Creepy Crawlies

Well, no one ever speaks much of the creepy crawlies to watch out for in NZ, so I thought I should enlighten those yet to make the move!!

First off, NZ has very few nasties, but a hell of a lot of bugs! Spiders, moths, mozzies and a variety of odd looking things are plentyful!

Ones to watch:

White tailed spider - Although not medically confirmed, it is believed that this spider is one to watch. This particular spider is a predator, and eats other spiders. It is thought that if one of these spiders bites a human, it can cause blistering of the skin and very painful rashes around the bitten area. There has never been a confirmed incident of a white tailed spider bite causing these symptoms, athough they are known to bite humans, and these effects are witnessed and blamed on the spider as one happened to be in the area at the time. I wouldnt take the chance, personally!

Habitat: Human dwellings are the most common place to find these spiders, as they feed off the other spiders that live there.


More bugs to come......

:icon_surprised: Cheers Taffy.Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!

We only came to learn of these spiders through encountering one in our house!  I took no chances as I didnt know what the hell it was, and splattered it in to oblivion!  Then did some research on it...  Have since bought a spray for long distance tackling!!

And as you cant wait, i'll give you a piccy to keep you going until you meet one!



And you can read more about it here:

http://www.pest.co.nz/htmlpages/whitetailedspider.html

While I'm here, may as well give you the next installment!!

Wasps... I think there are only 2 species of wasp here, but they look quite different from wasps back home. NZ suffers from the spread of German wasps and the Tasmanian wasp. You can read all about them here:

http://www.pest.co.nz/htmlpages/wasps.html

I bet you can't wait even more now!

Thanks Taffy, I was beside myself with anticipation!!!
Fortunately my son has a lovely spider book so we're well on the case.
After trawling the internet for "venomous creatures in Australia" I decided I fancied New Zealand more!!!!
Anyway, how are you getting on?
Ellienbrian.

We're getting on well here, still love the place! The only side of New Zealand thats failing us badly is the massive lack of jobs. We knew Tauranga would be tight to find a job anyway, but we've looked at Hamilton, Wellington and even Auckland, and there's just nothing. We've been told by a lot of agencies that we're in shutdown period (already!) so there wont be anything around until after xmas at very least.

The other part of this particular area, that I really dont understand, is why the local govt. agencies are trying to attract IT specialists to the area, when there are clearly no opportunities for them! I went to a meeting where a man from an organisation was proud that he'd attracted 150 potential migrants to join his organisation and live in Tauranga. He then said he didnt know what they were going to do when they got here as there was a huge shortage of jobs. I was the only new migrant at this meeting, and no one had anything for me, let alone 150 others (thats 150, not including their family members). Makes me a bit annoyed for those others. I came to this area by choice, and its turned out to be a financial burden, but to attract others in to the same trap, is just plain wrong.

Quite fitting for this subject, spiders attracting the flys...... :013:

Hmmm this should be noted as NZs ONLY drawback surely. The Katipo Spider can be found throughout NZ and if bitten by one, it can cause redness and slight swelling around the bite, similar to a wasp or bee sting. They tend to make there home in sand dunes around the coast, so it is advisable to wear flip-flops or sandals if walking on such terrain.
Perhaps more worrying is the arrival of the Australian Red-Back, on cargo ships from Australia. If bitten by one of these it requires immediate attention or anti venom as this can cause severe nausea and soreness. However the various New Zealand Environmental agencies are very aware oif this and track any poulations closely. It is known that there is a small population concentration in the central Otago region (South Island) and an even smaller one around New Plymouth (North Island).
Hope this doesn't alarm you too much, they are very prominent in Australia and people get on with them there. ::):

[beenAwhile]

Just wait till you meet a Weta !

[SteveyC]

Do go on!!??

[nattydread]

don't you just dry them off??