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Spiders're great. He deserved all that trouble for trying to kill one. :twisted:

There seem to be more spiders this year than I've ever seen. They're everywhere. Is this a special bonanza spider-summer or do I just need to do more dusting? ;)
 
We seem to have more here in central belt scotland this year.

I'm enjoying the way their webs are collecting the greenfly!

what is this "dusting" of which you speak? :)
 
escargot1 said:
Spiders're great. He deserved all that trouble for trying to kill one. :twisted:

There seem to be more spiders this year than I've ever seen. They're everywhere. Is this a special bonanza spider-summer or do I just need to do more dusting? ;)

Snails are easier, just takes a salt cellar.
 
ramonmercado said:
escargot1 said:
Spiders're great. He deserved all that trouble for trying to kill one. :twisted:

There seem to be more spiders this year than I've ever seen. They're everywhere. Is this a special bonanza spider-summer or do I just need to do more dusting? ;)

Snails are easier, just takes a salt cellar.

RUN, ESCARGOT! AS FAST AS YOU FOOT WILL CARRY YOU!

Somehow, I suspect this Seattle guy's solution to killing anything would be a flame-thrower.
 
PeteByrdie said:
Somehow, I suspect this Seattle guy's solution to killing anything would be a flame-thrower.
Could be very wise, apparently:

Mother finds deadly spider eggs in Tesco bananas
Abby Woodgate poked a white lump on her bananas which turned out to be cocoon full of tropical spider eggs
By Bill Gardner
10:12AM BST 10 Sep 2014

A mother who found eggs belonging to one of the world’s most venomous spiders hidden in her Tesco bananas had to have her vacuum incinerated after she tried to clean them up.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... nanas.html
 
This is why I don't suck up spiders in the vacuum cleaner.
 
100 killer spiders rampage through house forcing owner out of his home
A HOUSE of horrors filled with more than 100 killer spiders has been found abandoned.
By Anthiony Walton / Published 11th September 2014

Lethal black widows were crawling around with tarantulas.
Experts also discovered funnel web spiders and scorpions. Dozens more were found dead inside the property. A collector had bought them on the internet.
But when his collection of killers got too much, he fled the property in County Carlow, Ireland.

Kevin Cunningham, from the National Exotic Animal Sanctuary, said: “We had to go in with an expert, catalogue all the species and have the potentially lethal ones like the black widow and funnel web spiders, which can kill you, destroyed.
“They are posted from abroad. Imagine if they got out of the packaging.”

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest- ... ough-house
 
So you'll know when to be afraid.

SPIDER ON WEB

BRITAIN: An app has been launched to help people identify the house spiders that scuttle indoors in autumn.

The number of spiders seen indoors increases suddenly at this time of year as the males go on the hunt for a mate, often leading them into homes where people encounter them in the bath or scurrying from under the sofa.

The Society of Biology is launching a Spider In Da House app with photos, identification tools and information to help people identify and learn more about 12 of the most common spiders which become temporary house guests.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/quir ... 86901.html
 
I've noticed considerably less house spiders since I started acquiring cats. I think they're a kind of crisp-like snack between meals of rabbit and mouse.
 
I don't need cats. My spiders keep the mouse population down. :twisted:
 
We need the cats to keep the spider population down. Usually takes a couple of cats half an hour to get a single spider.
 
rynner2 said:
PeteByrdie said:
Somehow, I suspect this Seattle guy's solution to killing anything would be a flame-thrower.
Could be very wise, apparently:

Mother finds deadly spider eggs in Tesco bananas
Abby Woodgate poked a white lump on her bananas which turned out to be cocoon full of tropical spider eggs
By Bill Gardner
10:12AM BST 10 Sep 2014

A mother who found eggs belonging to one of the world’s most venomous spiders hidden in her Tesco bananas had to have her vacuum incinerated after she tried to clean them up.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... nanas.html

Our family had a similar thing happen sometime in the late 70's .... except the egg sack was found on our Christmas tree. My Dad called in some exterminators instead of trying to deal with it himself who told him they were foreign ... makes me wonder where that tree came from. I'll have to remember to ask him. A fuzzy memory sorry ....
 
Interesting that this thread is bumped just as an appallingly huge tarantula has planted itself on the wall right outside the front door.

It crawled up there to escape the rain. It's just...lurking there. We thought about chasing it away, but none of us were brave enough and anyway we decided it was better to leave it where it could be seen rather than risk it crawling back under cover of darkness.

