False Widow Spider

Gammysnr

Why all the panicking, is this spider that bad? Just been down in the archives at work as a colleague has refused to go down there as she saw this 'killer' spider down there. Told her I smashed it with one of the files, but I picked up a 'spider' and threw it out the fire exit. Was I risking my life?

ShootersHillGuru

Certainly a near death experience.

ValleyGary

havent they killed precisely zero people?

Macronate

yes.

if there's one thing this species hate, it's being chucked out of a fire exit. they liken it to being ejected from a nightclub.

expect a violent riposte from friends and members of the family.

Rizzo

My understanding is that you're at no more risk from these than you are from a bee sting. It's only fatal if you suffer an allergic reaction to the venom.

That being said, I'd still kill the bugger if I saw one.

cafctom

I think the biggest fear for many seems to the fact that there are a load of spiders about and people are terrified of them. No shame in saying I'm one of those!

JT

Bedsaddick

More chance of dying from a wasp sting - Fuss over nothing.

Shag

Found one in the kitchen last night

Gammysnr

Macronate said:

yes.

if there's one thing this species hate, it's being chucked out of a fire exit. they liken it to being ejected from a nightclub.

expect a violent riposte from friends and members of the family.

I didn't realize they were such a vengeful species. I'll keep my eyes peeled and take a rolled up Nuts magazine next time I'm down in archive (to protect me from spider attack)

sam3110

What do they even look like? Had lots of spiders in my house recently just been catching them and throwing them out the window so far

LargeAddick

stick a load of conkers around the house, simples. Apparently spiders hate them (especially if you bang them on the head with one).

ShootersHillGuru

This is the beast

DA1

Now theyve killed Gadafi/Bin Laden/Saddam we need a new media bogey man.

Looks like the spider is it.

nth_london_addick

I caught one the other night in my boys bug catching Hoover thing, it has a chamber and you can magnify them, they are a quality spider

Leroy Ambrose

Most of the spiders you'll see in your house are the common house spider. They're absolutely rampant at this time of year - and are the horrible fast moving fuckers always at the periphery of your vision when you're sitting down watching telly. I'd imagine the vast majority of false widow sightings are just regular house spiders.

ShootersHillGuru

Leroy Ambrose said:

Most of the spiders you'll see in your house are the common house spider. They're absolutely rampant at this time of year - and are the horrible fast moving fuckers always at the periphery of your vision when you're sitting down watching telly. I'd imagine the vast majority of false widow sightings are just regular house spiders.

This. House spiders are wolf spiders. Roaming and predatory whereas the False Widow will be predominantly hidden away in walls and dark damp places in a very tangled web complex.

Kap10

cafctom said:

I think the biggest fear for many seems to the fact that there are a load of spiders about and people are terrified of them. No shame in saying I'm one of those!

Hate spider, walked out of the house the other day and walked straight into a web across from the hedge to the car, did I scream!! Thank god there was no one walking past!

I live in fear of a spider dropping down while I am driving!!

I refuse to kill the buggers though, my stupidity should not result in their harm.

Jayajosh

If you hate them, then buy one of those plug-in spider repellent gadgets. My mum has one in every room of the house and is now able to sleep at night.

tangoflash

Don't have a fear of spiders (except for the poisonous ones of course), but one night lying fast asleep in bed, I was woken by something dropping on my face. I grabbed it, feeling around in the dark, thinking it felt like some old straw. As I don't sleep in a barn, I ruled this out and reached over and turned on the lamp........Jesus christ, I've seen dogs smaller than this beast. Still couldn't bring myself to kill it though, so out the window he went................

SuedeAdidas

He would have drowned in a tsunami of shite if that was me.

Macronate

we all eat spiders when we're asleep so what's the big deal?

DRF

Me and the spiders in my house have made a deal. If they sit calmly in the corner they are welcome to live and enjoy watching some quality TV. Should they move, especially if they try and pull that quick dart across the floor shyte, then they die.
Most seem happy with these rules, and one has been living in the hallway for about a week. I assume he is not a fan of The Dome.

Brendan_O_Connell

One of these spiders bit me on the bollocks last night. What used to be my sperm bag is now a big sack of purple pain!!!

ShootersHillGuru

Brendan_O_Connell said:

One of these spiders bit me on the bollocks last night. What used to be my sperm bag is now a big sack of purple pain!!!

I hope you are joking. A feature of any spider venom is necrosis. A necrotic bollock is not what you need.

Leroy Ambrose

I trapped a house spider a while back that was so big, it almost didn't fit under the pint glass I trapped it with. I swear it tried to lift the f***ing glass back up. Threw it outside - I was half expecting a knock on the door a few minutes later and to look down & see it giving me a moody look, telling me not to do it again.

ValleyGary

My mate bumped into this beast at work today

Addickted

The amount of arachnophobics on here amazes me.

Still a tsunami of shite is a phrase to remember!

Mendonca In Asdas

I hate them , really hate them, more than Palace.

nth_london_addick

Gotta love spiders they are puka now rats/mice they are different hate them and try to kill them instantly

bigstemarra

Sorry to be pedantic, but:

1. The swallowing spiders in your sleep thing is an urban myth.
2. The vast majority of spider venoms are not necrotic. Mostly, the necrosis is caused by the secondary infections (fasciitis) caused by bacteria in the mouthparts of the buggers when they bite you.
3. As has already been pointed out - it is the severe allergic reaction experienced by some when bitten by one of these things that has caused the panic (they have been here since the 19th Century); many people have as much chance of the same response if they were stung by a bee, yet people aren't as freaked out by them as they make honey.
4. There are actually two subspecies of Tegenaria (I think), which are the big house spiders that we get in the UK. The ones in the north are smaller than there southern cousins. I can believe some of the tales on here, because I have seen ones in Kent/SE London that are proper monsters!
5. One night in the nineties, about a quarter of a mile from the Valley, one of these buggers https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mediterranean+woodlouse+spider&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=FIddUsPeMKeb0QWE5YHICQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=979#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=v5zyz5FaCP3V9M:;_a7hQ-3d5vkWyM;http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F9%2F9e%2FDysdera_fg01.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDysderidae;1000;665 scuttled across the carpet at my sisters house. I jumped on the bugger because my nephew was sleeping upstairs. A year later, I saw one in a wood pile in Preston. They have a nasty bite even without the immune reaction, but we haven't had much of a media response to it either!

Interesting pic above. It's not a false widow, but it would be nice to see something that gave it a sense of scale so we could see how big it is.