First calm day for about a week , and were the baby mantis out or what , I saw 10 of them and got a few pictures ...

[old4570]

If ever there was a safe way to view them , surely its a picture ?


ick? ????????????????? Off all the icky things in the world , I can think of far worse .

[MarkJerling]

I usually avoid macro section and particularly bugs, but baby mantis, had to see that one.... yuck. I fall for this so often...gotta stay away from these from now on.


Great photo.

I have a fear of spiders, but I like looking at photos. I've even photographed a big spider - but with a zoom lens! Too bloody scared to get too close. Don't know what state the K-5 would have been in if it decided to run my way while I was shooting the picture! See here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/43-gatherings-events-groups/41021-kiwi-pe...ml#post2934338

[old4570]

Im not afraid of spiders ...
I will evict them from inside the house alive if I see them ( If they co operate ) . If they become difficult I will kill them .. ( Poisonous spiders )
Redbacks , I will poison them outside when I find them , there is no shortage of redbacks around here . We have to much garbage outside for them to make homes from , so when its warm and calm I will walk around with a powerful flashlight and some surface spray and hit them hard ... ( After Dark )


The two problem spiders are the Redback and the WhiteTail .. WhiteTail WhiteTail , WhiteTail ....
The Redback outside and the WhiteTail inside ..
The Redback nests close to the ground so is hard to see .. So be careful where you walk and put your feet and hands .. And sit as well outside ... Used to be a big problem when out houses were the go ... ( was a song - Redback on the toilet seat )
White Tails invade homes and are a problem because they wander a lot , So if you have a spider habitat in your home - Pile of stuff ! I would suggest surface spraying the pile of stuff every now and again ...
That reminds me , I need to surface spray my bedroom this week ...

[kreuzn]

If ever there was a safe way to view them , surely its a picture ?


ick? ????????????????? Off all the icky things in the world , I can think of far worse .

Yes, probably there are far worse things than spiders, but I've had to kill way too many red backs, white tails and huntsmans to think of them as anything but ick. Although im a fan of daddy long legs

[old4570]

White tails = That's what I meant ....


Huntsman = FRIEND ! , huntsman hunt and kill white tails .. Much better of with a house full of huntsmen than white tails
I haven't seen a Huntsman in the house for a long time , and only too many white tails .
I have been bitten by a WhiteTail , and you can feel the venom burning inside you as it spreads ..
I was bitten on the upper arm , and immediately put on a broad pressure bandage to slow down the spread ..
Apparently do this long enough hand the venom will begin to break down , seemed to work for me .

[MarkJerling]

We have plenty of white-tails here, which I understand is an Ausie import! Visited friends in Brisbane some years back and, while on the toilet, a big spider ran in under the toilet door. Very scary experience for me. Our friends remarked that they did not know I could make such a high pitched sound!