They have ways, those tarantulas. As soon as you say "I wonder where that tarantula went" it will be up your pants leg. It's like they know.
*shudder*
 
bunnymousekitt said:
Interesting that this thread is bumped just as an appallingly huge tarantula has planted itself on the wall right outside the front door.

It crawled up there to escape the rain. It's just...lurking there. We thought about chasing it away, but none of us were brave enough and anyway we decided it was better to leave it where it could be seen rather than risk it crawling back under cover of darkness.

They have ways, those tarantulas. As soon as you say "I wonder where that tarantula went" it will be up your pants leg. It's like they know.
*shudder*

Errr, what, where do you live? :shock:
 
Mythopoeika said:
Errr, what, where do you live? :shock:

On the rim of the desert, in the land of crawly prickly stingy things. :cry:

The tarantula must be a pretty good weather forecaster, since it moved up to a higher, more sheltered place an hour before a violent thunderstorm hit. Unfortunately, this higher place was directly above the front door. :wince:
Everyone left the house by the back door this morning...
 
I saw a huge spider at the dentist's this week. Don't think it even had an appointment.
 
bunnymousekitt said:
Mythopoeika said:
Errr, what, where do you live? :shock:

On the rim of the desert, in the land of crawly prickly stingy things. :cry:

The tarantula must be a pretty good weather forecaster, since it moved up to a higher, more sheltered place an hour before a violent thunderstorm hit. Unfortunately, this higher place was directly above the front door. :wince:
Everyone left the house by the back door this morning...

Which desert?
According to your profile, you live in GMT-land.
 
Now I've heard that tarantulas are not very dangerous to people at all. They only bite if provoked/attacked and aren't very venomous. Does anyone have the facts on this?

My daughter's (ex) boyfriend kept a pet tarantula for years. It was about 4 inches across and quite beautiful - black fur with fantastic iridescent greens and blues in it. He'd take it out of it's terrarium and we'd let it crawl around on our arms and shirts. Loads of fun.

So hopefully what I've heard is correct.....
 
Mythopoeika said:
Which desert?
According to your profile, you live in GMT-land.

The Chihuahuan desert - on the outer edge of it, technically.

I guess I never re-set the time zone on my profile! (well, I sort of like the idea I'm posting 6 hours in the future, anyway. :lol: )

Sundog, I've heard most tarantulas are not dangerous, but some have a painful bite. But I'm no expert and unwilling to tempt fate (or the tarantula) to find out. :p They will charge at you, which I learned the hard way when uncovering one's hiding place. They can move way too fast for my comfort!
 
They're invading! Terrified couple under attack from aggressive venomous spiders
A YOUNG family are living in fear after an invasion of venomous spiders that attack instead of fleeing took over their home.
Published 20th September 2014

An ultra-aggressive Hobo spider bit dad-of-three Liam Forrester on the arm and left him with a deep infected wound that could take three months to heal.
His partner Kirsty Garland was terrified to find so many in their home and said they may be forced to pack their bags and move in with relatives.

Kirsty, 27, discovered the infestation around two weeks ago when she opened the attic door and a horde of the foreign invaders scuttled out.
Since then she has trapped and killed around thirty of the bloodthirsty spiders — which have three-inch long hairy legs — but they are still coming.

The terrifying invasion in Stockwood, Bristol, comes as experts warn it has been a bumper year for spiders because of the warm weather, with the cooler autumn temperature prompting the arachnids to move indoors.

Kirsty, a full-time mum with a six-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, said: "They are horrible, vile things. I found one in the bath last week, and when I put a pint glass over it, its long legs just filled up the whole glass.

"They don't seem to be scared to run at us either, they run towards us and seem very aggressive.
"When you corner them they rear up their legs. Their bodies are pretty much normal size but it's the legs — the front legs are the size of your hand."

Liam, 24, also has a three year-old son and initially didn't feel it when a spider bit him but the venom quickly caused necrosis of the skin, leaving a sore-looking crater on his arm.

Kirsty added: "If we can't get rid of them I just want to move because we've got three children and I don't want them to be bitten."

Hobo spiders — or Tegenaria agrestis — look like common house spiders, but are bigger, with thick, hairy legs.
They are native to Europe but are an uncommon sight compared to the North American variant.

They make funnel-shaped webs of silk sheeting and lie in wait at the small end to wait for prey — but when approached by humans, they'll charge forward and attempt to bite.

