As is the case with snakes, many people are bitten when they try to kill or remove a spider that might better have been left alone. Spider bite can usually be avoided by taking a few simple precautions. Outdoors or in a shed or garage, look before you put your fingers in or under an object, especially if it has been in place for some time. Shake out boots and shoes. Firewood can harbour funnelweb spiders, scorpions and centipedes.
Gloves give some protection, although they can be easily pierced by large fangs.
Dangerous spiders seldom enter Canberra homes, but white-tailed spiders hide in clothes on the floor or bedding, and huntsmen in curtain folds. The white-tailed spider has a dark grey to black, elongate body with a white spot on the end of the abdomen, and reddish legs. Young spiders have striped legs and additional whitish spots. White-tails live naturally under bark or leaf litter, but they have become common indoors where they creep around the walls at night. They will shelter under almost anything including bedclothes and clothing left lying around, a habit which gives rise to frequent bites.