Most Dangerous Spider In The Uk

[geo7x]

the false widow spider, or the steatoda nobilis is spreading across the country thanks to warmer temperatures (particularly the mild winters).
It is the most dangerous spider to be living in the wild and breeding in britain, and its bite can put a fully grown man in hospital.
The species has been in the country for over 100 years after being introduced on a cargo of bananas from the canary islands.
But according to Stuart Hine, an insect expert at the Natural History Museum, it is spreading:


"There is no doubt in my mind that this is due to the milder winters caused by global warming,"

"Every year, the UK is breaking records for warm temperatures and it is these temperatures that are keeping the spiders alive. It used to be only a handful of spiders would be able to survive the cold weather so the numbers were always kept down. But now they are all surviving the winter and are crawling out of hibernation earlier to mate."

"The numbers have just rocketed into the hundreds of thousands. They can hide in gardening gloves and will bite when you put your hand in. We would urge gardeners to be on their guard in the future."

quoted from gmtv:

A bite from the false black widow delivers enough poison to cause severe pain and inflammation.

Last year market trader Jason Fricker, 34, from Dorchester, Dorset, spent three days in hospital after one bit him on the chest. An entry on the Natural History Museum's website said a bite from the spider at first caused a burning sensation. It then 'increased in intensity, like being scalded, stabbing pains spread first to armpit then down right arm'.

The entry concluded: 'Also flu-like symptoms, aches, sweats, fatigue, perspiring, cold and shaky. Face and right arm went purplish and slightly puffy. Felt unwell for three days.' Another victim reported that the bite lasted for a similar time before becoming infected.

One study found that the pain was far more severe than that from a wasp or bee sting. Mr Hine added: 'Normally an antihistamine cream will take the pain away but, depending on the amount of venom injected, a doctor may need to be seen.'

The species - only the female of which bites - had been considered native to Dorset but has spread as far as East Anglia. It usually lives on walls, fences and tree bark.

Spider facts

"Steatoda Nobilis' is the the most venomous of the 12 biting spiders in Britain.
Only the females bite and they live for around four years while males die younger.
Despite their reputation, they eat only woodlice and smaller spiders.
They have very poor eyesight and depend mostly on vibrations to find their way around.
They grow to up to half an inch long and are increasingly found in garden sheds and outbuildings

this is worrying news for me as i am an arachnophobiac as it is, and ive always told myself they cant do me any harm to try and overcome it, but now i cant be so sure!

So gardeners be careful this summer! and anyone else who is out and about in the UK.

P.s. sorry to kind of leave out anyone who isnt in the UK

 

[stang1]

Oh no!!!! Geo, I hate spiders, they terrify me and I love gardening! Looks like I'll be dressing in an all-in-one chain mail suit this summer!!!

 

[Gill]

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG i killed 1 of those this morning, I found it in the outdoor sink (dad uses for his photography chemicals) I thought it had interesting markings before killing it with fairy liquid. dear god i am already weak from the illness and meds, if 1 of those things get near me i am gonna scream till mum comes nad kills it now i lnow what they are.

It was small, Gonna have to spray the Greenhouse and outside loo tommorrow.

 

[Erised]

I really did not want to know that. Just when I had decided to start getting used to spiders being around because there's no avoiding them. Like you I had convinced myself that they're harmless animals that are more scared of me than I am of them. Charlottes Web had given me some courage to feel more comfortable around them ... and all that is shot now

Quite worrying, want a cold winter now ... or maybe I'll just have to move back to Holland again.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

I live in the desert of the western US and we have all kinds of spiders in our house that will bite and even possibly kill you! The black widow is one that likes to hide in cool dark places like basements and under gardening eqiupment and it's bite can be fatal. We also have the brown recluse spider that can also inflict a painful bite that can lead to death if not treated by medical professionals. The hobo spider is by far the most common biting spider around my home it's venom is not reported to be fatal, but it causes the bite location to become severely necrotic. First you get a small blister which eventually rots away and spreads till it covers an area about the size of an orange, and people have died from complications and infection as a result of this spiders bite. We have usually got one or two people in the burn ICU of my hospital that I work in who are recieving treatment for hobo spider bites.

The best way to avoid being bitten is to shake out gardenong gloves thoroughly even swinging them against the side of your house. Always do the same with your shoes and any clothing you may try and wear that has been on the floor. The other thing they tell us is to vacuum our houses more frequently, these spiders blend into the carpet very well and by vacuuming you can suck up and kill any that are on the floor. I notice that the last suggestion helps immensely!

Good Luck!

SLC

 

[The-Wolf]

there are over 800 spiders for every man woman and child on this planet.
also bear in mind that you are never more than 8 feet rom a spider.

Sleep well geo

 

[CFC]

I found one of these when i was working on my new fish house, it was an interesting looking beasty to say the least so we brought it indoors and released it in the fishroom as a natural method of eating some of the escaped crickets from feeding the mrs reptiles and tarantulas, last time i looked it was happily living under one the racks of tanks looking fat and healthy, i just hope its not a female and lays hundreds of eggs in there

 

[dane261]

mind you i have been to iraq twice now and they are home to the also nasty camel spider which comes looking for trouble

there was one time we had the austrailian army with us and a baby came out and they were like thats nothing that laughing untill mommy came out then it was like where the hell is everyone its the only spider that i know that chases you wanting to bite you and remember they come into this country every month when all the kit comes back from iraq in containers


ps the money spider is the worlds most toxic spider but has no threat to humans as there fangs can not penatrate human skin

 

[CFC]

Camel spiders or sun spiders as they are also known are not actually spiders at all (they are Solifugids) and have no venom delivery in their bite, their bite however is extreemly powerfull and large specimins can tear sizeable chunks of flesh out of whatever they bite as well as being very aggressive animals that will attempt to eat anything that moves.

The money spider being the most venomous spider is a myth along with daddy long legs and house spiders which have also been attributed the same claim, the most venemous spider is infact the Brazilian wandering spider http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_wandering_spider . If anyone is unlucky enough to ever come across one of them i suggest getting as far away as possible as fast as possible.

 

[kewskills]

no please tell me some more dangerous more poisonious spiders, i dont want to sleep anymore.

i think i will stick to fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dane261]

imangine keeping one of them brazilian spiders as a pet

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yeah last year a guy in Wiltshire apparently got bitten by one of these spiders, scary for me since i was brought up near Salisbury and my mum still lives near there on a farm, i swear i've seen those spiders before over here too;

http/www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2006/no...news_10051.html


But i'm glad i know what it looks exactly like now and what its called so i can ID any if i see them- IMHO, spiders aren't that bad though since they can't fly and most are generally not agressive, its hornets and wasps that freak me out a lot more, i had a hornet in my house not long ago and that scared the hell out of me, the evil little bastard.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

What about the Funnel-Web spiders from the Sydney Australia area?

Heard those are nasty too!

SLC

 

[dane261]

Yeah last year a guy in Wiltshire apparently got bitten by one of these spiders, scary for me since i was brought up near Salisbury and my mum still lives near there on a farm, i swear i've seen those spiders before over here too;

sailsbury plain lots of spiders there that have kept me company during the night

 

[Maximus]

"sailsbury plain lots of spiders there that have kept me company during the night "


Great, I live next to salisbury....


On another note, my sister and her bf are currently travelling
around the world. About 2 months ago, Lee (her bf) got bit by
a spider in oz, he was in hospital for 2 days and had to take
anti-biotics!