I texted my son right after seeing your post to ask if the spiders you posted are where he lives. I’m supposed to go there in a few weeks. He said no, but there’s the Golden Silk Orb Weavers? I’m not searching for those, I’ll loose sleep. If they are within a mile, they will find me, lol.
Can I ask what part of Australia you lived? Is it a city where there’s fewer of them?
I definitely wouldn’t chance a hike or gardening there. I like the outdoors, but I don’t like encountering anything with many legs or missing legs.
I lived first in Melbourne, then in Sydney. Sydney has something like 20 National Parks right around the city. I was hiking every single weekend, and spent lots of time in the bush.
Don’t believe everything you see or read. If this was the US equivalent, the way you make it currently sound, would be similar to a bear lurking on every street corner and behind every lamp post, ready to devour a human. Well, we know that’s not true. And the same is the case for Australia. I have NEVER, let me repeat NEVER encountered a dangerous spider in my 2.5 years living in Australia, despite spending LOTS of time in the bush. And I heard no stories whatsoever from any of my friends, neighbours, colleagues, etc either.
I don’t believe everything I see or read, by a long shot. I do not live in the US.
I did a pet sit last year for someone who was from Australia. They were doing their home visit for several weeks. They sent me pictures while they were there. They sent some cute Kangaroos and other animals. I asked them about spiders. They said yes, they do run into them, some large, but had not yet seen any on their current trip. I asked them to skip sending me those pictures if they did encounter any.
I have traveled and lived in many places in the world. I’ve been told by others not to go to some places because they were worried about things that bothered them. For me, as long as those things didn’t bother me, I’d happily go and have.
I understand that spiders don’t bother you, but they do me. I’ve lived a long time. In the scheme of things, I’m not perfect, but I figure I don’t have that many hang ups. Spiders are one, so I’m happy to avoid being around them and not think about them.
The spiders your son mentioned seem much more interesting, from what I read. The key thing is, they’re not likely to kill anyone. And they don’t seem to wanna seek out or hang around us humans especially.
I’m just saying - you appear to greatly exaggerate the possibility of coming across dangerous spiders while in Australia. I live in the Netherlands, we have spiders as well. So then there’s not many places where you can live without a potential risk of encountering them.
Lol. Well, I never said anything about dangerous. All they have to have is legs and I’m afraid of them. I’ not sure how I exaggerated it, but since you read it that way, well, I certainly apologize. I guess to borrow your words, don’t believe everything you see or read.
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I did a tour northeast of Darwin, in permanent tents. But you had to walk a bit to the bathroom. I was so scared of stepping on a snake. Worth seeing the kangaroos first thing in the morning feeding around the camp and so many crocs and water birds. But never again am I am walking though the bush in Australia at night.
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I was in some resort in Menjangan Bali over the holidays and got bit by a spider going to the bathroom. The bathroom had no roof. It was some sort of decorating choice. You shower under the sky.
Showering under the sky sounds dreamy, @Huronbase 
was it a bad spider bite or nothing too awful? Hoping it was the latter!
We are in London at the moment, and while I’ve lived here for almost half of my life, I’ve never seen as many foxes as I have in the last couple of weeks! And we are in a very busy area and not really leafy. Just yesterday I spotted one again in front of me while walking our Frenchie - the fox stopped in the middle of the pavement and didn’t move at all, watching us. The dog went crazy but I just picked her up quickly (solid 13 kg lol), crossed the street and didn’t look back.
We were informed about the coyotes in the area on the one of our Canadian sits but actually never seen one. Many groundhogs on our walks though and saw some wild turkeys in a distance and I’m sure if our lovely dog was off the lead, he would have a good run!
Different story on our sits in rural Panama. So much wildlife, monkeys and sloths in the garden, agoutis, vine snakes, variety of insects…fortunately our dogs weren’t interested. During a few months there I spotted only one tarantula. On the second sit there, with cats, I was cleaning the litter boxes one day and found a scorpion hiding between, I still don’t know how it could get there, on the first floor in the house where we always kept main doors closed 
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On my last sit, my hosts asked me to look out for raccoons. My sit dog had been attacked by one previously.
I checked each time, including at night, when I used a flashlight to scan. Their eyes would reflect if they were around. I didn’t encounter any during the sit, but I had lived a few doors down many years ago and saw raccoons in the neighborhood then.
I especially remember a pair of them, strolling up a walkway to our home, which was set on a rise above the sidewalk. They looked like regulars, the way they strolled confidently up. It’s a densely populated area and raccoons like to break into trash cans. They often hide in the undersides of houses — that’s how my sit dog had been previously attacked.
If walking at night in an area with wildlife, it can help to wear a flashlight around your neck (they sell such on Amazon, for instance). That’s because often wildlife will try to avoid humans. And that’s easier if they can see you coming. I like such flashlights for dog walks, because your hands stay free.
