Spiders are harmless in the UK, right? Having mostly conquered my spider phobia I am now quaking in fear at the thought of meeting this stinging variety…
If you are allergic to insect, wasp or spider stings and venom then you might be interested in news reported in the Independent this week.
I don’t want to scare anyone but I will be looking out for these creeping into my house to hibernate. I can handle the large black house spider – well not quite handle like in my hand but I don’t have to leap screaming onto a chair if I see one. 
Experts are calling it the British Black Widow spider or the ‘false widow spider’. This new stinging spider, which can be deadly, is about the size of a 50 pence piece and can inject venom which can kill those who are allergic to it. However, it will only attack if provoked.
Click on the link above to read more but Tony Wileman, a conservation ecologist at the London Wildlife Trust, said: “The severity of symptoms of false widow spider bites depends on how much venom has been injected and reports from false widow spider bites have included symptoms like chest pains and a swelling and tingling of the bite area.
“It is recommended that if bitten by a spider thought to be a false widow spider then medical attention (a visit to the A&E department or your local GP) should be sought informing the medical staff that you think you have been bitten by a false widow spider. Do not ring 999.
Nearly all spider bites come from attempting to catch the spider so it is highly recommended that this is not undertaken. However, If you must remove the spider from your home, please capture it using a jar and a stick or pencil and try not to touch the spider with your hands.”
Has anyone ever seen one of these or been bitten by one? They have a kind of bulbous grey and white abdomen. The article above has a picture of one. Watch out! Spiders about! Just remember, don’t touch one or try to pick it up and you should be OK. No danger of that in this house. A glass and cardboard could be required.
Photo by Radovan Zierik from Pexels
That’s horrible but at least visually it’s quite distinctive. Thanks for sharing Ruth.
Yes the body does look quite distinctive. Not seen one yet. Fingers crossed I don’t.
Bite/sting allergy is a serious matter. We sell a very effective Venom Extractor at AllergyBestBuys and I would urge anyone who has a bad reaction to biting insects, mosquitoes, jellyfish etc go have one in their first aid kit. An essential for Gap Year travel, it now seems we need them to hand in the UK too!
I never knew you could get products like this. Thanks for sharing. It does look like things are changing here… Biting spiders? Help. I won’t be touching any though if I see one. Just plain old house spider here. Has anyone reading this seen one of these nasty new ones?