any spider experts here?

[Chundles]

In the UK ... no probs.

But Brits travelling abroad need to learn that foreign creepy crawlies are dangerous (I know several people here in Yorkshire who have travelled to Australia, left their shoes/boots outside, then put them on in the morning without shaking out the bugs). Risky stuff.

I'm always amazed when people don't shake their shoes out here, I live in an apartment building and have a very clean place but still have had a nasty or two in my shoes.

I think people just don't think sometimes.

 

[kiwi-in-uk]

I think people just don't think sometimes.

They don't know. Nobody tells them.
And at home they are taught to pick up spiders and take them outside (ok in UK, but ...)

Edit: Had a bit of a look around. It appears that the white tailed spider is not to blame for necrosis. Instead it is the "recluse or fiddleback" spider - an import to Australia. Learn something new every day. Spider cleared of causing flesh-eating ulcer

 

[Chundles]

They don't know. Nobody tells them.
And at home they are taught to pick up spiders and take them outside (ok in UK, but ...)

Edit: Had a bit of a look around. It appears that the white tailed spider is not to blame for necrosis. Instead it is the "recluse or fiddleback" spider - an import to Australia. Learn something new every day. Spider cleared of causing flesh-eating ulcer

Well I'll be damned....

Still, wouldn't want to test it though.

 

[garybUK]

Well I'll be damned....

Still, wouldn't want to test it though.

We don't tend to have very meny poisonous creepy crawlies here so we generally chuck them outside ... most are house spiders that are looking for warm damp places.

I had one under my quilt the other day .... quite a surprise when i got in bed! Simple CD Case and Pint pot + window got rid of the little fella.

 

[mad jew]

This thread has got me worried. I've never been worried about creepy-crawlies-in-shoes until today.

For the record, I wouldn't worry about picking them up. The worst that can happen is you'll have to spend the next fortnight in hospital. Death would be extremely unlikely.

 

[.Andy]

Oh yeah? This will kill you within 10 minutes and is highly aggressive. It's also very common in my parts. I'd rather see it dead than me.

They're not really agressive at all. Like all poisonous spiders/snakes etc they'll only attack humans if they're really threatened. Most of the time they'll try and scurry away.

There's been anti-venin since around 1980 but on record there has only ever been 13 deaths from funnelwebs. Not that scary really eh .

Best thing to do if you come across a funnelweb is to leave it be. If you are really worried you can catch it using the glass jar and paper method. Add some moist cotton wool for the little guy to drink, screw the lid on tight, and take it to your local hospital. They'll be very appreciative as they can send it to the lab to milk the venom to make antivenin. As anti-venin doesn't have an infinite shelf-life they need a constant supply of spiders to keep stocks up.

Spiders are cool and there's no reason to kill them at all .

 

[Chundles]

They're not really agressive at all. Like all poisonous spiders/snakes etc they'll only attack humans if they're really threatened. Most of the time they'll try and scurry away.

There's been anti-venin since around 1980 but on record there has only ever been 13 deaths from funnelwebs. Not that scary really eh .

Best thing to do if you come across a funnelweb is to leave it be. If you are really worried you can catch it using the glass jar and paper method. Add some moist cotton wool for the little guy to drink, screw the lid on tight, and take it to your local hospital. They'll be very appreciative as they can send it to the lab to milk the venom to make antivenin. As anti-venin doesn't have an infinite shelf-life they need a constant supply of spiders to keep stocks up.

Spiders are cool and there's no reason to kill them at all .

You've never heard them jumping at tents have you?

 

[iGary]

I got bitten by something over two months ago on my lower right leg that swelled for two weeks and killed all the hair folicles around it.

Now if only I could find the spider that did it, I'd be rich.

"Black Widow Hair Removal Creme™"

 

[Applespider]

I like spiders (and no, it's not why I chose my username)

They help keep flies and other bugs down, their webs are a marvel of structural engineering and I love watching how their legs move as they scuttle around.

