REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Thursday February 18, 2010

KILLER spiders appeared to have their sights set on making homes in Gold Coast back yards. Burleigh Waters locals feared their peaceful neighbourhood was being overrun by dozens of highly venomous mouse spiders. Following heavy rain and stifling heat, Treeview Drive resident Jeannie Simpson came across 17 of the nasties in her pool and near her patio. The arachnids were regularly mistaken for their higher-profile funnel-web cousins but are a completely different species. Nevertheless, they are just as venomous and their bite can kill a small child if not treated quickly. ‘‘I’ve lived here for a bit over a year and I’ve never seen anything like it,’’ said Ms Simpson. ‘‘My flatmate found a couple when he was cleaning the pool and since then we’ve just found more and more. ‘‘The man a couple of doors down found two in his dog’s bowl. I think there are more than 20 people around here who have found them (the spiders) now.’’ Ms Simpson, whose home backed on to bushland, said while she was not particularly afraid of the spiders, some members of her family had been put off by her regular recent discoveries. ‘‘I’ve got relatives who won’t come and visit now,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m not too worried but we’ve had so many that I’ve actually started dreaming about them.’’ While Ms Simpson first thought they may have been funnel-webs, Australian Reptile Park general manager Mary Rayner said the creatures were clearly identifiable as mouse spiders due to a large silver-blue shape on their back.