Paranoia of New Zealand Creepy Crawlies?

Question

I'm thinking of visiting NZ someday but I keep reading about how safe and harmless the country is yet I keep hearing about 2 particularely menacing creatures.

The Katipo/Red Back and White-Tailed Spiders.

I believe I have a phobia of spiders and I am wondering if their are places where these critters don't like to hang out. (no pun intended)

I'm from Canada so I'm not used to teh concept of poisunous creatures.

Please help!

Answer 1

I've lived here a year, terrified of the 8-legged demons myself and haven't seen any big ones, only very few small spiders.  Apparently a small number of poisonous spiders have been introduced from Australia (by accident) but are only present in small numbers.

Answer 2

i live here all my life and never seen one yet   ,,,,   they in our wildlife parks  ,, so still ccome for you holiday  someday , by the way i was in toronta in2001 [ but i was frozen to death  with cold   lol   , otherwise nice city  ..

Answer 3

The katapo spider is found in wood that has been washed up from the sea. I lived there in Gisborne for many years and I never saw one. The real bug to watch is the Weta, a large bug with wings. Their size can be intimidating. If you are one that likes to leave their boots or shoes outside on the doorstep overnight, shake them before putting them on the next day. New Zealand doesn't have any snakes so you've no worries there. If you do visit New Zealand, visit Gisborne on the East Coast. They call it "The First City Of The Sun" simply because it is the first city that see's the sun rise. While your there also visit Rotorua and see the boiling mud pools.

Answer 4

I've lived in New Zealand almost 15 years and I have not once seen a Red Back or White- Tailed spider, except at a wildlife park. My Mum has also never seen once and she's lived in New Zealand for half a century. I've never heard of anyone being bitten by either of these spiders

The bites of these spiders are less harmful than those in Australia. Since the introduction of anti-venom, no one has died from a Red Back spider bite and White Tailed Spider's venom doesn't contain toxins that are deadly to humans.

Just don't go looking for them and you'll be fine. I'm not use to poisonous creatures either. Seriously, spiders are the least of my worries living in New Zealand

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Answer 5

I am also scared of spiders but reality is we are more of a danger to them than they are to us.  My guess is they hang out in Spider Webs so if you don't go poking at spider webs you should be alright.  I've lived in New Zealand for 26 years and I have never been bitten by a spider.  You're more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes so wear bug spray if you're not keen on bug bites.  In general though most the creepy crawlies in New Zealand are harmless, they just look ugly which is what makes them creepy.

Answer 6

They're not menacing.  It's now believed that the danger of white-tailed spiders was grossly overstated.  When I was a student, my guide, a biologist, took me to the spideriest place in NZ; a beach near Christchurch, to look for katipos, and we didn't find any.  I've never met anybody who's been bitten by either.  Canada's probably got more spiders than NZ; black widows from down south.  Katipos and white-tailed spiders are both very small.

Answer 7

LOL we are waaaaayyy better than Australia anyway.

NZ is pretty good, as far as I know any poisonous creepy crawlies were introduced.

I see a few white tails around, maybe once every few months, and the odd time I have a bite from where I was bit. Haven't seen any Red Back but maybe different part of NZ? (I'm in Christchurch).

More spiders inside beginning of winter, they all migrate inside....... So pick a time when there's less!

Answer 8

In the South Island south of Christchurch you won't find anything poisonous or even that big or scary (except the weta). As a rule, the further south you get, the less bugs you get and the smaller they are. I live in Invercargill in the far south, and was horrified to find out spiders in Auckland can grow to the size of a child's hand. I'm used to spiders the size of a sandfly, or the size of an M&M at biggest.

Answer 9

Don't worry at all unless you plan to do a lot of tent camping in the forests or something! I've lived here all my life and I've known one person to get bitten by one, and it wasn't serious.