Ha! Hardly.
South Africa has one of the deadliest snake, the
boomslang. Personally, I've lived in Australia for nearly 25 years and have never seen a snake.
As for spiders, the USA has the brown recluse and the black widow, two of the world's deadliest spiders. We have the Sydney Funnel-web spider, a dangerous and aggressive one (especially the males in spring and fall, when they're looking for mates) - although an antivenin was discovered in 1980 and no-one had died from a funnel-web's bite since.
I won't deny that the symptoms of a funnel-web's bite are extremely unpleasant, but you asked about lethality.
The Brazilian wandering spider (or
Phoneutria nigriven) often ranks second as the world's deadliest spider. Like the funnel-web, it has aggressive tendencies and is known as a hunting spider. Bites from these spiders account for around half of spider-related hospitalizations in South America.
Tarantulas are common (except in cold climates like Canada, Iceland, Europe and Asia) but less venomous than you'd see in Hollywood. In fact, the vast majority of spiders
in existence are non-venomous, and spiders in general don't use their fangs unless it feels threatened. Not all spider bites are venomous, too; many spiders give dry bites, without venom, as a warning. I
did get a dry bite once when I was cleaning webs off the underside of my car, and it was unpleasant but passed after an hour or two. That's the only time, in nearly 25 years, that I was bitten by a spider.
Any of the spiders I mentioned above, if they bite you, will give you an unpleasant experience. But even the most venomous arachnids with the largest, sharpest fangs don't pose a lethal threat to humans thanks to antivenins. But don't forget to be careful if you're working in a dark corner of your basement or storage shed. Spiders often don't want to attack, but they'll defend their territory when necessary.
I sometimes see spiders from time to time in my second storey flat, but tiny ones - about the size of my fingernail. I usually scoop them up with a bowl, gently take them back outside and let them be. Their webs cut down the number of pests like flies, midges and mosquitoes, which are much more annoying (to me) than spiders. Whenever I go into the garden to water the plants, I get bitten - but always by mozzies and midges, never spiders.
I think that the whole "spiders are lethal" thing is the fault of people who write that sort of thing - horror novellists, Hollywood, Skyrim - that type of thing. Tarantulas especially cop a lot of flack because they're so hairy. But the touch of their bristly hairs is more likely to irritate than its venom - unless, of course, you happen to be allergic. (Sources: wikipedia,
HowStuffWorks).
So ... am I right about snakes? I'm curious. I've never seen in my life, and I don't want to get too close to them.
) - to work on the next game.
