# Could Australian Funnelweb Spiders Survive in The USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 15, 2004, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538 "2004-09-15T12:30:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/21 "2004-09-16T10:34:14Z")
In the ACT at the moment kangaroos are such a problem on roads (they are moving into the suburbs for food due to drought) that the ACT Government is running an awareness campaign to try & reduce the number hit by cars. As for spiders , I think [Douglas Adams](http://www.smedg.org.au/DougAdamsOnOz.html) pretty much nailed it. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/22 "2004-09-16T10:56:09Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > The only productive fishery in that region are some of the tuna fisheriesā€¦ Prawns. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/23 "2004-09-16T11:11:39Z")
Prawns, mudcrabs, barramundi etc are not productive fisheries by world standards. Those things and many others are all fished int hat area but the sustainable catch is trivial compared to most fisheries. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/24 "2004-09-16T11:26:03Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Could Australian Funnelweb Spiders Survive in The USA? Exactly _what_ are you _planning_? :dubious: Ever notice how shifty **ralph124c** ā€™s eyes are? :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/25 "2004-09-16T12:50:41Z")
Actually, I was thinking of importing a few for my pet storeā€¦I think Iā€™ll call it ā€œPoison Petsā€! Iā€™ll stock sea wasps, blue-ringed octopus, etc. Screw those pussys who only keep non-poisonous snakesā€¦here you can keeppets thatā€™l kill you! ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/26 "2004-09-16T13:51:42Z")
A bit of general commentary about this thread: > [@Blake](#): > > Why does Australia have so many poisonous creatures? Thatā€™s a complicated question, but broadly speaking itā€™s because Australia is an ecological hellhole. No offence meant, thatā€™s a statement of fact. šŸ˜‰ > > Seriously, Australia is a terribly impoverished continent and a tough place for any species to make a living. The soils are extremely old and thus extremely infertile. The seas off the Eastern coast particularly are warm clear tropical waters and thus totally nutrient deficient, moreso even than the soils, and because the soils are so impoverished the oceans canā€™t even be fertilised by runoff. The oceans are as much a desert as the land itself. > > The continent gets very little rain due to being predominantly located under a high pressure system. On an annual basis the rain tends to be highly concentrated in the summer months with long, dry periods for 8 months or more. The rainfall is also extremely erratic from year to year, with frequent droughts punctuated with floods and relatively few ā€˜averageā€™ years. > > What all this has meant is that there is s chronic resource shortage for most of the continent. Not just water but protein and minerals are in very limited supply in most places. OK, the whole of Australia is a desert. No water, no nutrients. > [@Padeye](#): > > Probably due to geographic isolation and mostly desert climate. _Mostly_ the same thing. > [@Blake](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Probably due to geographic isolation and mostly desert climate. Deserts are suited to much smaller animals and many of them use alternate means of defense such as venom. > > The problem with that reasoning is that the coastal areas, even the rainforests, have a higher number and concentration of poisonous species than the deserts. After all the funnelwebs live in wet sclerophyll or rainforest regions, not deserts. Ah. So **Padeye** is wrong because parts of Australia _arenā€™t_ deserts: theyā€™re wet. > [@MoggyAU](#): > > The south eastern corner Sydney through Victoria is actually quite lush with fairly good quality soil. Look at Bega, Ulladulla etc. **MoggyAU** agrees with **Blake** about parts of Australia not being deserts. Hmm. Good. > [@Blake](#): > > Hence the reason why I said the funnelwebs live in wet sclerophyll or rainforest regions, not deserts. They range from Victoria at least as far north as Fraser Island, but always in relatively wet habitats. Again, wet areas _arenā€™t_ deserts, because theyā€™re wet. > [@Blake](#): > > And the SE corner is not fairly good quality soil, By international standard it is atrocious. There are tiny pockets of high quality recent volcanic soils around Bega but they are tiny. Oops, **MoggyAU** was wrong, because even the wet areas are deserts. Poor soil. > [@Blake](#): > > Indeed, thatā€™s some of the most nutrient deficient water on the planet. Thatā€™s why the reef is able to exist. The reef exists in large part because the water is crystal clear and enables the corals to exploit photosynthetic symbionts. And itā€™s clear because it wonā€™t support algae independently. Itā€™s a marine desert. Even the bits that are so wet theyā€™re underwater are deserts, but itā€™s not because of the soil, itā€™s because of the lack of nutrients in the water. Or something. It seems that our friend **Blake** is the only person who truly understands what the word ā€œdesertā€ means. The rest of us use it at our peril. Let me see if I can find some rolleyes somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/27 "2004-09-16T14:08:22Z")
Cā€™mon, **Desmo** , be reasonable. **Blake** has made it clear that he(?) is an ecologist with experience working in Australia, and his technical terms and apparent knowledge of the specifics of the different climates etc. make this easy to believe. Itā€™s worth remembering that in many professional fields, the terms are defined, or at least used, in a slightly different way than they are by the general public. When i think ā€œdesertā€ i think ā€œGreat Sandy,ā€ but when an ecologist thinks ā€œdesertā€ it obviously means something more complicated than that. **Blake** also took pains to point out that diversity and productivity are different things, ecologically speaking, and that there is no contradiction in the Great Barrier Reef being both extremely diverse and extremely unproductive. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/28 "2004-09-16T14:35:13Z")
For your garden funnelweb problem just keep dogs or ducks or geese. They arenā€™t susceptible to the venom and the poultry in particular love to hunt down those crisp, juicy arachnids. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/29 "2004-09-16T14:48:35Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Cā€™mon, **Desmo** , be reasonable. Been there, done that. The first twenty or thirty times, you let it go. **Blake** ā€™s history is a bit longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/30 "2004-09-16T14:57:22Z")
