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  • Fearsome venomous spider hitches a ride in international shipping container to Dumbarton
  • 11:52, 12 SEP 2016
  • UPDATED 11:53, 12 SEP 2016
  • BY RECORD REPORTER
Alarmed workers call in Scottish SPCA amid fears feorocious looking Huntsman spider could kill.
  • Alarmed workers call in Scottish SPCA amid fears feorocious looking Huntsman spider could kill.

  • 3SHARES

Scottish SPCA
Spider-2.jpg

The Scottish SPCA has removed a Huntsman spider found in Dumbarton after the animal had stowed away on an overseas shipping container.

The spider was discovered by workers at a manufacturing firm on the morning of Friday September 9.

They immediately called the Scottish SPCA after the workers raised concerns that the unidentified spider could be extremely poisonous.

The spider was safely removed by the Scottish SPCA and Scotland's animal welfare charity is currently trying to find the animal a specialist home.

The species is common in most warm to tropical regions of the world, including much of Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Americas.

Although the bite of a huntsman spider is of low risk to humans, a large spider can give a painful bite.

Scottish SPCA
Spider-1.jpg

Scottish SPCA Animal Rescue Officer Emma Bonner was first to attend the scene at the manufacturing firm.

She said, “We were called to a manufacturing business on Stirling Road, Dumbarton , on Friday morning (September 9), after we received reports of a large spider.

“When I arrived one of the employees had managed to get the spider inside a clear bag within a container. We didn’t know if it was venomous.”

The spider was passed to Scottish SPCA Chief Inspector Fiona Henderson who contacted an arachnid specialist to help identify the species of the spider.

Scottish SPCA Chief Inspector Fiona Henderson said, “An arachnid expert identified it as a Huntsman spider.

“We believe that due to a yellow stripe on its abdomen that the spider is female.

“It would be hard to say where it is from exactly due to the fact it arrived here in a shipping container.

“It must be a tough little spider as it has done well to survive living in a cold container for so long before arriving in Scotland.

“If a Huntsman spider bites you it will not kill you but it does contain venom. If you do get bitten by one it can be extremely painful.

“Because it’s a Huntsman it’s not native to this country so we can’t release the spider anywhere in Scotland.

“Collectors would also be concerned due to the fact that it’s a wild species. If there are any bacteria or bugs that the spider is carrying that we are not aware of then it could introduce those to other species.

“The spider appears in good condition and is already an adult so we are going to try to find a specialist home for it.”

Anyone who discovers an exotic creature should call the Scottish SPCA animal helpline on 03000 999 999.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/fearsome-venomous-spider-hitches-ride-8816867
 
There used to be some in Blackpool Zoo the label on the tank said not dangerous,
a mate got bit by one in Australia he was ill for over 6 months and carried a
scar on his forehead till he died.
 
There used to be some in Blackpool Zoo the label on the tank said not dangerous,
a mate got bit by one in Australia he was ill for over 6 months and carried a
scar on his forehead till he died.
Was it the bite that killed him ?

I was in detention as a school lad once (more than once if I'm being honest) when a spider bit me on the neck. That's not a very common thing to happen in England. Unfortunately I didn't develop any super powers, just another detention for shouting out until my Mum put a stop to that ..
 
No the bite didn't kill him but I don't think it helped,
yes I to have been bit wile in the UK on the wrist
came up like a balloon for about a week but no lasting
problems luckily.
 
ERECTNOPHOBIA
Family flee home after finding spiders that can either kill or give you an erection lasting FOUR HOURS in Asda bananas
Dad-of-two Ashley Gamble said it was like 'something out of a horror movie' when the insects burst from the fruit

A TERRIFIED family have quit their home after it was invaded by dozens of the world’s deadliest spiders – that arrived on a banana from their local Asda.

Ashley Gamble, his partner Sophia Newcombe, and their two daughters fled after dozens of the creepie-crawlies burst out of a nest that was stuck to a piece of fruit and spilled onto the kitchen floor as they unpacked their shopping.

The Brazilian wandering spiders have a bite that can kill in two hours and are amongst the most venomous on earth.

Its venom can also cause an erection lasting up to FOUR HOURS in victims.

Forklift truck driver Ashley, 28, said the scene was like “something out of a horror movie” – and is refusing to return to the house until Asda pays for it to be fumigated. ...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18208...TheSunNewspaper-_-20160921-_-News-_-592690719
 
ERECTNOPHOBIA
Family flee home after finding spiders that can either kill or give you an erection lasting FOUR HOURS in Asda bananas
Dad-of-two Ashley Gamble said it was like 'something out of a horror movie' when the insects burst from the fruit

A TERRIFIED family have quit their home after it was invaded by dozens of the world’s deadliest spiders – that arrived on a banana from their local Asda.

Ashley Gamble, his partner Sophia Newcombe, and their two daughters fled after dozens of the creepie-crawlies burst out of a nest that was stuck to a piece of fruit and spilled onto the kitchen floor as they unpacked their shopping.

