Still Waters Posted November 13, 2011 #1 Share Posted November 13, 2011 A deadly spider, an ant which feeds on open wounds and another which causes a stench like rotten coconuts are among the destructive tropical pests invading British homes. With eight legs, lightning speed and a deadly bite, the only reassuring thing about the redback spider is that it lives 9,000 miles away in Australia. But not any more. Redbacks have been discovered in homes across Britain, the most dangerous in a wave of foreign creepy-crawlies which are finding their way to this country. Arriving in imported goods or the luggage of returning travellers, the invading species are able to survive in warm British houses even if they cannot cope with the climate outdoors. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnostic-deity Posted November 13, 2011 #2 Share Posted November 13, 2011 no no no no no no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorybebe Posted November 13, 2011 #3 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Ah, MAN! I like spiders, when they are outside! I would be so paranoid if I saw a spider after finding one of these in my house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelW Posted November 13, 2011 #4 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Suckers. We only get the less lethal but still terrifying huntsmans and whitetails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted November 14, 2011 #5 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Spiders in Britain, killer bee's in the US, whats next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickian Posted November 14, 2011 #6 Share Posted November 14, 2011 There are 3 main types of ants around where I live. Small black ants: More of an annoyance since they can invade your home in mass if you leave food out. They can do no harm they're so small. Big black ants: They live in the fields are my neighborhood and are actually pretty docile. A friend on mine growing up would put his hand in their neat walk paths(they always traveled in 2-4 inch wide ant-highways) and they would just walk over him without biting or stinging. Big dark red ants: Very violent. They live in the same area as the big black ants, but in much smaller numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xCrimsonx Posted November 14, 2011 #7 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Hugs for England! Beware and be well! Check ya dunnies before ya take a seat, shake your shoes out before you put them on and keep enclosed areas free of clutter/ old furniture etc! Oh and call the Exterminator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishgent Posted November 14, 2011 #8 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I dont see any reason to panic. We have had foreign species of insects in the Uk for many years now. There is a long established colony of scorpions on the coast at Dover whch has been there for years and doesnt bother anyone. There have also been many reports in the past of tarantulas crawling out of assignments of bananas. I would suggest that if a proper survey was done, there wouldnt be that many redbacks around, although just one is enough should it be tempted to bite somebody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPWilletts Posted November 14, 2011 #9 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I have a bit of a phobia of spiders, but I do tolerate a couple of large-ish house spiders that share my home as they deal with other insects, and generally stay out of my way. However, I don't like the idea of having dangerous ones in my house at all. I'm doing a thorough sweep of the place, first thing in the morning! Perhaps I'll keep the heating off this winter, so that if any are here they'll die. On the other hand I don't like the idea of hypothermia either, lol. Looks like a no-win then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhantomFlanFlinger Posted November 14, 2011 #10 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Oh marvellous....just what we need.Being a cold and damp island most of the time used to have the benefit of having no deadly critters(adders aside)...ah well...what will be,will be.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenRabbit Posted November 14, 2011 #11 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Red Backs arnt to bad, there not aggressive they wont hunt you down and attack, They live in there web and generally wont travel to far from it. They will only bit if you sit on one or step on one. Its these buggers you dont want finding there way into your country http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_funnel-web_spider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhantomFlanFlinger Posted November 14, 2011 #12 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) Red Backs arnt to bad, there not aggressive they wont hunt you down and attack, They live in there web and generally wont travel to far from it. They will only bit if you sit on one or step on one. Its these buggers you dont want finding there way into your country http://en.wikipedia....nnel-web_spider See...its things like this....you have a beautiful country and i genuinely mean that but i couldn't live in it....everything wants to kill you by either eating you or poisoning you...i like my nature non-deadly... Edited November 14, 2011 by BrianPotter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSquirrel Posted November 14, 2011 #13 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Red Back spider is in the latrodectus family. Americans know the family as the black widow. While the red back (Latrodectus hasselti) spider does have a nasty bite, it's rarely deadly. Prior to 1956, there were about 12-13 recorded deaths. After the antivenom was created, there have been zero recorded deaths that I can find. Beautiful critters, I have bred a lot of Theridae in my time, but never one so gorgeous. Information of their bites, it's dangers and such: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Redback-Spider/ http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/species-bank/sbank-treatment.pl?id=69198 As an ambassador for the eight leggers, I feel it is in their best interest to help people with the myths that surround them. This website is most useful, link takes you to the myth about Australia and Brazil having the "deadliest" spiders. http://www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyth/myths/downunder.html ADDED: I apologize if I come off as a jerk, I don't mean to, I deal with spiders daily and have tired of dispelling or "fixing" info on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKO Posted November 14, 2011 #14 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) Red-backs a fine, Like David_36 said they're fairly timid. I work in roofs all the time and see these guys often, They don't bother me as long as I don't touch their web. Also in all of Australia's history there have only been 14 reported deaths. