Before living in Austrailia i had envisaged snakes and spiders as being something that were unavoidable. I imagined i would have to learn to deal with them. Coming from Ireland,id only seen them on tv before i got there, i had seen programmes showing how snakes could climb up drainage and sewer pipes and up though your toilet . I figured an air tight room would be essential to ensure you could sleep at ease knowing no spiders could attack you. In reality this was not the case. During nearly 4 years in which i spent in Sydney i never seen a snake there. It turns out they dont really like busy noisy places which was good. However i did spend a cuple months working on a farm in regional australia when i arrived there first. It was a great experience but was a land unlike anywhere id seen before . Over a 100km to the nearest town and farms that stretched over 100000 acres and yes there was lots of snakes. My first encounter of a snake was walking a long a paddock only to notice a long black slithery snake sliding along beside my boot. Quite a shock i got and needless to say i made a quick getaway. On a daily basis i would either spot a snake while driving along or see one up closer. I guess the relaxed attitude the local australians had towards them made me a little less worried by them. In reality they werent likely to attack a person while it wasent a chance you would take if up close to one. Brown, black and redbelly black snakes were the most common ones that i came accross. All with the potential to kill if your a victim of they're venom. You would have a short time frame to get treated or else it could be fatal. Most farms had their own special kits as hospitals were quite far way. Wearing long trouser, inparticular jeans were another way to help avoid it. Most the snakes would not be liked to bite through them and if so were unlikely to give you a venomous bite. Again i never tested any of these theories . With regards to spiders i never came into contact with many. In the cities it was rear to see one. The occasional big huntsman might appear outside occasionally but despite its unpleasant exterior its not deemed to be in anyway dangerous. The small red back and white tip are the two most dangerous spiders to watch out for there. Even in the outback i might of seen one ever, never came accross one inside and never new anybody who got bit by one. So my conclusion is no Austalia is not over run with terrifying snakes and spiders and for those only likely to spend time in cities its unlikely that you will come across anything of any danger