The Brazilian wandering spiders have a bite that can kill in two hours and are amongst the most venomous on earth.

Its venom can also cause an erection lasting up to FOUR HOURS in victims.

Forklift truck driver Ashley, 28, said the scene was like “something out of a horror movie” – and is refusing to return to the house until Asda pays for it to be fumigated. ...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18208...TheSunNewspaper-_-20160921-_-News-_-592690719
In that article, does it say where this is? I couldn't find a mention of where it was.
 
I couldn't find a mention of where it was.

The story is copied and pasted everywhere. Finding a version in a Scunthorpe paper, I thought I may have identified the source but there is no more detail in that! It has gone international. Proof of the abysmal standard of clickbait journalism. :rolleyes:
 
You expect details like facts in a Sun article?!

They don't even know the difference between an insect and an arachnid. Or they're talking down to their readers, one or the other.
 
They don't even know the difference between an insect and an arachnid. Or they're talking down to their readers, one or the other.
It's The Sun, the readers don't care if it's an insect or an arachnid as long as it has big tits.
 
Nah, they're on about illegal immigrants, they care about those.
 
Well, simply we're afraid of them because they were one of the things that could kill us back on the African savannah.

But yea, it's better to explore the fear so that it loses it's mystique.
 
Lions were one of the things that could kill us back on the African savannah yet they don't invoke the same feelings of horror and revulsion that spiders do.
 
Lions were one of the things that could kill us back on the African savannah yet they don't invoke the same feelings of horror and revulsion that spiders do.

Lack of familiarity. Put me in a room with a house spider and a lion and I'll tell you which one I'd be more afraid of.
 
There's a distinct difference between the effect a spider has on me and the feeling of panic I might experience in the presence of a lion or bear or large stranger in a dark alley. The spider feeling is almost like a programming to avoid something, even though it's something I know is harmless. Some people put it down to the reactions we've observed in one or other of our parents at a young age. My mother has a spider phobia, so perhaps that's why I do. At no time during my early years do I remember seeing my mother react with fear in the presence of a lion, perhaps because they're scarce in Cambridgeshire. That doesn't necessarily explain why so many people have a phobia of this order (araneae) of animals. Their fellow arachnids, harvestmen, give me no trouble at all. I would be wary of scorpions for obvious reasons, but they've never given me the creeps.
 
Curiously, a common hallucination that alcoholics going through during detox experience is of vivid very large spiders (I've also heard of bin liners being mistaken for poodles) .. watching that episode of 'Walking With Monsters' ( a spin off of walking with dinosaurs ) creep'd me out enough with those giant spiders that genuinely existed through fossil records ..

 
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Curiously, a common hallucination that alcoholics going through during detox experience is of vivid very large spiders (I've also heard of bin liners being mistaken for poodles) .. watching that episode of 'Walking With Monsters' ( a spin off of walking with dinosaurs ) creep'd me out enough with those giant spiders that genuinely existed through fossil records ..


I mistook a bin liner for an ABC once. I saw a black shape through some bushes and thought "Aha! A big black cat!" I grabbed the camera and crept up on it only to find it was a tattered bin liner hanging on a fence.
I'm still wondering what was worse - mistaking a bin liner for a big cat or being daft enough to sneak up on a big cat.
 
Spider bites Australian man on penis again

A 21-year-old Australian tradesman has been bitten by a venomous spider on the penis for a second time.
The man was using a portable toilet on a Sydney building site on Tuesday, when he suffered a repeat of the incident five months ago.

Jordan, who preferred not to reveal his surname, said he was bitten on "pretty much the same spot" by the spider.
"I'm the most unlucky guy in the country at the moment," he told the BBC.
"I was sitting on the toilet doing my business and just felt the sting that I felt the first time.
"I was like 'I can't believe it's happened again.' I looked down and I've seen a few little legs come from around the rim."

He said that being bitten the first time had made him wary of using portable toilets.
"After the first time it happened I didn't really want to use one again," he said.

"Toilets got cleaned that day and I thought it was my opportunity to go use one. Had a look under both seats and then I sat down did my business. Next thing you know, I'm bent over in pain."

The tradesman said he was not sure what type of spider bit him this time.
One of his colleagues took him from the worksite in north-west Sydney to Blacktown Hospital - although many of his workmates were quick to see the lighter side of the situation.

"They got worried the first time," he said.
"This time they were making jokes before I was getting in the car."
He was released from hospital and said he expected to return to work soon but was unlikely to be using the on-site toilet.
"I think I'll be holding on for dear life to be honest," he said.

The redback spider, closely related to the black widow spider, is distinguished by a long red stripe on its abdomen.
Its bite causes severe pain, sweating and nausea.
Although there are recorded cases of deaths from redback bites, none have occurred since the development of antivenom in 1956.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-37481251
 
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