# Poisonous Spider Bites on Rise in SE UK



## StormFeather (Sep 19, 2013)

Bites reported across London and Kent as south east sees influx of Britain's most poisonous spider - Home News - UK - The Independent

I had no idea we had such spiders in the UK.  Not generally afraid of such things, but don't like the sound of these!


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## Mouse (Sep 19, 2013)

Thank god that said SE. Had way too many giant spiders to deal with over the past few days in Cornwall.


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## Ursa major (Sep 19, 2013)

Mouse said:


> Thank god that said SE. Had way too many giant spiders to deal with over the past few days in Cornwall.


I hope you drove home to Somerset with your car windows closed, because the linked article says:


> The false widow spider first came to the UK over 100 years ago in crates of fruit from the Canary Islands. *It has been established in Devon for a long time* but recently climate change has caused the population to spread across the south east.


 

Oh, and:


> In 2006 a *Dorchester* man was hospitalised for three days after suffering a heart seizure following a spider bite believed to have been caused by a false widow.


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## ibrooks (Sep 20, 2013)

I worked at Asda when I was a student and for a while on the produce dept. The amount of stuff that came out of the boxes of fruit which I'm damn sure we didn't have import licenses for was amazing. One guy was taken to hospital along with the offending spider whilst I worked there. It added some excitement to the job when you stuck your hand into a box of bananas and when you came out with a bunch of bananas there was a big colourful spider sat on the back of your hand.

The one incident that sticks in my mind most was a plague of ladybirds that came out of boxes of English apples. They must have dropped down to the bottoms of the boxes when they were refrigerated but once we put them out on the shelves on the shop floor they warmed up a bit and climbed up to the surface (the shelves were refrigerated from below). There must have been hundreds of the things!

Iain


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## Mouse (Sep 20, 2013)

Ursa major said:


> I hope you drove home to Somerset with your car windows closed, because the linked article says:



Ursa! I didn't read the article for a reason.


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## Gramm838 (Sep 20, 2013)

I read somewhere years ago that the reason that so many people have a phobia about spiders is because our racial memory doesn't recognise them, because they are not native to earth...

hmmmmm


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## Karn Maeshalanadae (Sep 20, 2013)

Nothing to really get hysterical about. Here in Oregon we have at least three species of pretty nasty spiders native, and I'm not bothered about any of them:


Black Widow: Infamous, but I believe unjustified. No where near the most dangerous spider on Earth.


Hobo spider: I don't believe this is truly deadly, but it can be pretty nasty. I believe this is a species with a bite that can cause necrosis, but I've never heard of a death from one.


Brown Recluse: This can be a pretty nasty spider, but it lives up to its name-it is very rarely seen by humans and prefers to stay where humans tend not to be able to reach easily. A highly toxic bite that can cause massive bruising and necrosis, but almost always survivable.



Now, if we had something along the lines of the Wandering Spider or Funnelweb, then I'd be worried.


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## jastius (Sep 21, 2013)

birds eat spiders... why don't you bring in the birds that like to munch the things like pringles?


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## quantumtheif (Sep 21, 2013)

At least you aren't Australian. They have several types of giant/poisonous spiders that they find around the house.


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## Karn Maeshalanadae (Sep 22, 2013)

jastius said:


> birds eat spiders... why don't you bring in the birds that like to munch the things like pringles?





This reminds me of an episode of the Simpsons. First they discover that species of lizard that replaces bird's eggs with their own, that gets rid of the pigeons. Then they have the infestation of lizards, and at the end, Skinner suggests bringing in things to take out the lizards. Then it goes on to bringing in gorillas.



You can't just trade one species for another.



And that's what I meant, quantum. That thing you posted up is, if I'm not mistaken on specifics, the Sydney Funnelweb. Not quite as bad as their cousins, but still aggressive and nasty.


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## jastius (Sep 22, 2013)

we have free running tarantulas on the escarpment. you just wear a hat... unless of course you think their fuzzy little feet are kitten tickling you when then drop into your hair. 
... the owls looove them.


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## Grimward (Sep 22, 2013)

Only Northern Black Widow spiders typically here (although Brown Recluse bites are not unheard of, the spider is not considered indigenous to Maryland), and unlike their Southern and Western Cousins ( a la Karn's ), the bite of a Northern Black Widow is not considered medically significant.

Hope your widow population over there in the UK doesn't spread or grow as quickly as feared in the article.


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## Karn Maeshalanadae (Sep 22, 2013)

Tarantulas, huh?


Nothing to be all that worried about, actually. I believe their hairs are often worse than their bites.


The Black Widow's reputation, Grim, is really unjustified. It's a feared spider, but naturally survivable if you have a solid immune system. Generally it's only dangerous to the very elderly or very young, and they're non-aggressive.


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## Bowler1 (Sep 23, 2013)

The article says not to pick spiders up, which I never do. Clonk them on the head with me shoe, yes, but pick them up...no way. I was chasing a big bugger last night and they don't half move fast I can tell you. It was making a break for it up the stairs and I kept on missing it with an old runner when it turned on me...I almost fell down the stairs. The wee woman thought it very funny until it was near the last step and she ran off leaving me alone with the eight legged monster. I finally got my shoe action right, in a nick of time I think. I was winded, I don't think I could have lasted much longer.

