Redback Spider. Latrodectus hasselti

The female above is about the size of a small pea. Normally this spider finds a protective refuge with a rear exit and builds her web there. A pot-plant with a drain hole at one end may be a good spot for a web. The spider above has made a very small web in an exposed position with no rear emergency exit. It is on a steel, powder coated fence panel. Unable to find a sheltered position she has added a part of a leaf to hide under when she is at rest

Below is another female. She has been scooped up for the purposes of taking her photograph. She had lost a leg. This spider was replaced on the garage wall and lived happily for at least another season. The spider at the top of the page was eaten by a White-tailed Spider.

There were no Redback Spiders inside the garage because that space was populated by Harvestman or Daddy Long-legs (Opiliones). Daddy Long-legs are relentless killers of spiders and it is said that a building where they live will have no Redbacks (at least not in the same spaces)