Spider expert Adam Hart of Gloucestershire University said there was an increase in bigger spiders this year but urged the public to remain calm.
He said: "Most bites become nasty because they are not cared for properly and get infected, not because of spider venom.
"If a bite is festering, the wound is going off and you need to seek medical attention."

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest- ... rs#addthis

Bristol?! Why, that's almost in Cornwall!! :shock:
 
I have no idea why I just sat and read all of this thread, as I don't like spiders. Weirdly, like the OP I can look at a tarantula and feel ok, they're quite beautiful and fascinating. Also, we have quite a lot of big webs in our garden with furry, stripey brown spiders on them and I don't mind those either. But I hate the big brown ones that come into the house, I don't want to kill them but just don't want them near me.
We live in an old house and usually me and the spiders have an arrangement, they wait until I'm in bed and then can do what they like, as long as I can't see them.
 
Hannibal said:
We live in an old house and usually me and the spiders have an arrangement, they wait until I'm in bed and then can do what they like, as long as I can't see them.

They occasionally run over me when I'm in bed!
But I choose not to kill them. If I find them, I usually evict them.

They are quite clever in how they gain access to the house. They weave a bit of web outside the front door, then when I open it, they swing in inside and hope I don't notice. I caught a little orb-type spider getting in that way the other day.
 
False widow spider bite 'led to finger amputation'
[video: Andrea Wallace described the result of the bite as "like something out of a horror movie"]

A woman has had a finger amputated - and told she was within hours of death - after being bitten by a false widow spider.
Andrea Wallace, from Seaham, County Durham, was bitten in a Sunderland park and described the result as "like something out of a horror movie".
The attack left her with flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis, which required 10 weeks in hospital.

False widows are the UK's most venomous spider but extreme reactions are rare.
There have been no reported deaths from its bites in the UK and it is understood the spider which bit Ms Wallace contained a bacteria which caused the reaction.

Within an hour of arrival at Sunderland Royal Hospital, Ms Wallace went into surgery as doctors tried to prevent the poison spreading through her body.
She was later transferred to the University Hospital of North Durham.

The hairdresser said: "The pain was like nothing I've been through in my life.
"By the time I got to hospital my finger was bursting open, there was puss, it was black. It was a right mess." :shock:
"They told me if I had been two hours later I would have been dead. It was scary.
"It was like something out of a horror movie."

Doctors attempted to construct a "false finger" but eventually had to amputate.
The mother-of-four has been left with a six-inch scar, but she said: "Losing my finger was a small price to pay.
"I could've lost my life."

---------------------------------------------------

The false widow spider

False widow spiders arrived in south west England in the 1870s

It is Britain's most venomous spider, although there are no reported deaths from its bite in the UK

The spider has distinctive cream markings on its bulbous body and is brown with reddish-orangey legs

It eats insects, invertebrates and even other spiders

It prefers warm, dark places

There have been no reported deaths from its bite in the UK, they are not considered aggressive and generally symptoms are no worse than for a bee or wasp sting

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-29414450
 
AAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!

An Australian man had a tropical spider removed from his stomach after it burrowed its way into his body and survived for three days before being removed.

Dylan Maxwell was on holidays on the Indonesian island of Bali when the tiny creature burrowed through a small appendix scar and travelled up his torso, leaving a red scar-like trail from his navel to his chest.

Lifting his shirt, Dylan told an Australian television network “that’s where it actually burrowed underneath my skin”. ...

http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/spid ... 91926.html
 
For the benefit of arachnophobes who haven't read the other thread :D , further expert opinion is that it was actually a mite. Apparently a spider of that size wouldn't have a powerful enough mouth to burrow into the skin - also, once it (hypothetically) got inside, it would rapidly suffocate before going far. Shame no-one thought to preserve, or even photograph, the offending beast after removal.
 
Shocked Katie Melua found spider living in her ear
Katie Melua discovered she had a spider living in her ear for a week
By Nicola Harley
12:36AM GMT 02 Nov 2014

Singer Katie Melua discovered a spider was living in her ear after suffering scratching in her ear for a week.
The pop star posted a picture of the spider on Instagram after an ear specialist removed it from her ear.

The 30-year-old believes the spider crawled inside her ear after she used a pair of earphones on a flight, according to the Mail On Sunday.

...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebri ... r-ear.html
 
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