Spiders Common In Thailand?

[Rathma]

I'm still deciding wether or not to backpack in Thailand or somewhere else. The problem is I have a huge arachnaphobia and looking through some thailand pics ( http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/157287938_cedb26644f_o.jpg ) I noticed a lot of weird scary ones.

I hate sleeping in a room with spiders, so have any backpackers noticed them much? I don't care about the ones outdoors, just indoors.

Edited January 4, 2008 by Rathma

[Naam]

are you scared of fried ones too?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...on_Cambodia.jpg

[Mosha]

They jump too, if you have a really bad fear, maybe not the part of the world you should be thinking about.

[Rathma]

Jumping spiders? fuc_k that, i'm out.

[wilko]

I had a fear of spiders (still have to a point)....i used to get my Mum to fish them oiut of the bath....... but I lived in Oz for several years....on returning to the UK my Mum pointed out a large house spider scurrying across the living rooom floor......she always thought it fun to see me jump.....I looked at it picked it up and chucked it out the window...."call that a spider?" i said.....

Here inn Thailand I see FAR less wierd and wonderful insects than in Oz...my house is virtually insect free compared to my house in UK....the reason? good screens on the windows and the locals seem to eat alot of the larger ones.

Really in the end you need to confront you phobia...I'm not prepared to let an irrational fear of something 1/1000th the size of me dictate were I live or go on holiday......

PS all spiders everywhere bite.....and there is virtually nothing here that will hospitalise you...unlike Oz!

Edited January 4, 2008 by wilko

[tijnebijn]

What wilko says is absolutely correct .

I don't think you will be able to sleep anywhere

when you do a little research OP . There are much

worse places then Thailand ( although).

I have had several encounters with tarantulas , and the jumping spiders

as well , scorpions a lots of snakes .

Not that you will ever see them or they will bother you quickly , cause

most of the time you will have to search for them .

[Goshawk]

its not so much the spiders in Thailand to be wary of, it's the centipede

they grow up to 8 inch long and if one of these guys bites you....

nasty

edit: found this

on youtube to show just how big they get.... sleep tight Edited January 4, 2008 by Goshawk

[Patsycat]

That wasn't very nice, Goshawk...

[Mosha]

I set my wife on those things.

[jackr]

I'm still deciding wether or not to backpack in Thailand or somewhere else. The problem is I have a huge arachnaphobia and looking through some thailand pics ( http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/157287938_cedb26644f_o.jpg ) I noticed a lot of weird scary ones.

I hate sleeping in a room with spiders, so have any backpackers noticed them much? I don't care about the ones outdoors, just indoors.

Not much problem in the towns and cities, but if you go trekking in the country you'll come across some monsters. Seen some real big uns on my travels in the past; mainly up north. But don't let that dissuade you. As Wilko says, you need to confront em. Next time you see one at home, walk up to it and pick it up

[Girlaboutglobe]

Yeah you'll be no worse off here than you would be in any other tropical country, much better than some. When selecting a guesthouse or hostel try to find one that's both well sealed from the outside and well travelled and you should be fine. The biggest jumping one I've seen so far was only about 2 or 3 cm from leg to leg, but jumping spiders are all over the world, even in Canada. You can tell if a spider's a jumper because it's eyes will be arranged in a vertical stack of four pairs of eyes rather than the normal half ring arrangement around the head, it stands out pretty clearly. If you think the eyes look unusual then step back, their range isn't usually more than a few feet.

Good luck!

PS Awesome centipede video!

[m02]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?ac...90&t=161812

The really big ones I've always called Monkey spiders, but I really don't know if anyone else uses that term. They are fairly common as I've seen them in condos in Hawaii. But while older ones will get as large as your hand, bigger than the tarantulas, they are really meek. If they ever landed on you it would be because a house lizard a tenth of their size was chasing them and they just were scared nearly to death. I'm not sure their mandibles could even give you a bite although they probably can, but I've never heard of anyone being bitten or even bothered for that matter. You very rarely see any full grown ones anymore as I think the use of pesticides kill them off before they can achieve their real potential. You use to see them way up high on the walls just sitting there doing nothing. Days would go by and it seemed they never moved, but I was told they use a scent to mark their place and at night they wander around then return. The only ones I ever saw move were being chased by the house lizards who would sometimes retire triumphant with a broken off leg...

The tarantulas don't get near as big and seem to end up as a BBQ snack for drunks playing cards...

The jumping spiders do get pretty big relatively speaking, but again I have never heard of them bitting anyone. They are have no interest in people and won't bother you on purpose. btw: they keep the population of other spiders, including web spinners, down as they hunt them.

The strangest spider I ever saw looked exactly like a hyper activated black widow without the red abdominal markings. If you are familiar with some of the hunting wasps which are very alert and cover ground quickly they you will have some idea of how this one acted, going from leaf to leaf examining the tops and bottoms and the stem in a very quick and thorough manner. It was years ago right next to my house and I've never seen another. I grew up with black widows and they are rather sluggish compared to this critter.

I can understand your phobia but in reality there is very little to fear about spiders in Thailand. Scorpions are the main thing to watch out for in older wooden houses as they are ubiquitous and the little ones can get in about anywhere, including clothing or bags hung on the walls, and their sting is very disagreeable.

[Naam]

I'm still deciding wether or not to backpack in Thailand or somewhere else. The problem is I have a huge arachnaphobia and looking through some thailand pics ( http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/157287938_cedb26644f_o.jpg ) I noticed a lot of weird scary ones.

