I love spiders. There can be few creatures so fascinating in their behaviour, yet so easy to spot. I haven't seen a false widow yet, but I'm on the lookout. Though as someone said above, I bet that most false widow sightings are false; it's often hard to tell one type from another and someone who's just seen a pic in the paper might well miss some of the many differences that different that spider species have. Here's a few of my recent faves - all found in my house or back yard:
I knew I shouldn't have looked at this! I hate spiders but don't kill them. The little ones get to live a happy life in the house, the big beasties get removed with a Bug Katcha - which is a version of the glass/cardboard method but has a long handle so I can keep well out of the way.
I had to remove one last week that was just about to crawl under the edge of my duvet into my bed. I'm just glad I spotted it before I cuddled up next to it!
I was driving through Sydney and stopped at the traffic lights and a Huntsman came galloping up the bonnet and straight up the windscreen.....I couldnt help but duck......it was about the size of my hand.....pretty harmless though, but with big hairy legs.......we get Mouse Spiders and Funnel webs in the back garden at home....golden rule, always wear gloves when moving stuff in the garden.
I got five nasty bites last year by a white tip......not very pleasant.
I was driving through Sydney and stopped at the traffic lights and a Huntsman came galloping up the bonnet and straight up the windscreen.....I couldnt help but duck......it was about the size of my hand.....pretty harmless though, but with big hairy legs.......we get Mouse Spiders and Funnel webs in the back garden at home....golden rule, always wear gloves when moving stuff in the garden.
I got five nasty bites last year by a white tip......not very pleasant.
One of those Huntsmen ran over my hand in the car when I was down under earlier this year. Scared the absolute living bejesus out of me - it was enormous. My brother laughed his head off at me.
Hell's teeth - when I was in Sydney I looked behind the sun visor before getting into the car. Apparently hunstman spiders love hiding in them and when they come out they can freak people out and cause pile ups. I really wouldn't have appreciated Tel or Leroy's experiences. I know they're not that dangerous, but my god as far as spiders go they don't come much bigger, uglier and speedier. They make even some of our monster house spiders look positively puny!
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.
cheers for the info. interesting about the woodlouse hunter, described as "having huge fangs and that the venom has not been well studied. It is probably wise not to handle these spiders" I think your right that these should be the spider for the media to focus on a bit more. probably cos most people know the name of the black widow spider that this is more of a story, bit of sensationalism.
Never been scared of spiders myself. used to sometimes eat them as a toddler. lucky I didn't live in Australia.
Money spiders, always make a wish when one lands on me! In fact, are they actually called Money Spiders or is this something my dad told me when I was a kid to stop me being scared of them?
My wife is terrified of them - she tried to get out of the car at about 30mph once, because she saw one on the dash! I can't see what the problem is with them - they would scare me if I was a fly I suppose, but generally they are pretty useful as they keep the level of insect pests down!
I was driving through Sydney and stopped at the traffic lights and a Huntsman came galloping up the bonnet and straight up the windscreen.....I couldnt help but duck......it was about the size of my hand.....pretty harmless though, but with big hairy legs.......we get Mouse Spiders and Funnel webs in the back garden at home....golden rule, always wear gloves when moving stuff in the garden.
I got five nasty bites last year by a white tip......not very pleasant.
One of those Huntsmen ran over my hand in the car when I was down under earlier this year. Scared the absolute living bejesus out of me - it was enormous. My brother laughed his head off at me.
Lol they love hiding behind the petrol filler caps too!
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My missus is petrified of them, luckily for her the cats have eaten every single one of the poor critters that has been discovered indoors
I had to remove one last week that was just about to crawl under the edge of my duvet into my bed. I'm just glad I spotted it before I cuddled up next to it!
I got five nasty bites last year by a white tip......not very pleasant.
unless its a red back i wouldnt waste me petrol
If they stay away from me then we don't have a problem
They are just creepy and sinister. And bloody fast.
Great pictures Stig btw
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/10696295.False_widow_spiders__Map_shows_sightings_across_News_Shopper_area/?ref=mr
Never been scared of spiders myself. used to sometimes eat them as a toddler. lucky I didn't live in Australia.
Their webs are incredible too!!! I love 'em.