I have a few large ones in UK terms (one around the height of a £20 note from leg to leg) which holiday in my bathroom and end up in the bath. I help them out of there since don't like the idea of drowning them - if they are little ones, I just pick them up. If they're huge, I put them on a piece of paper.

 

[.Andy]

You've never heard them jumping at tents have you?

Funnelwebs don't jump - it's an urban myth. They can quickly strike horizontally - a matter of a few inches - but cannot become airbone. It's physiologically impossible. Being a terrestrial/burrowing spider it's also highly unlikely that they'll ever end up high enough off the ground to fall .

edit: here you go - Australian Museum Funnelweb FAQ

 

[devilot]

The timing of this thread is so uncanny...

I swear I have a black widow in my garage. I can't even go into detail right now, I honestly started crying when my parents said I had to move my car back in the garage (she was less than a foot away from where my head would be getting in/out of the car).

I mean, I'm no spidey expert but I looked up the info on Wikipedia and the photos... and that darned monster seems to fit the specs. :shudder:

Anybody know how to deal w/ black widows???

 

[Lau]

I have a few large ones in UK terms (one around the height of a £20 note from leg to leg) which holiday in my bathroom and end up in the bath.

Asif, these sound like yours? Because we've had loads of them too recently. Really fat n hairy (well, for the UK anyway). The first one I saw scuttled across the floor when I was up late at night, and was so big I thought it was a mouse out of the corner of my eye. I got rid of it in a pint glass, and chucked it out the window, but it came back.

Maybe it's a current phenomenon. I'll ask my dad, as he's an entomologist, and might know of an impending UK spider-plague. Cause of his job, I'm also not really scared of spiders or other insects. When you've had insects shoved in your face all your life, you never really grow out of that "ooh, look at that" kid type way of looking at them. Although I never really forgave him for the time he introduced an ultra-bitey species of mosquito to our garden pond, and I spent the summer swollen up with giant bites from head to toe. I think that one went down as character building....

Devilot - I don't know I'm afraid, but good luck. Hope someone can help you out. I'll also ask my dad on that one, though he doesn't usually 'do' spiders, and as its a non-British species he may not know.

 

[asif786]

jeez, reading all these replies has got me all tingly now!

i've always been taught never to kill spiders..being a muslim, there's a little story why:

basically teh propet muhammad was being chased by some people who were trying to kill him. he hid in a cave and a spider wove a web around the entrance. the people looking for him knew it would be impossible for him to get in without breaking the web. so they moved on..and the prophet's life was saved..

i'm sure i've got some detail wrong but that's the basic story. so that's why i've always been told not to kill them..

applespider, you sure are brave! spiders just..i dunno..give me the creeps..hmm

oh, and i think i've isolated where the problem is. adjacent to my room is a shower room which i've decided to use as a..junk room. it's filled with black bags of clothes, papers, some rubbish and more. i've got a feeling there's a little spider family in there. and it scares the hell out of me

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Maybe it's a current phenomenon. I'll ask my dad, as he's an entomologist, and might know of an impending UK spider-plague...

You'll have to let us know what he reckons. If a spider plague is indeed threatening these islands, I'm going to have to give some serious thought to emigrating...

 

[Kobushi]

Spiders are generally a good thing to have around as they get rid of lots of annoying pests: gnats, flies, mosquitos, in-laws etc...

There are definitely a few I would want to get rid of though. In my neck of the woods, it's the Hobo Spider (basically like the Brown Recluse). It has a necrotic bite and makes funnel webs like the one from au.

Looks like this:

My best mate had a nasty infestation in his basement apartment. He would buy spider traps and place them around the place (these also work for Black Widow's BTW, devilot). He would fill these things up w/ about 20-30 spiders every 2-3 days. These little buggers are aggressive! I pulled a pair of jeans off the floor and found one the size of a silver dollar. I expected him to scurry away, instead the lil punk charged my foot (my foot won).

