Close your windows! This huge Australian spider is now at home in the Netherlands

It’s official: even expat spiders can navigate the Dutch housing crisis before we can, as this large species from Down Under is here to stay.

The Australian house spider has been spotted across the Netherlands since 2021, which means it has truly proven the fact that it can survive Dutch winters.

“It will survive here”, Jinze Noordijk, biologist at the EIS Knowledge Center Insects, tells NU.nl.

Should you be worried?

The short answer is no: these critters are big, but they’re not dangerous to humans.

The spiders have travelled from afar (as their name suggests), previously settling in North and South America, South Africa, and Europe, mainly in England and Germany.

The Australian variant spreads via plants, so plenty have probably already made a home in your garden. Gezellig!

What do they look like?

We would rather remain blissfully ignorant. But, if you would like to keep an eye out for these eight-legged friends, there are some ways to recognise them.

READ MORE | Wildlife in the Netherlands: a Dutch safari

Firstly, they are normally a few centimetres in size (gulp). They also have a mark on the upper side of their bodies, and their web is a unique zig-zag pattern instead of the usual wheel design.

You can report sightings to Waarneming.nl, as they track just how advanced the Aussie spider’s settlement becomes…

Have you spotted any Australian house spiders in the Netherlands? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature image: Don Horne/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0