If a big black spider bites
Call 000 straight away and treat it as a medical emergency. Lay the person down, keep them still, and follow the operator's instructions on a bandage and splint. Don't wait for symptoms, don't cut the bite or use a tourniquet, and don't give them food or drink.
What's different in Engadine
A local funnel-web
The Southern Sydney funnel-web ranges from the Watagans south to Bowral and west to the upper Blue Mountains, the Australian Museum says. It lives in bushy suburban areas and forests, often under rocks or logs near gullies. The museum's photo of a female comes from Engadine.
Bush along the line
Engadine sits on the Illawarra line between Sutherland and Heathcote, and a 1948 local history photo records the Woronora River Bridge nearby. NPWS's Heathcote National Park, with its rocky outcrops and freshwater pools, is reached down the line at Heathcote.
Ticks
NSW Health Pathology says the paralysis tick is most likely to be met in its most dangerous adult form from September to December. If you find one attached, NSW Health says to freeze it with an ether-based spray from a pharmacy, and not to squeeze it or pull it out.
Older blocks
Subdivisions came in 1904, 1910 and 1931, and there were 23 poultry farms by 1940. Some blocks have a long history, so mention old sheds and stored timber when you ask for a termite inspection.
Around a bushy block
You can
- Wear gloves and closed shoes when shifting logs, rocks or stacked timber.
- Keep firewood off the ground and away from the house.
- Keep grass short along the back fence.
- Fit door seals and keep shoes off the ground outside.
Leave to a pest business
- A spider treatment around the house if you keep finding big black spiders.
- Termite inspections, especially with old timber on the block.
- Possum proofing, and catch and release under licence.
What we'd do about pests in Engadine
Learn the first aid before you need it, and tell the kids. One spider in the garage isn't a reason to book a treatment. If they keep turning up, tap Spiders or ants with your postcode.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
