The funny thing about a funnel webs venom is it wont affect your pet. If fido or meow gets bit, they'll be sick, but will recover from the bite. The component in the venom that is dangerous to humans (and other primates) is just a freak evolution. The spiders certainly don't go seeking out primates as prey, and like AUS said, the danger comes when they wander into back yards and houses, and its usually the males looking for a mate in the breeding season. Atratoxin can kill a grown man in about half an hour if no treatment is given. They can stay submerged in a swimming pool for up to half an hour to an hour, so look before you dive in, they are just as fast under water as they are on land.
They're a fairly big spider, quite hairy and have large downward pointing fangs. They can move pretty darn quick, but cant outrun the blast wave of one of those D battery sized salutes! To bite, they rear up like a horse on its hinds legs and strike downward, in similar fasion to a horse trampling something with its front legs. The fangs can easily penetrate a toenail, so the only way to deal with them is to belt them with a shovel, or catch them with a suitable container and call the CSL to come and collect them (to make antivenom).
Australia has the most venomous creatures on the planet. We also have a nice selection of cute and furry prey animals that can move quite quickly, so hence some of our snakes and spiders are bloody lethal (hehe aussie tongue) so the prey can run, but it wont get far once the venom kicks in.
Those nature doccos that show a viper attacking a mouse are pretty accurate. The snake bites and then retreats to allow the venom to overcome the prey animal. Then the snake zero's in to eat using its sense of smell and in some species, heat sensors in the snout (yep some snakes have their own thermal camera's built right in). Most snakes are pretty deaf but can feel vibrations, so its a common practise on a trail if we see a snake, keep our distance and stomp our feet. A snake would rather run from a heard of large animals, than stand and fight.
Funnel webs on the other hand are agressive little buggers in the breeding season and will give chase, even to a full grown adult person.
I admit blowing up that spider was downright mean, but I didnt have something handy to trap it, and it was either him or possibly one of us getting bit.
Box jellies are incredibly hard to see, and the tentacles can trail out 15 feet or more from the bell. Their venom doesnt usually kill, but the shock of the searing pain, and that with being in the water can result in drowning. The way to neutralize the venom is household viniger. Once neutralized, the tentacles can be removed. The pain is apparently incredible, and even morphine has little effect, so its no surprise that a swimmer stung badly can pass out and drown from a sting.
*phew* yep I like my nature as well, especially the not so furry types like snakes, spiders and other crawlies. So its fitting that I call my projector the Tiapan, deadliest snake in australia (and apparently 3rd in the world).
Now, back to pocket canons!
