Thank you to all the people who wrote in with thoughts about last week’s program.
Spiders
Lauren Blommestein, from Langwarrin in Victoria, emailed to say that she will have nightmares for the rest of her life after seeing our spider footage repeatedly played. Don promised that there will be a warning for arachnophobes before any future segments on spiders.
Lots of viewers also commented on the footage of the so-called camel spider. These huge creatures are not true spiders although they do belong to the class Arachnida. There are a number of myths concerning camel spiders, also known as wind spiders, wind scorpions and sun scorpions:
they grow as large as dinner plates
they eat the stomachs of camels
they inject victims with anaesthetic and then start eating them
Spider experts say these claims are false. Camel spiders eat insects, lizards and maybe mice and birds. They don’t inject victims with anaesthetic and they don’t grow as large as dinner plates. The one in the picture probably looked large because it was held very close to the camera.
Bromeliads
Margaret Jenkins of Buderim in Queensland asked Don for tips on keeping pet dogs away from bromeliads. Margaret’s dog, Ruby, never touches any plants except for her much-loved bromeliads. Don wasn’t sure what to suggest, but asked anyone who thinks they can help Margaret to please let us know.
Swing
Roger Ayers of Berriedale, Tasmania, sent Don an email after watching the segment on the swing in the tree. He thought putting the bolts through the branch was great, but was concerned about leaving the bolts and allowing the branch to grow over them when the swing is no longer needed. Roger said that someone he knew was killed when a chainsaw snagged on an imbedded piece of metal in a tree. Don thought there wasn’t much chance of hitting an embedded piece of metal with a chainsaw, but said by all means remove the bolts if possible.
Sharpening garden tools
Dan Muggeridge, of Coorparoo in Queensland, said if viewers do not have their own bench grinders, most local shoe repairers (especially Dan’s Heel and Sole Man Outlets) can sharpen spades, secateurs, hedge clippers and other gardening tools.
Letter of the week
The prize for Letter of the Week goes to Dan Muggeridge for his sharpening tip. Congratulations Dan, you’ve won a year’s free subscription to Burke’s Backyard Magazine.
