What pommie bashing? All I see is a bit of mirth from the Aussies about how paranoid Brits are about the idea anything that creeps or crawls.... no its not always sunny but I don't think anyone would be so daft as to assume there is any where in the world where it doesn't rain periodically.

Candice, London, UK

I once was driving on a 3 lane freeway and pulled down my sunvisor and a huntsman spider similar to the one pictured fell into my lap and climbed over me whilst I was doing 80km/h.
I slammed on the brakes, jumped out of the car and wouldn't get back in until I killed it 30 mins later!

Jason, Sydney, Australia

Why is it any article that doesn't show Australia in the best light bring out the Pommie bashers in such large numbers! It's a beautiful country, but it has it's downsides (not least of which is the myth that it's always sunny and warm). Aussie whingers - grow a thicker skin, please!

Tracey, Hertford, UK

Get real. It's a beatup. I have just returned from the Northern Territory. Sure you see crocs but just do sensible things.Swim in pristine lagoons under waterfalls where you know there are no crocs or whatever & not swim in rivers known to have crocs etc. All the time having fun.

Gregory Pemberton, Sydney, NSW

My Goodness, all those Australians logging into Times On-line! Does this mean that they a seeking a safer and better place to decamp.

Carolyn, Sydney,

Can you catch Flu off these spiders? Now that would cause fear and widespread panic.

Andrea, Leyland,

I have had the opertunity to see one of these spiders in the bush. It's web was huge, it is after all a bird eating spider. Although not harmless, it does not go out of its way to attack anyone; you have to make the first move. E.G poke it. Best advise: DON'T! Look, Learn, leave alone. (take a foto)

Peter Ward, Townsville, Australia

You English are so funny it has been one of the highlights of my time living in the UK at how scared so many of you are of all these things that will kill you in Aus - its ok 20 million of us live there and we are fine - your much more likely to get stabbed by a chav then killed by a Spider

Joshua , Leeds, Australia

Reminds me of the pale Pommy bloke being told, on asking whether there were any sharks near a tropical beach in Far North Queensland was told "No mate, no sharks in there, mate . . ." so in he dives just in time to hear ". . . the saltwater crocodiles have eaten them all".

Leonard Colquhoun, Launceston, Tasmania

I live in OZ now, in 2003 due to holiday here from my U.K home I was very worried that anything that walked, swam, flew, or slithered would be out to get me. Even read somewhere that 3 people a year are killed by Skippy.
Redbacks in our back garden and a brown snake have been the worst so far.

Joe, Geelong, VIC Australia

If stories about spiders and snakes and other various bitey and/or poisonous things keep more drunken backpackers away from Australia, then bring them on! The heavy rains bring the Funnel Webs in the house too, and no one has mentioned the White Tailed Spider whose bite ulcerates flesh...

Bec, Sydney, Australia

go to townsviile bulletin website for full story
they are now being found in Townsville 2nd largest city in Queensland pop 170,000 bowen has around 6000 people
I grew up in Townsville and suffer from a phobia of spiders
but with flywire screens and a clean yard less chance of coming across them.

erez kowalsky, melbourne, australia

I have long been fascinated by the obsession you English have with how "dangerous" it is here in Australia with all our creepy crawlies and bitey things. I say 'If it frightens the poms..promote it!" They will do the rest to themselves, and we can laugh at them like drains.

Ken Bruns, Adelaide, Australia

So, with this minor invasion of large, venomous spiders, some vendor somewhere has to be promoting an effective spray to ward them off or kill them. Again, it will be innovation and the free market to the rescue, and hopefully quickly.

John G. Matchison, Albuquerque, United States

ABC Sydney local radio had a great laugh over this story yesterday. The British media seem to always show Australia as dangerous and people rang in with stories of Brits visiting them being scared to go outside!! Also, anywhere other than Sydney or Melbourne is described as the Outback!

Jeanette Madden, Sydney, Australia

also, they mention centimeters in the article. i know they mention the leg span as 16 cm, or 6.3 inches, but, technically, a daddy-long-legs has a leg span of of 10 cm, or 4 inches. we dont call it a 4 inch spider, we call it a 1 cm spider cuz its body is no bigger than a dime...

eric, latrobe, USA

Oh My GOD! Urrrrrggghhh!