Anyway, my buddy lived in this place for over a year and was luckily never bitten since he worked with the state entymologist and took every precaution possilbe (storing clothes in sealable totes, keeping bedcovers 18+ inces from the ground, etc) During the course, he tried every spider trap possible (not poisons as he had pets--also didn't get bitten). The most effective ones he found are
here I know it sounds like kind of a plug, but maybe it will help some of you. He also said the Big H brand (most popular) kinda suck and are more expensive.

Of course, once my friend's landlord power washed the siding of his place on a fine October day like today, all the BIG ones came inside. These ones were trapped, but when he was showing me one day, I was poking at one (it's a guy thing) and it got pissed, tore off 5 of it's own legs, and tried to scurry off the trap on the remaining 3

 

[Kobushi]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.

These suckers came over here from Europe.

Have a nice day

 

[Lau]

OK, so I asked my dad about the spiders, and this is an official Natural History Museum reply....

Lau:Blah, blah, spiders, aargh....Have you had news at the museum of this the beginning of a hideous spider plague....?! Or is it a just time of year thing?

Lau's dad:Ah well, we wouldn't tell anyone if there was a plague, otherwise there'd be a mass panic, and President Bush might invade. Actually spiders are always commoner, or at least more visible, in the autumn, which is when many species reach maturity.
xx

So there you go! Also, when it comes to poisonous species, such as Devilot's Black Widow, apparently it's better to get the experts in.

 

[strydr]

Anybody know how to deal w/ black widows???[/QUOTE]


Kill'm Dead.. I HATE spiders. I know they have some good, but I've had too many close calls, plus I'm WAY to Arachnaphobic. When I was a little kid, my neighbor got bit by a black widow in MY yard. I played in that same spot for years before.. My mom was bit by a brown recluse a year ago (on the breast), and she had a big numb spot there for months. I let the daddy Long Legs live, as long as they stay way up in the corners, but any other spider that crosses my path, watch out. If I can see you, it's to late for you.

 

[Kobushi]

Kill'm Dead.. I HATE spiders. I know they have some good, but I've had too many close calls, plus I'm WAY to Arachnaphobic. When I was a little kid, my neighbor got bit by a black widow in MY yard. I played in that same spot for years before.. My mom was bit by a brown recluse a year ago (on the breast), and she had a big numb spot there for months. I let the daddy Long Legs live, as long as they stay way up in the corners, but any other spider that crosses my path, watch out. If I can see you, it's to late for you.

Actually, the daddy long leg spider is one of the most poisonous in the world, it just has a tiny little mouth and it's teeth aren't good enough to penetrate human flesh. I once had some lizards as a kid and could only find daddy long legs around to feed 'em. They died not long after they got lizard dysentery.

 

[brogers]

Also, I was told by an exterminator that spiders do not self groom or lick themselves like roaches and ants and other insects. They also don't groom each other. So if you do spray them it must get into their mouth. I prefer the whole body direct spray method or drowning in poison approach.

I always wondered why spraying around the house never seemed to totally get rid of them. If they walk through the poison, then no big deal because they don't stick there legs in their mouths....scarry.

A friend of mine went into the hospital years ago with a huge sore on his leg. He is a fairly large fellow. Anyway, he was there almost two weeks and a hole the size of a penny rotted into his leg and down to the bone. Nastiest thing I had ever seen at that point in my life. Brown Recluse. One bad mother....

 

[devilot]

OK, so I asked my dad about the spiders, and this is an official Natural History Museum reply.... <snip> So there you go! Also, when it comes to poisonous species, such as Devilot's Black Widow, apparently it's better to get the experts in.

Thanks for the tip... I took a look at the spider traps website but I wasn't too convinced. Thanks again, Lau!

 

[gammamonk]

Check this beast out--


Spider in the gym

That thing was FAST. Scary too.