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider#Bites_in_humans Now the Huntsman spiders are the scary one's, Big hairy guys that jump at you when you get near them! Edited November 14, 2011 by DKO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Posted November 14, 2011 #15 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Red-backs a fine, Like David_36 said they're fairly timid. I work in roofs all the time and see these guys often, They don't bother me as long as I don't touch their web. Also in all of Australia's history there have only been 14 reported deaths. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider#Bites_in_humans Now the Huntsman spiders are the scary one's, Big hairy guys that jump at you when you get near them! Yeah my dad got bitten by a red-back when I was younger but his leg just had a bit of localized swelling, he didn't bother going to hospital either. Huntsman's are freaky when they move fast. Some idiot friend of mine told me they didn't bite when I was young, this 'friend' meant they weren't poisonous. But this was after I caught a small one and got bitten lol. See...its things like this....you have a beautiful country and i genuinely mean that but i couldn't live in it....everything wants to kill you by either eating you or poisoning you...i like my nature non-deadly... Haha I'm sure you would be fine... The only thing's I've been bitten by were because I was deliberately interacting with them. The only exceptions for me are mosquitos (the b*******), and I was once chased by an emu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeycat Posted November 14, 2011 #16 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) Its these buggers you dont want finding there way into your country http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_funnel-web_spider They are already here... Sydney funnel-web spider:- Distribution is primarily South of the Hunter River to the Illawarra region, and west to the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. However, unconfirmed reports contradicting Gray (1987)[3] claim that the Sydney funnel-web spider has been found as far away as Canberra, 250 km from Sydney, and even Gloucestershire in England. Edited November 14, 2011 by smokeycat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKO Posted November 14, 2011 #17 Share Posted November 14, 2011 See...its things like this....you have a beautiful country and i genuinely mean that but i couldn't live in it....everything wants to kill you by either eating you or poisoning you...i like my nature non-deadly... Yeah true but I've lived in Australia my whole life, never seen a spider or snake that is likely to kill you, Never seen a shark or anything else dangerous. I'm just glad we don't have any big animals that can kill you haha. To be honest the animal that would do the most harm to people in Australia would probably be a pet dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libstaK Posted November 14, 2011 #18 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Yeah true but I've lived in Australia my whole life, never seen a spider or snake that is likely to kill you, Never seen a shark or anything else dangerous. I'm just glad we don't have any big animals that can kill you haha. To be honest the animal that would do the most harm to people in Australia would probably be a pet dog. Agreed, it's what you get used to. I have to admit I cringe when I see a white tail spider - but that really doesn't happen often enough to make me paranoid that they're "everywhere" or any such thing. Crocodiles and shark - meh, you have to be hanging out in their territory to be at risk in the first place - it's a big country, no need to be anywhere near them if they bother you at all. Lately what has bugged me the most is the damned swooping magpies, vicious little buggers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhantomFlanFlinger Posted November 14, 2011 #19 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Yeah true but I've lived in Australia my whole life, never seen a spider or snake that is likely to kill you, Never seen a shark or anything else dangerous. I'm just glad we don't have any big animals that can kill you haha. To be honest the animal that would do the most harm to people in Australia would probably be a pet dog. Id forgotten sharks......jeesus....i live in the country and worst i see is a rabbit or a deer...i can cope with them...just...!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhantomFlanFlinger Posted November 14, 2011 #20 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Yeah my dad got bitten by a red-back when I was younger but his leg just had a bit of localized swelling, he didn't bother going to hospital either. Huntsman's are freaky when they move fast. Some idiot friend of mine told me they didn't bite when I was young, this 'friend' meant they weren't poisonous. But this was after I caught a small one and got bitten lol. Haha I'm sure you would be fine... The only thing's I've been bitten by were because I was deliberately interacting with them. The only exceptions for me are mosquitos (the b*******), and I was once chased by an emu. Chased by an emu...love that..lol....not something we would say over here....chased by a chav yes...but emu...no..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Fluffs Posted November 14, 2011 #21 Share Posted November 14, 2011 This gives me more of a reason to buy a shotgun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytee Posted November 14, 2011 #22 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Oh I really hate spiders I hope they dont find their way to the USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytee Posted November 14, 2011 #23 Share Posted November 14, 2011 They are already here... The National Geographic Channel would have you wondering how anyone survives living in Australia-so many deadly things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytee Posted November 14, 2011 #24 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Ive seen a lot of documentaries on the Sydney Funnel Web Spider, how they're one of the only species that go out of their way to bite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSquirrel Posted November 14, 2011 #25 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) Ive seen a lot of documentaries on the Sydney Funnel Web Spider, how they're one of the only species that go out of their way to bite They don't "go out of their way" to bite. They -are- aggressive, especially during breeding season, when the males go out in search of some eight-legged big booty. When the males travel to find a mate, they inevitably end up all sorts of places that they would usually not go. They are very defensive, but no... they don't head out like my brother after a pub crawl, looking for a fight. EDIT: Basically, imagine chasing down Godzilla with a Bowie knife. If the first thing you want to do is run at him and stab away, you would be less intelligent than a spider's survival instinct. They do bite when cornered though, like in a boot or shirt that is put on. Edited November 14, 2011 by RedSquirrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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