Just looking at the photo has given me goose bumps - how horrible!

kim, london,

Sarah, I think that might have been inches on the ruler pictured, not centimetres....

Helen Alexander , London,

Do a search for a song called "Come To Australia" by a comic act The Scared Weird Little guys. This is one of the funniest takes on Australia's flora & fauna you'll ever hear. Well worth a listen.

LT, Tamworth, Australia

Really Sarah? You regularly see spiders with a BODY length of 6-7cm in your UK garden? Where do you live - near a nuclear waste site? The span of these spiders would be more like 15 - 20cm - big difference to our common garden varieties!

Gemma, Burton,

'Giant Spiders'? It was barely 7cm! I've seen bigger than that in my back yard, admittedly not as hairy or solid as that one.
And why kill it? Don't they sell spider-grabbers in Australia? The poor thing was probably more terrified of being in strange environment than thinking of attacking people.

Sarah, Chester , UK

I love the wording of this article! The spider was spotted ''wandering towards a public garden''- I imagined it carrying a picnic hamper, or perhaps a frisbee to relax in the sun with his chums!

Jessica, Cambridge, UK

John, are spiders really not insects? If not, what are they? Oonagh, Hong Kong, They are arachnids. Insects have six legs and three body segments. Arachnids have two body segments and eight legs, plus no arachnid has compound eyes like most insects do.

Alex, Redlands, USA

Lisa, didn't you know that tarantulas are found in every county of your state of Texas? Like the Australian variety, they are rarely seen and even more rarely do they harm anybody.

Derek Smith, Hamilton, New Zealand

Oh my...horror of horrors!! So, they "whistle" and "hiss" when someone gets too close? Why would anyone be that crazy?? I don't even want to be in the same country as one of these creatures....if I were in Aussie, I would be packing me bags about now!

Victoria, Florida, USA

It's a fact that no one has actually died from a tarantula bite. I'm sure it's painful, but the venom does no harm to humans. They will leave you alone if you leave it alone. They are just trying to make a living day to day just like any other organism on earth, like you and me

Kyle, Des Moines, U.S.A

Spiders don't pose any threat to humans if we don't mess with them. Remember all they are trying to do is make a living by eating insects, some of which CAN carry diseases or destroy crops. So leave them alone and let them do their job please!

Kay, Carmichael, CA

John, are spiders really not insects? If not, what are they?

Oonagh, Hong Kong,

Am a 60 yr old bushwalker. Walking/sleeping in tent in native bush. Holidays at shack on the river in the dry North ("home" of spiders & snakes). Less than 5 snakes in 35 yrs. Surf in a shark feeding area, swim in waters with sign about crocodiles. Expect to be bitten. Tourists will be disapointed

Gary, Adelaide, Australia

Oh come on - these are not as deadly as the funnelweb spider that lives in Sydney - you know the place where the sharks attacked a couple of guys recently. And of course even then the blue-ringed octopus also common in Sydney is far deadlier. And the rain increases the snakes too. Come on down.

dean, Sydney, Australia

Oh please, those spiders are far from scary. They aren't aggressive, they don't stalk pets or people, and they won't bite unless you seriously harass one. We have some large tarantulas in Texas but one rarely sees them. I would welcome an invasion of this sort as an opportunity to see more nature.

CR, Dallas, Texas, USA

Seriously. They're not sitting in corners waiting to pounce. They are HARMLESS. Contrary to popular belief, Australia does not have something deathly waiting around every corner just to have a go at you.
Treat them with respect, and they will do you the same. We're not the only ones on this planet.

Name Withheld, Brisbane, Australia

Oh come on. It is only a Spider and it wont kill you.

You are probably safer in Bowen than you would be in London, Auckland or any major US city.

By the way Bowen is coastal and is not in the Outback.

Kev, Coastal Qld, Australia

OMJ!!!!!!!!! spiders are the most icky creatures God made!!!!! and i thought i wanted to go to australia next year! looks like my mind is changed. i have enough spiders to deal with here in california i dont need those ones too!

rebekah, pensilvania, oregon

STOP KILLING THOSE SPIDERS!! They are not aggressive and fill an important role in the ecosystem. Where are all the sane people down under reminding citizens of the facts? We have tarantulas in America as well...they are really cool critters and you really should just let them live and let live.

kenny, San Diego CA, USA

Whistlers are they? They've already produced Christmas albums of barking dogs; so whistling tarantulas might work! If the tarantulas eat birds, they might eat rodents too, that damage farm crops.