Yep Australia has a heap of poisonous thingos. I used to live in the far north of Aus where they have snakes, crocodiles, and BJ fish (bad BJ not good BJ). I have swum in the waters rumoured to contain these Box Jelly Fish and have not been stung. I am yet to see a real wild snake, I feel they are pretty shy creatures. Of course, I swim in the ā€œwinterā€ months (they would actually make for really good summer months) when BJ Fish are rare and I donā€™t spend hours on end in the bush to see snakes, although I have seen plenty of large Water Monitor lizards, and I see a lot of crocodiles in the course of my work. My rambling point is that you can quite happily live a fullfilling life in Australia and never come across anything more threatening than a Wallaby. Probably one of the more dangerous thingos in Aus is the humble mosquito which has the nasty habit of carrying various fatal diseases with it. YMMV Good luck introducing Funnel Webs to the States. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/31 "2004-09-16T15:12:23Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Cā€™mon, **Desmo** , be reasonable. Seconded. Iā€™ve found **Blake** ā€™s post in this thread consistent, interesting, and some of the best Iā€™ve read on this board. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/32 "2004-09-17T00:50:22Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > For your garden funnelweb problem just keep dogs or ducks or geese. They arenā€™t susceptible to the venom and the poultry in particular love to hunt down those crisp, juicy arachnids. That part has always bothered me. They canā€™t kill a cute little bunny rabbit, but they kill me dead. What have they got against me?? I donā€™t eat spiders! ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/33 "2004-09-16T22:03:55Z")
Itā€™s definitely a fallacy that you need to be on your toes constantly in Australia. Iā€™m never worried about being poisoned or bitten here. The only thing I worry about is not camping under a tree, because of the dropbears. Oh, and not sitting on a green ant nest. If you come across a snake in the bush (which happens rarely) it will invariably be sunbaking on a rock, not about to attack you. You will see copious kangaroos if you travel out far enough into the country; they are considered a pest by farmers. I have actually had a pet kangaroo. She was a beautiful animal, had the longest eyelashes. We made her a pouch out of a hessian bag. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/34 "2004-09-16T22:19:58Z")
> [@moggyAU](#): > > One was under the bark of a tree I was cutting down and it reared up at me. > I collected it and took it to the Gosford Reptile Park(they collect and milk them) How many do you have to milk to get a decent shake? > [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Exactly _what_ are you _planning_? :dubious: Remember that Simpsons episode where the Koala stows away on their helicopter? Remember how ominous the music was? ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/35 "2004-09-16T22:36:09Z")
Wait before you nuke Australia! Clearly the whole problem can be solved by sprinkling fertilizer evenly over the whole area, and diverting the rain patterns so it gets more water. Then all those creatures will get bigger, grow fur, and have cute fuzzy big-eyed kitten-like offspring, like everywhere else. Win-Win! ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/36 "2004-09-16T22:47:46Z")
Desmostylus I have no idea what your problem is, but it appears that you are just a troll. Itā€™s hard to imagine that any adult could seriously read ā€œ What all this has meant is that there is s chronic resource shortage for **most** of the continent. Not just water but protein and minerals are in very limited supply in **most** places.ā€ And respond with ā€œOK, the **whole** of Australia is a desert. No water, no nutrients.ā€ And yet that is exactly what you have done. Your behaviour has been reported to the moderators. I will leave it up to them to judge whether you are trolling or not. It is sufficient to point out at this stage that all other posters seem to have no such problems understanding what I have posted and that I am willing to back up any comments I have made with any number of highly authoritative references. > [@levdrakon](#): > > That part has always bothered me. They canā€™t kill a cute little bunny rabbit, but they kill me dead. What have they got against me?? I donā€™t eat spiders! Itā€™s basically just random chance. The venom acts on specific proteins within the nerves. That particular protein is similar enough in structure between humans and insects that the protein can bond chemically to both. It is dissimilar enough in other mammals to render the protein harmless. Itā€™s not that the spiders have anything against you, itā€™s just dumb luck. The same thing is seen in the activity of numerous other chemicals that have evolved as insecticides. Chemicals like pyrethrum are harmless to humans but will kill marsupials simply through evolutionary luck of the draw. Aspirin is harmless to humans but will kill cats. Theobromine in chocolate is harmless to humans but will kill dogs. Itā€™s just down to whether the random nature of evolutionary change. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/37 "2004-09-16T22:56:59Z")
WTF? How did I apparently respond to **levdrakon** ā€™s question _before_ he posted it? Does this count as evidence of psychis ability? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/38 "2004-09-16T23:09:07Z")
Thereā€™s a temporal anomaly going around the boards. Once they get the sensors back on-line, theyā€™ll probably use the internal deflectors to generate a randomly oscillating frequency pattern to negate it. In the meantime, if you see your past self, donā€™t say anything! ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/39 "2004-09-16T23:17:05Z")
šŸ˜ƒ Just so long as itā€™s not just me who is seeing ghosts. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538/40 "2004-09-16T23:35:53Z")
> [@Burnt Sugar](#): > > If you come across a snake in the bush (which happens rarely) it will invariably be sunbaking on a rock, not about to attack you. Depends. Not uncommonly you startle them. Particularly if you are running through the bush (as an ex-orienteer, that used to be quite common for me). Or you can accidentally corner them, which has happened to me a couple of times. Iā€™m the first to agree that usually all they want to do is get away, but Iā€™ve had a couple of moments where a snake and I have managed to scare the bejeezus out of each other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-australian-funnelweb-spiders-survive-in-the-usa/264538.md?page=3)