Good timing on this post, but I guess with the weather turning their all going to want lodging now. The thoughts of it, I can't stand spiders me, shoes at the ready.


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## StormFeather (Sep 23, 2013)

Generally I don't mind spiders - unless they crawl over me unexpectedly!  I was sun bathing one summer and felt a tickle on my face - a huge thing was crawling across me.  Cue the kind of screaming that you cannot control!!

However, after this story has now made it onto the radio, and the kids heard about it over the weekend, my littlest one has started screaming at the sight of anything even vaguely spider-like.  And the Daddy-long-legs are out and about, which made our weekend walks quite noisey!

And this morning, whilst giving the kids a lift to school, my son merrily lets me know that there is a spider web, with spider, right above my head.  'But don't worry Mummy, he's just sitting there, watching you!!'

Yeah, great!!


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## David Evil Overlord (Sep 23, 2013)

jastius said:


> birds eat spiders... why don't you bring in the birds that like to munch the things like pringles?



We have spiders here that eat birds...


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## Bowler1 (Sep 23, 2013)

David Evil Overlord said:


> We have spiders here that eat birds...


 
How are they with shoes? 

More importantly, how fast are they?


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## Ursa major (Sep 23, 2013)

Worried that they might... er... slip away, are you?









​


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## Perpetual Man (Sep 23, 2013)

Hmm. Devon.

Was in the shed on Saturday considering a tidy up when I noticed something on the back of an old electric fire. It was like a hand, five long fingers reaching up over the edge, any thing else was out of sight. 

But they were huge.

(Not big - big, we saw a bird eating Spider at the zoo and it would have crushed this thing easy... but big for something at home...)

Anyhoo left the shed and decided to leave the tidying until later.

Having read the article I will now be locking the door, and leave the shed to its own devices.


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## Bowler1 (Sep 23, 2013)

Ursa major said:


> Worried that they might... er... slip away, are you?


 
I wish they would slip away, slip up or any sort of slipping and give me a sporting chance - eight legs = very sure footed and fast moving big black scary things. 

And now I can't even go in my shed, and I never had a shed till a few weeks ago!


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## Ursa major (Sep 23, 2013)

I thought everyone knew that:
SHED = Spider Hotel; Expect Danger​


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## Mouse (Sep 23, 2013)

Sheds are definitely spider hotels. Though the hotel I used to work at was a spider hotel. I actually got chased down the corridor once by a monster spider. The girls laughed at me.


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## Bowler1 (Sep 23, 2013)

There was a lot to be said for having the top floor flat, a few extra stories must wear all their legs out or something - I never saw any of the monsters. Now I'm in middle England I've got to think about paying protection to use my own shed - leafy = wildlife, no-one warned me about that pitfall.


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## Ursa major (Sep 23, 2013)

Ursa major said:


> I thought everyone knew that:
> SHED = Spider Hotel; Expect Danger​


I think my memory was playing up when I posted the above:

1. So, actually, SHED = Spider Hotel; Extreme Danger

2. That message was fly-posted; as a human, you should probably be okay.


(But having a Ray Gun to hand wouldn't do any harm.)


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## Kylara (Sep 23, 2013)

One of our cats loves spiders...she sits and pats them then either eats it or squishes it and wanders off...highly amusing, but then the worst we get is a flood of what we call "harvest spiders" but they are in fact house spiders (we get harvest spiders too, but they are easily squashable)...


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## HareBrain (Sep 23, 2013)

Dear God, did that photo have to be quite so many screens big?

(Breathe deep. Slug wine.)

Edit: aaaaah, that's better.


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## Mouse (Sep 23, 2013)

Oh for the love of Christ. Why do I keep clicking on this thread??


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## Kylara (Sep 23, 2013)

Haha sorry HB I have been frantically resizing in the editing bar >_< it is now much smaller and less terrifying. We have a beautiful pair of orb weavers on the outside side of the kitchen windows and they are lovely and pretty - can get a really close look at them through the glass. The house spiders do however have a nasty habit of chilling in/on beds which is annoying...

ETA: for a truly creepy picture of the house spiders in all their glory click this link  http://www.uksafari.com/jpeg3/sphouse4.jpg


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## Bowler1 (Sep 23, 2013)

Kylara said:


> ETA: for a truly creepy picture of the house spiders in all their glory click this link  http://www.uksafari.com/jpeg3/sphouse4.jpg


 
Don't do it... you'll be sorry. 

I'm in a corner with a RAY GUN set to full power - I don't dare hide behind the sofa in case I'm not alone.


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## Mirannan (Sep 23, 2013)

I'm not arachnophobic, but had an experience about 3 years ago that would have had me disappearing down the road at high speed if I was. There was an orb spider (I think) resident in a tree at the front of my house, and one fine morning I came out of the house to find one of my wheelie bins with what I think was several hundred spiderlings (body about 2mm across, maybe) crawling all over it. I tried to take a picture but my camera isn't good enough.


