False widow spiders UK

[MrsButterfly]

Just seen a story on my facebook wall about these venomous spiders across the UK and apparently they are on the rise. For some unknown reason I clicked on it and now I'm permanently scarred after seeing some of the photos on the newspaper site. *shudder*

I am terrified of spiders and frequently have nightmares about them. Don't think tonight is going to go too well....

So, has anyone spotted one??

 

[lhancock90]

I'm afraid of dark corners and the inside of my shoes thanks to all these stories!

 

[dani_tinks]

We've had them for a while lurking in Cornwall so it's not really big news to me. I think the media are loving it a little too much though & trying to cause panic.
They do have a venomous bite but it is usually compared to a bee/wasp sting. But as with those stings, some people react worse than others.

 

[Squidge]

Dirty things they are. They terrify the crap outta me all my facebook newsfeed is full of links to newspapers about spiders!!

 

[KayBea]

makes no difference to me as any spider i see no matter what shape/size or colour gets suckered up the hoover/squished with my boot!!

urghhhh I hate the 8 legged freaky buggers!!

 

[sweetlullaby]

I havn't seen anything yet I do HATE spiders though *shudders*

 

[lhancock90]

makes no difference to me as any spider i see no matter what shape/size or colour gets suckered up the hoover/squished with my boot!!

urghhhh I hate the 8 legged freaky buggers!!

Aren't you afraid they'll lay eggs in your hoover and explode out and eat you


Genuinely my fear!

 

[LoolaBear]

we had one in the womens toilets at work.

that and the common brown spider are the only two i recognise jsut by looking at them strangely enough.

reported it to pest control on site, they came to get rid of it and it had already gone, never been seen since and that was almost a year ago.

they may be the UK's most venomous spider but to most the bite is like a sting/injection which normally swells, feels hot and sore for a few days then goes. unfortunately due to people reporting their own experiences to the papers we only see the worse case scenario's and it puts a fear into people thinking that that is what will happen to them if they get bitten.

Just leave them be and they won't bite. if you notice a nest then call someone who knows how to get rid of them to reduce the risk of you getting bitten, if its just a spider then deal with it how you normally would.

i don't like spiders and will get someone else to deal with them if i can but if i'm on my own i can handle them, because i'm brave! lol

 

[LoolaBear]

makes no difference to me as any spider i see no matter what shape/size or colour gets suckered up the hoover/squished with my boot!!

urghhhh I hate the 8 legged freaky buggers!!

Aren't you afraid they'll lay eggs in your hoover and explode out and eat you


Genuinely my fear!

if i hoover them up i dispose of the hoover contents straight away just incase this happens as that is what i would be scared of!

 

[suzib76]

The daily mail have created mass panic after showing the horrific picture of that mans badly sewn up leg

It's important to remember that he suffered an infection after the bite, not all people do. That was an extreme case

Fecking daily mail

 

[sapphire1]

Yep. I found the first noble false widow in Scotland - it must have hitched a lift from England when I was visiting family . I caught it in a jar and took it to a spider expert, who confirmed it, as well as it being confirmed by several experts who saw pictures. It caused excitement in the spider world as they're not usually found so far north lol. They're very common on the south coast, but not so much further north.

 

[lhancock90]

Yep. I found the first noble false widow in Scotland - it must have hitched a lift from England when I was visiting family . I caught it in a jar and took it to a spider expert, who confirmed it, as well as it being confirmed by several experts who saw pictures. It caused excitement in the spider world as they're not usually found so far north lol. They're very common on the south coast, but not so much further north.

After terrifying us with it first on FB

 

[blueskai]

Yep. I found the first noble false widow in Scotland - it must have hitched a lift from England when I was visiting family . I caught it in a jar and took it to a spider expert, who confirmed it, as well as it being confirmed by several experts who saw pictures. It caused excitement in the spider world as they're not usually found so far north lol. They're very common on the south coast, but not so much further north.

After terrifying us with it first on FB

ahhh, Boris - good times

xo

 

[lhancock90]

Yep. I found the first noble false widow in Scotland - it must have hitched a lift from England when I was visiting family . I caught it in a jar and took it to a spider expert, who confirmed it, as well as it being confirmed by several experts who saw pictures. It caused excitement in the spider world as they're not usually found so far north lol. They're very common on the south coast, but not so much further north.

After terrifying us with it first on FB

ahhh, Boris - good times

xo

We know she misses him

 

[Sarahkka]

Here you go, you arachnophobes!
https://www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyth/myths/asleep.html
So now you can relax and give the next spider you see a nice cuddle!

 

[bumpy_j]

Are they big? I don't mind about the bites, just the size ;( would rather have a sore arm caused by a diddly spider, then have one of those hairy beasts within ten feet of me.

 

[supertabby]

Daily Fail strikes again with "killer spiders" stories! They are venomous but most people only get a red mark and bit of swelling - but a few people are very allergic and could have a severe reaction. It's only like a bee sting, it'll hurt but be fairly harmless to the majority of people. Also like a bee sting the spiders only bite if they feel very threatened. These spiders aren't new to the UK, it's just that they're usually only ffound in the south but are being discovered further north now. I know plenty of people down south and don't know anyone who's ever been bit.

I definitely don't want to see one - I hate hate hate spiders - but I'm not stressing about deadly bites.

 

[Pearls18]

I am terrified of spiders, I don't give a crap if it is poisonous or not I hate them all equally. I genuinely cried trying to Hoover up an already dead spider one time because they freak me out so much. My husband is going away for a week and half with work on the weekend and I am genuinely stressing about if I see a spider because I can't be in a room with them but I absolutely can not sort them out myself

 

[suzib76]

I am terrified of spiders, I don't give a crap if it is poisonous or not I hate them all equally. I genuinely cried trying to Hoover up an already dead spider one time because they freak me out so much. My husband is going away for a week and half with work on the weekend and I am genuinely stressing about if I see a spider because I can't be in a room with them but I absolutely can not sort them out myself

I have this level of fear as well

When I read about people hoovering them up it freaks me out! I could never in a million years hold a Hoover tube while a spider went up inside it

The best I can do if they are on flat carpet (not stairs) is throw a plastic bowl over them, usually a salad bowl type. Hubby is quite used to coming home and finding bowls upside down quite randomly about the house

 

[MrsButterfly]

A few weeks ago I was genuinely in tears, stood on a chair, building up the courage to drop a massive boot on one terrorising me!

I know the venom isn't too bad with the false widows but man, those spiders are ugly!

And about their eggs exploding out of the Hoover, one of the stories I clicked on had a picture of a mummy spider with like a gazillion babies running around her. Actually feel sick even typing that. Think I need hypnotherapy....!