Greetings from Christchurch!

Eve · Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2003 7:34 pm Post subject: Greetings from Christchurch!

Hello Everyone!

Been in CHCH since the 11th Dec and am quite homesick!! I miss my friends Sad

But I am still very happy to be here. The weather has been great! The 'hot' spells here are lovely. But I thought there werent many spiders in NZ!! But there are heaps of them!! Yuck!! Wheres the mortein?????

Our container has come in and thankfully nothing has been damaged. We packed everything ourselves and I have to say that all the sweat, stress and hard work was well worth it.

Take care all, gotta run

richsadams · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 10:58 am Post subject: Re: Greetings from Christchurch!

aurora · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 3:26 pm Post subject:

Hi Eve, glad you made the trans tasman transfer ok

Now it's my turn, see you there in less than three weeks!

Eve · Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2003 5:30 pm Post subject:

Hey :)

Rich the spiders are a bit smaller in NZ as are the mangos and avocados!! Razz

There are white tail spiders here which are a real menace in Australia so I was shocked to find that they had followed us to NZ!! Plus in Australia houses have fly screens so the things stay in your garden but here no fly screens means that everything comes in Hmmm

We killed 6 white tails in one night after having a few windows open. But coming from Australia means we are experienced exterminators!

Currently we are renting but plan on buying some land and building soon, and this house will have fly screens!!! The real estate boom here means that what we thought we could have done 6 months ago is not really possible anymore.

The shipping costs were $2005 for the container and port charges and insurance was 1% of the value insured. Plus there is $300 for NZ port release. The container took 5 days to be shipped from Melbourne to CHCH. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry charged $65 NZ for customs release. Movers cost us $73 per hour to unload our container and this took 2 hours!

Hey Aurora

Wish you a safe flight to CHCH!

Happy New Years everyone!!

Ian Simpson · Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2004 10:18 pm Post subject:

Hi Eve,

Are these spiders dangerous? Uhoh

JCM · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2004 9:49 pm Post subject:

Hi Eve,

We have insect screens on our house Yes

but they do seem to be less common in NZ that I'd expect. Very handy in the summer. Are you in the central city? I've never heard of any of these white-tailed beasts out in the western suburbs. By way of danger Ian, I think (correct me if I'm wrong Eve or anyone) that these spiders are more of a pest than dangerous. Mrs JCM knows a lady in the central city whose daughter got bitten on the back a few times by one or more white-tailed spiders while she was asleep and she was sore/irritated the next day.

Hope you're settling in nicely Eve and that life's treating you well.

aurora · Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2004 3:54 pm Post subject:

My understanding is that they cause an allergic reaction in some people if bitten. This manifests itself as a flesh eating disease, which can be really nasty.

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

google search for white tailed spiders comes up with the stuff below. spiders came from australia and are now on both nz islands.

http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/our_resources/Bugs/Spider_page/white_tail.html

the flesh eating disease is just a sensationalised media invention?

Human interaction/ Threats

White-tailed Spider bites can cause initial burning pain followed by swelling and itchiness at the bitten area. Occasionally, weals, blistering or local ulceration have been reported - conditions known medically as necrotising arachnidism. As well as the spider's venom, minor bacterial infection of the wound may be a contributory factor in such cases.

A debate continues about the involvement of White-tailed Spider bite in cases of severe ulcerative skin lesions seen in patients diagnosed as probable spider bite victims. Typically, in such cases no direct evidence of spider bite is available. Sensational media reporting of supposed cases of severe "necrotising arachnidism" has given the White-tailed Spider a bad reputation. However, a recent study has monitored the medical outcomes of over 100 verified White-tailed Spider bites and found not a single case of ulceration (confirming the results of an earlier study). The available evidence suggests that skin ulceration is not a common outcome of White-tailed Spider bite.

White-tailed Spiders around your house can be controlled by catching and removing any that you see and by clearing away the webs of the house spiders upon which they feed.

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/white_tailed_spider.htm

richsadams · Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2004 9:24 am Post subject: Moving

Dear Eve,

Thanks for the details! We'll be moving from the southwestern U.S. where there are spiders, snakes, coyotes and all sorts of vermin...but you learn to live with them...at lest to keep them at bay. And yes, screens are a must! Eek

Best wishes for your new life!

Cheers,

Rich

Eve · Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 7:56 pm Post subject:

Hi All!

I dont agree with that article, my mother was bitten on her finger by a really young white tail spider and her skin on the bite site was ulcerating for months. Whether this is due to being prone to allergies or not, I dont think is important. The important thing is that these spiders are aggressive and will bite you given the chance. Thus we always just kill them rather than catching them and removing them Mr. Green

.

Havent seen even one spider since the 6 that we killed. We still dont have fly screens but we make sure not to leave any window open once its dark outside and especially if its going to rain, which seems to be when all sorts of critters are only to happy to come in!! Nutcase

Gerry · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 8:12 am Post subject: White tail spiders

Hi
I hope nobody has the impression that we are over-run with these little spiders. I have never seen one nor do I know of anyone who has (I live in the Nelson area). My impression is that right now they are fairly rare although there are areas where they may be concentrated. That is not to say of course that the situation will not worsen.

As a point of interest, there is another little spider which has similar markings to the White tail and is quite common throughout NZ. It is well worth going to the library and finding out the difference before you encounter your first white tail.

Good luck to all members seeking entry to NZ. I came 4 years ago and really love it, especially life in the Nelson area where my little Bed & Breakfast business keeps me busy.

Gerry

JCM · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 12:19 pm Post subject: Re: White tail spiders

aurora · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2004 5:10 pm Post subject:

*bump*

teleport completed ...

Eve · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2004 8:27 pm Post subject:

Hey Aurora!!!

I was keeping an eye out for your posts! So what are your first impressions of CHCH?? How are you settling in? Where are you based at if I may ask? We're currently in Riccarton near Hagley.

I read one post that spoke about starting a 'New Arrivals' group. I think that is a great idea.

Anyone in CHCH interested in meeting and sharing their experiences and ideas?

aurora · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 2:06 pm Post subject:

Hi Eve,

I am already reasonably familiar with Chch, as I have done a few trips here over the years for tramping holidays (tramping is the main reason that I want to live here).

A couple of years ago I also hired a car for a couple of days and drove around all the suburbs, to get a feel for the city and its environs, as well as to get an idea of which areas I felt comfortable in.

At the moment, I am living in a shared house in Papanui (cheap rent, and I only have to give two weeks notice to leave) until I have bought and settled on a house to live in. I have several areas in mind, including St Albans and Lyttelton.

Time will tell where I end up!

One thing for certain, since I arrived here less than a week ago, everything seems to have fallen into place as best as I could have hoped for - found a good cheap temporary place to live, found the car I was looking for at a good price, got my bank account and finances sorted out, and even got that new pair of hiking boots to replace my old pair which have disintegrated after 12 years of faithful service! The last task is to find the right house at the right price, but I am confident as I have experience with buying and selling property in Australia.

Hope I haven't jinxed myself causing to sky to fall on my head tomorrow !!?!