Michael Sullivan, Toronto, Canada

EEEK! And I thought we had some monsters here in Florida. This is one arachnophobe who won't be visiting the Land Down Under. Between those big beasties and your funnel webs, I think I'll pass. Yes, I freely admit to being a wimp when it comes to the eight legged terrors.

donna, Orlando FL, USA

It is a land of living wonder,yes one must be careful when out and about but where else can you have your boat attacked by a shark when out fishing.

Mike, Melb, Aust

for some reason this reminded me of a 1980s judge dredd story in the cursed earth....

Dean, Barnet,

Funny thing is while traveling through Australia they were convinced it was much more dangerous living in Canada - with the grizzly bears and such...

Mark, Calgary, Canada

Barking spiders...venomous 6 inch horrors...crocs...O my. Those wishing to escape Europe and raise their kids somewhere safe might like to consider New Zealand. No snakes, no crocs, few spiders and nothing savagely aggressive in the garden...just a lovely landscape...

David Stillaman, Ponsonby Auckland, New Zealand

I love the idea of living in Australia, but I don't think I ever could - it seems like pretty much all the wildlife on land and sea wants to kill and eat you, even the insects!

(And before anyone corrects me, yes, I know a spider isn't an insect...).

John, London,

Alan - NO. I'm not going. I don't care how attractive the girl on the beach asking where the bloody hell I am is or if Paul Hogan met me with a tanker of Fosters. . . . . The only thing worse than the spiders are the Crocs.

James, London,

No Alan I would be exactly the same: I hate spiders and snakes. So I don't think Oz is the place for me either!

Jonathan, newcastle ,

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!! If I ever saw something that big crawling around I think i would drop dead of a heart attack.

Lisa, Texas, USA

Aussie tarantulas are the least of your problems, mate!

Several species of smaller, reclusive spiders, several species of vipers, including sea snakes, and at least one fish, one sea snail, one octopus and one jellyfish, not to mention the sharks and crocodiles, are ALL capable of doin' ya in!

Laurence Tenney, San Francisco,

Thought that was an inch ruler (american, here).
That made it much more frightening. lol

Tim, Missouri,

Samantha from the UK, I would imagine if you had one of these crawling around inside your house you would have no qualms about it being killed.

John, Chicago, USA

Just another day in the land down under. I visited the country 3 yrs and fell in love with the land. I will be back again.

Randy, Mannheim, Germany

All I can say is that you have to be really tough to live in Austrailia. Hats off to the Aussies and the native bushmen!

Dan, Clatonia, USA

How pathetic that they had to paralyse the poor spider with insect spray before eventually killing it. Could they not have just let it be or move it safely elsewhere to at least allow it to continue it's life? We are not the only creatures living on this planet and I hope that we never will be.

Samantha, London, UK

Australia might have nice weather and beaches ...but i would rather live in the wet British Isles and avoid all those nasty spiders, snakes and other creatures any day. Thank you very much! The thought of those things crawling in my garden sends shivers down my spine!

Damian Ryan, Londonderry, UK

another reason not to go to australia....

Jason, London,

Yes.

M Broom, Leeds,

I used to live in Brisbane, huntsmen spiders were bad enough, all I can say is thank goodness i'm back in Wales

Sue, Llanfairfechan, UK

I remember a bunch of these nesting inside a toilet shack! When you opened the door they all skuttered, apart from the ones inside the pit, haha .. try sitting on that without thinkng about those fangs sinking into your backside!

Juan, London,

No mate not a wimp...but these are not the one to worry about. Sydney funnel webs are the ones you need to watch for. Nasty ones.

neil , sydney, australia

There have been 5 sightings in 6 weeks.

"scores"

"Invaded"

"inundated"

***sigh***

Graeme Brown, milton keynes,

Hmm, well thats put me off Australia, lol. If one of those fell on my shoulder I swear I would faint. Do I sound a wimp ?.

alan, london, uk