off to the kitchen to find Raid or anything that could kill. Surely, an Aussie house must have some sort of a spray in their household supplies? Of course not. The only thing I could find was a foaming oven cleaner. That wasn't going to do much damage, so I ditched that idea and rushed back into my bedroom. The huntsman was still there. My only weapon was my deodorant which had absolutely zero effect on the spider. It seemed to become more lively when I sprayed it with that pleasant scent. As it started making its way up on the wall I just threw a towel at it and was feeling victorious when it landed on the spider. I was 60% confident I had killed it. SO WRONG! My next thought was what to do with it and how to get rid of it without going anywhere near that thing. So, I headed back to the kitchen and got a broom and started smashing the towel with the broom. No luck still. I ended up "brushing" the towel all the way to the kitchen and attempted to kill the spider again from a very far distance. Not sure if it died in the end but as it curled up I brushed it on a dust pan and threw outside. I did not find a dead body in the morning. I hope the snakes ate it... I cannot describe what a shocker it was to actually find a spider that size in my bedroom. I had thought these things do not happen to me. As a result, my window is only open during the day and under my close supervision. Plus I always inspect my room before I enter or when I wake up in the morning not to have some nasty surprises looking at me. Not quite sure how I would react if there was another one...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
I had forgotten to mention that I moved houses just recently. About 2-3 weeks ago. I am pretty much in the same area, just five minutes down the bike path from where I was earlier. The suburb I lived in before is called Naremburn. I have moved five minute walk away and my address is now Willoughby. It's an old house at the bottom of a cul de sac street, pretty much in the bush. I was wary of the fact that there's "too much" green around it and spiders might be an issue but I did not expect one to crawl into my room in less than a week! I should have anticipated it considering I kept my bedroom window open 24/7 - I mean, what was I thinking being so naive? I must have forgotten the country I live in.. The reality struck on a Sunday night around midnight when I saw something moving on the floor. The instant chills that took over me in split seconds. Yuk, a huntsman in my room, the size of my hand and it looked like it was missing one leg. Gross. I felt immediate cold sweat and panic taking over me. I did not know what to do about it. I was on my bed in my underwear and I had no tools to kill it. Mind you, I can't even kill it. I am too scared and too disgusted to go anywhere near that thing.. So, I took a risk and left it in my room in hope that it wouldn't move out of my sight and headed off to the kitchen to find Raid or anything that could kill. Surely, an Aussie house must have some sort of a spray in their household supplies? Of course not. The only thing I could find was a foaming oven cleaner. That wasn't going to do much damage, so I ditched that idea and rushed back into my bedroom. The huntsman was still there. My only weapon was my deodorant which had absolutely zero effect on the spider. It seemed to become more lively when I sprayed it with that pleasant scent. As it started making its way up on the wall I just threw a towel at it and was feeling victorious when it landed on the spider. I was 60% confident I had killed it. SO WRONG! My next thought was what to do with it and how to get rid of it without going anywhere near that thing. So, I headed back to the kitchen and got a broom and started smashing the towel with the broom. No luck still. I ended up "brushing" the towel all the way to the kitchen and attempted to kill the spider again from a very far distance. Not sure if it died in the end but as it curled up I brushed it on a dust pan and threw outside. I did not find a dead body in the morning. I hope the snakes ate it... I cannot describe what a shocker it was to actually find a spider that size in my bedroom. I had thought these things do not happen to me. As a result, my window is only open during the day and under my close supervision. Plus I always inspect my room before I enter or when I wake up in the morning not to have some nasty surprises looking at me. Not quite sure how I would react if there was another one...
