g'day ruth,

they sound like orb spiders quiet common around gardens etc.,. they
catch and kill lots of insects so are very beneficial, doubt they
would move to inside your house they like the open areas between trees
and things.

not sure that orb spiders won't bite given the right circumstances,
i've encountered many in my life of gardening and never been bitten,
just need to be looking where you are walking of a nightime, carry a
stick and when you walk into a web stop and walk backwards this will
help clear the web from your head are, then just use the stick to pull
down enough of the web that you can pass by.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://hub.dataline.net.au/~gardnlen/