Hi, I found this guy on my bike mirror this morning. What kind of spider is this? Is it dangerous? How can I remove it safely? What should I do to prevent it from coming again?
Well the good news is it’s neither a Redback nor a Funnel Web Spider, so it’s extremely unlikely to have a serious effect if you’re bitten. I can’t tell exactly what it is, but it’s not a deadly spider. You can use a stick and ice-cream container to get it off and reposition the spider in your yard. If you want to prevent spiders from nesting on your bike again, use a residual crawling bug spray (you can find these at Bunnings or Colesworth) every six months or so in the affected areas. That should keep them at bay.
Looks almost like a flattie, but interesting folding pattern and likely too much webs. Good news is that it is not one of the dangerous ones. The people who get bit are the people who try to kill or injure the spider. Killing spiders is unlucky anyhow. Gently help it leave with a broom or brush with a long handle. Let it escape into a plant is best, like a hedge on the side of the road.
To prevent more spiders, keep the place you keep the bike free of webs. Don’t keep it in a bunch of plants, or in a place that is well lit at night; Lights and plants attract insects, and insects attract predatory spiders. Encourage spider-eating wasps (they don’t sting you, they sting spiders) with a “solitary bee hotel” in your garden. Encourage birds. The grey thrush and the magpie both eat spider. Or keep a cat. Cats love taking out spiders…
I can’t ID it. I was thinking maybe it’s a juvenile Orb Weaver, due to its thin, long front limbs, lighter colouration and relatively small thorax. The little spinerrets (two tooth like tail bits) are throwing me though because the Weavers don’t seem to have them like that?
In any case as Instigate mentioned below, it doesn’t appear to be anything super harmful. Here’s a quick guide:
I think it’s gav, hard to tell from that angle, might be David! One of the two for sure though.
Sorry for replying to my own comment, this kinda feels like a bit of a puzzle. It could also be a juvenile huntsman which also seem to have that lighter colouring. In which case they’re your pal! Huntmans (huntsmen?) are great spiders, I love having them around the house to keep other pests down.
The way it’s holding its legs makes me think some kind of long-jawed orb weaver
If you tap on the web near it with a bit of force, so that you seem dangerous, it should bail. I don’t know what kind it is, so maybe a very long stick and outside…
Juvenile huntsman maybe? I only say this because huntsman feet look like they would look great with socks and this one could use four pairs.
Butt ain’t thicc enough for a huntsman, reckon it’s an orb weaver of some description. Harmless anyway
Looks like a Daddy Long-Legs. Which has a reputation as the most venomous spider in the world but the fangs are too small to penetrate human skin.
Bad news is that’s a myth… the fangs are long enough to penetrate human skin. Good news is the toxicity of the venom is also a myth, in the extremely unlikely event that it bites you it won’t hurt much and only briefly.
What should you do with it? Leave it alone. Because spider identification is hard, don’t bet your health on my guess at the species… when they must be caught - this method works well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3f99HhlpTo
Spoken like someone who has never seen daddy long legs
My house is full of them. This looks like a juvenile one to me… they tend to have a smaller body and shorter legs but the legs are the same thickness as an adult. Also there are countless species of daddy long legs - they don’t all look the same.
That doesn’t look like a daddy long legs at all bro
His spider has two body parts. Daddy long legs only have one.
They’re little dragees with spindly leggies
