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In urban Australia, spiders play a crucial role in ecological balance despite often being perceived as pests. With over 2,000 species identified, they thrive in diverse habitats from parks to homes. These arachnids help control insect populations, benefiting urban gardens and reducing the need for chemical pest control. However, some species like the Sydney funnel-web pose risks due to venomous bites, requiring careful management.
Understanding spider habits and habitats is essential for coexistence, ensuring that urban development respects their ecological niche while safeguarding public safety. Spiders thus represent a complex but integral part of Australia's urban biodiversity.
Spiders can be found in a variety of urban locations. Common areas include gardens, parks, and green spaces where they build webs or nests among plants and shrubs.
They are also often seen in and around buildings, such as in basements, garages, and under eaves, where they take advantage of sheltered spaces. Spiders can become pests when they inhabit crevices, corners, and window sills inside homes, as well as man-made structures like fences, sheds, and outdoor furniture, where they hunt for prey or seek refuge.
Identifying a spider is quite easy, due to its distinct physical characteristics and appearance. Spiders are arachnids and have eight legs and come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours.
There are two types of spiders; webbing and ground dwelling. Both types of spiders have a range of venomous and non venomous sub-species so it is important to keep your distance and call in professional help if you are unsure.
White Tailed Spider
White-tailed Spiders have a dark reddish to grey, slender body and darl orange-brown banded legs. Their name comes from the white spot at the tip of their abdomen.
White tailed Spiders are roaming hunters that live beneath bark and rocks, in leaf litter, logs, gardens and houses. Their bites can cause a burning pain followed by swelling and itchiness at the bitten area.
Sydney Funnel-Web Spider
Sydney Funnel-webs are shiny, dark brown to black spiders that live in sheltered burrows. If threatened, these spiders show aggressive behaviour, rearing and displaying their impressive fangs.
Funnel-web bites are dangerous and first aid should be given immediately using the pressure bandage/immobilisation technique (as for snake bite) and the victim taken to hospital as soon as possible.
St Andrew's Cross Spider
St Andrew's Cross Spiders are known for their distinctive webs with a bluish-white silk cross in the centre. Females have a silvery body with colourful banding, while males are smaller and brownish.
These Spiders build orb webs on low vegetation and are sit still in the centre. They are non-aggressive, with no serious consequences from human contact, aside from the scare of accidentally walking into their webs.
Redback Spider
Females are about the size of a pea black with a red stripe on the upper abdomen, while males are smaller and have less distinct markings.
These spiders often build webs near human habitation in dry, sheltered areas, and are more active in summer. Only the female's bite is dangerous, leading to serious illness and occasionally requiring antivenom, though deaths have been recorded.
Huntsman Spider
Huntsmans are large, long-legged spiders, typically grey to brown, sometimes with banded legs. They have flattened bodies and a crab-like legs and are fast runners.
Huntsman spiders are not considered dangerous but are notorious for getting into homes and cars, often hiding in sun visors, running across dashboards or appearing on the wall out of no-where!
Golden Orb Weaving Spider
Golden Orb Weaving Spiders are large spiders with silvery-grey to plum coloured bodies and brown-black, often yellow banded legs. The males are tiny and red-brown to brown in colour.
They are found in open forest and woodlands, coastal sand dune shrubs and mangroves. Orb weavers are reluctant to bite and symptoms are usually negligible or mild local pain, numbness and swelling.
Daddy Long Legs Spider
Daddy-long-legs spiders are easily recognised by their extremely long, skinny legs, small body and pale brown colour.
Daddy-long-legs Spiders are harmless and are found in most urban areas, in particular houses. They make a thin, tangled web in sheltered positions were they are unlikely to be disturbed, in the corner of the ceilings, in sheds, garages and under decks.
Black House Spider
Black House Spiders are often confused with Funnel Web Spiders due to forming similar webs and are a dark grey/black colour with grey hairs and brownish legs. Females are larger than males.
Black House Spiders are found on tree trunks, logs, and buildings. Black House Spiders are timid, and while bites are infrequent, they can cause pain, swelling, and occasionally nausea or other mild symptoms.
Keeping garden beds and rubbish away from the edge of the house will significantly reduce spider populations. Keep vegetation trimmed back from the edge of the house and paths and brush away webs when you see them.
Check the exterior of your home and seal up any gaps or holes around windows, doors, and pipes. Make sure insect screens and draft excluders are in good repair and well fitting.
Check dark, warm and undisturbed areas from your home. Keep clutter, clothes and shoes off the floor to reduce spider hiding places.
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Yes! All of the pest control products we use are AEMPA approved and are safe for use in sensitive environments such as homes, schools, hotels and food handling premises.
It is important to note that for services where we are applying a pesticide in spray form, we recommend that children, pregnant people, and pets are off-site or removed from the areas of treatment for the duration of the service and for approximately 2 hours after the service to allow for drying. Our products are all odourless and colourless and once dry.
Whilst our products are approved for use in homes, we recommend that you are not in the home while a treatment is being carried out and for up to 2 hours after to allow the solution to fully dry. Depending on the home and treatment being done, it will take our team 45-90 minutes to complete the service.
It is okay for adults to stay in the home in an area excluded for treatment if it is not convenient to vacate however, children and pets must vacate the home. Your technician will complete a service report on completion with any recommendations and send a copy through before locking up and leaving.
We recommend that you sweep and mop your floors in preparation before our service as pesticides bind better to clean, dry floors and are more effective. You can view our full preparation list here. Ideally, avoid mopping again for as log as possible after a treatment, generally 3-5 days. Spray treatments are applied around the edges and skirting boards of rooms and if you do need to mop, avoiding the edges of the floor will help prolong the treatment’s effect.
As our treatments cover a variety of pests and conditions, your qualified technician will apply a range of pest control products throughout your home during treatment. These products generally consist of a residual spray, gel baits and insecticide dusts.
Your technician will make note of activity levels, the species of pests and areas of concern in your home and make recommendations on the service report at the end for follow up services, proofing and cleaning that will assist in keeping pests away.
Not always. Spider treatments are most effective when they are applied to the web. If the spider is present then the treatment will act quickly, however in some cases, it will take time for the spider to return and to pick up a lethal dose as it interacts with the insecticide. You may see immediate results following a treatment however it is common to see activity for up to 5 days as pests come into contact with insecticides.
We are confident in our ability and the services we offer, and as such, we provide a 60 day pest-free Guarantee on home pest control services.
Warranties are subject to conditions and may not be applicable depending on the condition and housekeeping of a home. Your technician will discuss your warranty eligibility with you on completion of a service and will provide recommendations on proofing and housekeeping steps that need to be taken before a warranty is provided.
We offer our Pest-Free Guarantee to rectify a pest re-infestation in treated areas. It is common to see the occasional pest following a treatment. Please allow at least 2 weeks post-service before you activate your warranty to allow the treatment to have full effect. Additional call out fees may apply to visits not covered by warranties. No external areas are covered by a warranty.
Unit 8, 849 South Dowling Street, Waterloo, NSW 2017
P: 02 9157 5706
E: info@oracleservices.com.au
Unit 8, 849 South Dowling Street
Waterloo, NSW 2017
P: 02 9157 5706
E: info@oracleservices.com.au