I hate sleeping in a room with spiders, so have any backpackers noticed them much? I don't care about the ones outdoors, just indoors.

Not much problem in the towns and cities, but if you go trekking in the country you'll come across some monsters. Seen some real big uns on my travels in the past; mainly up north. But don't let that dissuade you. As Wilko says, you need to confront em. Next time you see one at home, walk up to it and pick it up

and eat it alive (a pinch of salt is optional). start with the crunchy woolen legs first and you are cured!

[AlexLah]

Well I have had a spider bite in my foot some time back and it now a few months ago and it is still not healed.

It is the small ones you have to be carefull of (is what a Thai friend told me).

I too have a fear for almost any crawling insect so if I sleep somewhere I will do a good inspection first.

Oh and when you go trekking in the forrest make sure you wear a hat. I have seen some nasty videos of people that had eggs layed beneath ther skin and when home the insects were eating their way through the flesh and skin, ha ha ha.

What also helps is not to look around too much...........

[BlackArtemis]

I have woken up with scorpions under my mattress (he was a bit squished...) Huge spiders (big as your hand) near me etc etc. People with phobias of anything insect, arachnid, or myriapod like should avoid the tropics :shrug:

Goshawk: I used to have one of those as a pet, I fed her baby mice, she laid an egg casing and had over 100 babies. My mother told me hel_l no when I finished Uni and was planning to move back home.

[Goshawk]

Goshawk: I used to have one of those as a pet, I fed her baby mice, she laid an egg casing and had over 100 babies. My mother told me hel_l no when I finished Uni and was planning to move back home.

i know of a business in the UK selling these Thai centipedes (and all sorts of other live insects/spiders) for 45 GBP each.. there's 4.5k somewhere in your brood !!

[yorkman]

Goshawk: I used to have one of those as a pet, I fed her baby mice, she laid an egg casing and had over 100 babies. My mother told me hel_l no when I finished Uni and was planning to move back home.

i know of a business in the UK selling these Thai centipedes (and all sorts of other live insects/spiders) for 45 GBP each.. there's 4.5k somewhere in your brood !!

Ohhhh do tell!! They are not an endangered species except under my foot.

An export opportunity, I have dozens on the land

[BlackArtemis]

Sheesh, they are only $20-30 for a full grown one in the US. so only 10-15GBP

When I return to the states I hope to breed poison dart frogs

[simpleybill]

I was taking a shower one time and when I finished I noticed a fairly big spider on the shower curtain.

Didn't think he was a threat (just visiting), so I took a couple of photos and let him(or her) be.

I am attaching the photos

[Rathma]

Holy smokes. Was that in a hotel or more of a low budget accomodation?

[wilko]

This topic is now going along the lines of who has seen the most creepy-crawlies....well that won't help the seriously phobic.

Phobias are an IRRATIONAL fear of anything and it is the irrational fear you need to confront as opposed to normal caution. There ae ways of confronting and overcoming phobias. You can get professional help or try some stuff yourself.

As I said I've greatly reduced my fear of spiders to the point where it doesn't interfer with any part of my life in a major way.

I read up on them a lot over the years, spoken to experts and encountered loads on purpose in Oz.I now have a good knowledge of them...knowledge overcomes fear.

PS - I got over my fear of dogs only to be bitten by a hotel owned dog in Pattaya - that set my dog phobia back 10 years.

I have no phobia of snakes which would seem to be the most common phobia in Thailand and results in needless killing of thousands of these very useful animals. I DO however treat Cobras etc with the utmost respect. (Of the top 6 most venomous snakes in the world 5 live in Oz.

Edited January 8, 2008 by wilko

[simpleybill]

Holy smokes. Was that in a hotel or more of a low budget accomodation?

It was at my GF's home. She agreed with me, no danger just visiting. After 5 minutes he/she was gone.

[Tony Clifton]

Avoid Ottawa, Canada.

[Goshawk]

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[Zpete]

Keep a pet gecko.

This lil guy lives in the roof of my fave bar in Chalong.

I have a mpeg of the gecko killing the c/pede.

Cannot find it.

That Gecko would be 10", a big fella.

[sbk]

Thats a tokay zpete, same family as geckos but much bigger. I love these guys. We had one that caught and killed a mouse. I hate rodents!

Go Mr Tokay!

Back on topic tho

Spiders here are generally pretty harmless and IMO, are very useful. I saw a big brown one in a bathroom that ate a cockroach. Go Mr Spider!

[Mosha]

I think the OP just fainted.

[Rathma]

I think the OP just fainted.

I'm still alive. I bought plane tickets to Amsterdam and i'm going to backpack through europe.

It's way more expensive than SEA but I just don't think I will overcome my arachnaphobia. That plus i'm a picky eater, I don't know what i'd eat over there.

[Naam]

I think the OP just fainted.

I'm still alive. I bought plane tickets to Amsterdam and i'm going to backpack through europe.

It's way More expensive than SEA but I just don't think I will overcome my arachnaphobia. That plus i'm a picky eater, I don't know what i'd eat over there.

to overcome your arachnophobia try this:

[Naam]

I think the OP just fainted.

I'm still alive. I bought plane tickets to Amsterdam and i'm going to backpack through europe.

It's way More expensive than SEA but I just don't think I will overcome my arachnaphobia. That plus i'm a picky eater, I don't know what i'd eat over there.

to overcome your arachnophobia try this:

upload does not work

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/12697/photo59.html