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Where I live, we encounter coyotes almost daily. They mostly keep their distance when there are small numbers, 1 or 2, but become far bolder and more aggressive in larger numbers. They are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. I also find them to be far more aggressive when I have a dog with me, even very large dogs.
I think they treat small dogs like prey and large dogs as a threat. We have had coyotes, bobcats, mtn lions and rattlesnakes in our backyard. On a walk with two little chihuahuas at my first TH sit, one of the dogs paused at the end of the drive, refusing to continue. I then saw a black bear across the road. We turned back. I then packed the dogs in the car and drove to a trailhead a bit further from the house, only to step out of my car and find a mountain lion crouched in the tall grass. I got back in my car, headed to another trailhead, we walked about 100 yards and a hawk swooped down and dropped an angry rattlsnake at our feet. After our third failed attempt at a walk, I knew the only thing left to do was to go to a dog friendly winery where we could have a large bowl of water, a flight of local reds and the safety of a fully enclosed patio. When I took the dogs out for a walk later that day, there was trash strewn all up and down the street from our bear friend. I would suggest staying in well-populated areas with good visibility if you’re in an area with high wildlife activity. Keep the dog out of bushes and tall grass. Look around before crouching to tie loose shoelaces, and carry pepper spray.
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I have never been on a sit in the woods like that. I have taken my dogs to woodsy areas, where there were bears. And had some close encounters but the worst I have had to deal with are skunks. I have one coming up with skunks being a concern when let out in the backyard. I asked if they had a can of tomato juice. I always kept one in the garage so I could do neutralize the scent outside before the dog came in.
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@BJane
Coyotes are very adaptable and find living near humans quite convenient. They live in neighborhood parks in the Pacific Northwest, if the undergrowth is dense enough. One of my sits was in the last house before a park, with lots of blackberry bushes and trees. It was estimated by the neighbors that there were about 10 coyotes living in there, and no one was overly concerned. No one left animals outside, either. Adjacent to the park was a tennis court and a school, busy streets, urban. Close to midnight almost every night, I heard the coyotes’ destinctive calls. And several times while walking the dogs in the daytime, we were followed by a coyote. When we stopped, it stopped, keeping a respectable distance. Yelling, or tossing a handful of pebbles IN FRONT OF, NOT AT, them is one recommendation, but I did not feel threatened at all, and the dogs didn’t react. I would have felt an utter intruder had I started yelling.
And in my own case, I would never let an animal of my own, or in my care, roam free, so I would not have to go on living with coyotes after they had killed a beloved pet. That is a completely controllable situation.
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in Toronto there are coywolves. My cattle dog mix used to chase them. Then as she got older, if they got close, she would turn and get aggressive. But like Brindle. I have had them follow. You turn, stop and they stop. If you stand there long enough, they leave. This was in the beaches in Toronto, full of parks, some woods, adjacent to woods. So there was a number of them. Deer, skunks, muskrat, beaver, all in city limits.
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Bear spray works great on ALL mammals…including bad humans.
I have a home in Montana…I love it.
Grizzlies, black bear, moose, elk, wolves, mountain lions…
People forget the most dangerous “animals” of all…mosquitoes! Mosquitoes, along with ticks (Lyme disease) kill far more people than any of those mammals I mentioned, combined.
And…MOOSE…kill FAR MORE people than the other mammals combined! People talk about bears…those can be dangerous but statistically, a moose…which is a large deer, is the most dangerous.
I have my fair share of surprises…mountain lions scare me the most though…I would rather have a bear stalk me than one of those felines.
Taking Fido for a hike…bad idea.
Great topic!
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I lived in Colorado and there are a couple things you can do to help—just in case you encounter danger. Bear spray. Wear a bell or have noise going—talk to dog. Do not have food on you. High chance that wild animals are used to being around humans and will be scared of you too. Mainly don’t be aggressive with them. If a brown bear and if you should walk up in one—put hands up and start yelling. Walk slowly backwards… I know it sounds stupid, but after walking many trails by myself, I joined a group and this was the suggestion. Good luck.
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I was going to agree that you won’t meet any dangerous wildlife in the UK, but that’s only 99% true. Assuming you aren’t stupid enough to try and pet a badger, we don’t have any rabies, but we do have a couple of areas with established escapee wild boar (I don’t recall hearing of any attacks though). We also have deer and rutting stags can be dangerous.
The main animal risk for dog walkers is actually farm livestock, of which we have a lot, and I remember an American posting in horror on here about having to walk the dog on footpaths (as in public access routes through private property) through farmland. Dogs must always be on leads near sheep for the sheep’s safety, and you should be aware of how to take them through fields with cattle and horses safely - or turn around. More people are killed/injured/scared by these than any wildlife.
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