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False widow spiders

Has anyone else noticed the huge amount of false widow spiders around here lately ??
I live next to blackheath rugby club and have found them nesting outside my kids bedroom window and even in my car wing mirrors.
image
That's one I got the other day.
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Comments

  • My son lives in a cul-de-sac in South Ockendon and all the houses are running alive with them. They have spent the weekend jet washing all the exterior walls to try and kill them off. Give a nasty bite apparently.
  • Great! We've got a plague of them coming, I hate spiders!
  • Welcome to the board Borncafc. That was a long wait for your first post about...er...spiders.
  • edited July 2014
    Get horse chestnuts (conkers) as spiders cannot stand them! Worked in my Garage!
  • edited July 2014
    @Stig‌ is our in house bug expert but I'm pretty sure they are both non aggressive and their bite's fairly harmless. Just got a bad press.
  • I think their bite is similar to that of a bee or wasp.
    Only dangerous if you are allergic.

    Probably wrong now I've said that so hope someone can confirm or deny
  • I found a couple just like that in Crystal Palace last week. They were hiding in the conservatory.
  • Get in your sleigh and dump them on selhurst then!
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  • Borncafc said:

    Get in your sleigh and dump them on selhurst then!

    False Widows & False Atmosphere - they're made for each other!
  • The Valley is full of them! remember to take your bicycle clips to stop them running up your trouser leg.
  • Not a problem unless you are Bear Grylls.
  • This was all over the news 6 months ago, must admit I thought the spider appocolypse had past.
  • shine166 said:

    This was all over the news 6 months ago, must admit I thought the spider appocolypse had past.

    That's what they wanted us to think... but they can't fool me. I'm onto you, you many-legged monsters - I will not let the arachnid conspiracy triumph.
  • @Stig‌ is our in house bug expert but I'm pretty sure they are both non aggressive and their bite's fairly harmless. Just got a bad press.

    So they are the millwall of the arachnid world!
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  • Yes there are look-alikes. The bites can cause major stress though, my mate had to go hospital as the bite eventually took a chunk out of his flesh.

    I'm fine with spiders part from those f*ckers.
  • Yum dinner

    image
  • edited July 2014
    It's a little difficult to say with any certainty exactly how potent the bite of the "False Widow" is. There are several reasons for this. First, there are several species of spider that have been given this unfortunate nom de plume (though mainly from the genus Steotoda), so it's not always certain what we are talking about when we say "False Widow". Secondly, it's not always easy to identify spiders even with photographic evidence; even people with some experience can (and do) get it wrong. Thirdly, it's not the bite per se that does the damage but the venom within it - and that can have very different effects depending upon who is being bitten. What we do know is that those spiders commonly likened to the black widow tend to be non-aggressive and will only bite when they perceive a threat.

    I was lucky enough to have this encounter on Tuesday in a Sussex pub. I think it's a Steatoda grossa (and if I'm right it's an older female). I rescued her from the sink in the gents, worried that some arse would try to wash her down the plughole. She ran up my arm and onto my back and then off into the garden. From my experience if you treat them with love and care, you'll have no problems.

    Sadly I only had my compact camera on me so I could't get any decent shots.

    Steatoda Grossa 2

    Steatoda Grossa
  • Top stuff Stig, spiders are great.
  • @Stig‌

    Why are we seeing this species in this country now. I don't remember hearing about them before ?
  • edited July 2014
    I don't know, it maybe a climate change thing or perhaps we've got stowaways in overseas cargo. They have been recorded here for 100 years though, so they're not entirely new. Interestingly though, Steatoda nobilis which is the main spider named as a "False Widow" is known as the European Spider in the US and they are questioning how they have more of them recently.
  • This is the one I encountered last year


    image
  • I was told by my Grandmother so probably an old wives tail,that if one heard a Ticking Spider in the house it meant some one was going to die soon.
  • Sure it wasn't a rucksack?
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