to avoid funnel webs and red backs like the plague! My husband is adamant that putting timber wood chips as mulch along the entire side of our house will not attract funnel webs to burrow there, as he has been on site planting a whole lot of native plants along the back fence of the block, and hasnt seen anything. Can you please put my mind at ease as I have a 4 year old and a 4 month old and dont want them touching them! Thanks, Tina @pacha The spider in your pic is a Brush footed Trapdoor spider in the family Barychelidae . Without seeing the spider this is all we can say.  If you contact the Queensland Museum they should be able to help you. Hi, I took this photo of a spider on our driveway in Brisbane the other night - it was about 40mm dia. After a bit of research, it may not be a Funnel-web as it looks to have hairs on its head and apparently they do not. It could also be the Wishbone Spider (or False Funnel-web as they are otherwise known) which is allegedly harmless, but they often have silver or golden hairs - so not sure. It also had a distinctive mottled abdomen. Is it possible to identify from these photos? Thanks @MattO - From your pics of burrow and spider it looks like you have trapdoor spiders in your backyard.  If you want a positive ID of the spider