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## Nounboy (Sep 24, 2013)

I don't want to sound pedantic, but spiders are venomous, not poisonous. Animals are venomous (spiders, jellyfish, stonefish, snakes, etc). Plants are poisonous.

I am allowed to be pedantic on this topic because I live in Australia, home of every venomous creature on the planet (an exaggeration, of course, but not far from the truth).


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## David Evil Overlord (Sep 24, 2013)

Spiders might be poisonous, too. You'd have to eat one to find out...


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## Nounboy (Sep 24, 2013)

David Evil Overlord said:


> Spiders might be poisonous, too. You'd have to eat one to find out...



Correct. You go first. I'll follow


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## Mirannan (Sep 24, 2013)

There are other poisonous animals, too. Arrow poison frogs come to mind. Also Spanish Fly beetles. However, the distinction is worth making.

I believe that quite a lot of venoms are not poisonous by ingestion - unless you have an ulcer, maybe. IIRC rattlesnake venom is one of them.

And just to confuse it even more, some plants are venomous too - although I have rarely seen them described that way. The commonest one is probably the stinging nettle.


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## Nounboy (Sep 24, 2013)

Poison frog is a good example of non-venomous animal. But does the frog use poison glands as offensive "weapons" when hunting food? 

Interesting tale: In Australia we had a postage stamp set titled "Dangerous Creatures", featuring crocodile, shark, etc. The original set also had a stamp featuring the red-back spider, a small spider which gets aggressive if disturbed. No fatalities from its bite, though, in many years. But painful and very toxic. Anyway, they had to recall the first batch of stamps because the stamp on an envelope, sitting in someone's mailbox, could be mistaken for the real thing. Pensioners, and small children, were freaked out by the stamp. 

True tale


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## Starbeast (Sep 26, 2013)

The rise of spiders is happening here in my own town. But it's ok, cause I know that means the insects are on the rise too. The spiders will decrease their numbers.

There are two, beautiful, large yellow and black garden spiders living peacefully on the front of my garage. I rarely see that type of spider, so I let them live there. And they're smart enough not to attach their big webs on my garage door for the car, or get in the way of the car puling in and out.

Plus, I have a small varity of arachnid species creeping around, and hunting the insects in my home. They look plump, so I know they're doing their job.


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## StormFeather (Oct 11, 2013)

Just to give us UK dwellers nasty tingles down the back of our necks:

False Widow Spider Bite Causes Essex Decorator Ricki Whitmore To Almost Lose Leg (PICTURES)


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## Bowler1 (Oct 12, 2013)

Ouch! One little spider did all that, the poor guy's leg, its a mess.


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## StormFeather (Oct 16, 2013)

And, in a complete turnabout - this article is actually quite calming:

Guest Post: The False Scourge of the False Widow | The Elwell Press


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## DaCosta (Oct 24, 2013)

Holy crap, you guys just have to post pictures too?! I have no idea why I read all of this thread because now I'm going to spend the next hour seeing phantom spiders in my living room. 

Bleurgh!


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## AMB (Oct 24, 2013)

A year or so back, I noticed a spider set up in one corner on my ceiling. A while later there was a second not so very far away from the first. Next I looked the spiders were together, and I came to realise over the course of a day or so that one was lunch for t'other. Three or four spiders went this same way. None there now. I think word got out and all the other spiders started avoiding it, so the remaining spider went off in search for food elsewhere. I never saw anything else get caught there.


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## mosaix (Oct 24, 2013)

Whilst working away on contract I lodged with a family for a couple of years. Their bath had a spider shaped chip in the enamel. I must have entered their bathroom a thousand times and on every single occasion, without exception, something in my brain said "Oh! A Spider." 

There's definitely something in the human psyche that says 'be aware of things that are spider shaped - especially if they are spiders '.


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## Brian G Turner (Oct 24, 2013)

The solution to all this is more frogs. Vive les amphibians!


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## Mirannan (Oct 24, 2013)

It's probably been one of my guests for quite a while and it lives outside anyway. but I've lately found a really big orb spider (I think) just outside my front door. The main part of its body is about 0.5cm across, leg spread is maybe 2cm. 

I've left it alone. AFAIK they aren't venomous enough to be a problem to humans and as others have noted they eat insects. Yum!


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## StormFeather (Oct 24, 2013)

I do think they were taking it a bit far with this:

BBC News - Spider outbreak school in Forest of Dean defends closure



> Entomologist Steven Falk said: "[The noble false widow] has got a toxic bite but the bite is on a par with a honey-bee sting.
> 
> "They're nowhere near as dangerous as the media is making out, so we're a little bit surprised [that the school was closed]."



Be warned - big picture of a spider at top of the page!


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## DaCosta (Oct 25, 2013)

StormFeather said:


> I do think they were taking it a bit far with this:
> 
> BBC News - Spider outbreak school in Forest of Dean defends closure
> 
> ...



Thank you for the warning - I'm not opening that link.


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## DaCosta (Oct 25, 2013)

Just saw this and thought of you scary lot...

Scary Legs - Simon's Cat - YouTube


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