The Sydney funnel web is the champion but Pp has always prefered the redback....
View attachment 239600 not as poisonous but she reminds Pp of a dangerous woman.
Reality check - what appears dangerous at a distance can be quite humdrum close up .
I live in Sydney, with a lot of bush around and a big backyard. I have lots and lots of trapdoor spiders, and certainly have funnel webs and redbacks in the yard and under the house. They don't bother me, and I try to avoid bothering them. They sound more scary and more dangerous than they are. Yes they can potentially kill you, but as long as I take reasonable precautions I am statistically more likely to be knocked down by a car.
Now, I have two women inside the house, and they
are more scary on a day to day basis
PS redbacks are
really small. Funnel webs are larger, and when threatened rear up on their hind legs, which is a pretty useful warning to get the hell away from there! I believe they belong to one of the older families of spiders.
PPS I hate spiders! But I live here quite happily. The deadly ones usually don't come in the house, unless you've had a lot of rain and they've been flooded out of their burrows and hollows. What does come in the house is the huntsman, and it is big, and being a tree dweller it likes to look down on you from high on the wall - yikes! Not deadly though.
Now I'm going to delete that pic from my computer - SHUDDER!
Tree just capped a story and really would like comments that are relevant... not mad but it would be polite...
Nice story, Tree, liked the setup, and the execution. Even the little twist with Barb not only avoiding death but skimping on her full sentence. Those friends of hers are too good hearted (?)