False Widow Spiders in Britain ~ Beware
The South of England is playing host to venomous spiders and not only that - they’re breeding and spreading across the country.
What’s more, their bite is potentially lethal - deadly in fact - potentially fatal - often unpleasant . . .
Yes it seems climate change continues to bring us the benefits of more exotic climates - this time it’s a relative of the Black Widow spider. Several people have already been hospitalized by bites although none have yet died - which is good for them but from a purely journalistic point of view - not so good for the story.
The bite is potentially lethal though - The real question is though . . .
Are There Poisonous Spiders in Lincolnshire ?
No I don’t believe so - the only Black Widows we need to worry about are the predatory females 
It does make you wonder whether we are in for some real changes over the next few years. Yesterday I was reading that big cats would soon be part of the scenery in certain places and that Puma, Lynx and Wolves could be part of the natural countryside as they breed and create hybrids !
We already have The Grimsby Growler in the nature park behind my house of course !
Escaped snakes are also beginning to adapt and survive it seems not to mention plagues of Mosquitoes in Lincolnshire - what still beats me is that all this is being made possible by Global Warming according to ‘The Experts’ - if that’s so
Why is it always so bloody cold and rainy ?
Talking of Global Warming - remember the Great Goldeneye Plan - worth a read if you’ve the time
If you’ve been bitten in the night, glimpsed a snake or a growler - do let us know.
Arachnophobically Yours
Rod
Jordan said,
May 19, 2009 @ 12:14 pm
RC
Think i have been definitely bitten by a snake in the past.
Jordan
Rod said,
May 19, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
Jordan,
hope the bite proved fatal
Best
Rod
Jordan said,
May 19, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
RC
On the snake and not myself, i hope you mean?!
Jordan
Rod said,
May 19, 2009 @ 6:53 pm
ordan,
absolutely on the snake !
Best
RC
Lucy said,
May 20, 2009 @ 12:43 pm
haha it’s the ants I have to look out for…I’m allergic to their bites and they seem to actively hunt me out to bite me ???. The first time I was bitten I thought I had meningitis because part of my leg swelled up and turned black
Where did you read about big cats becoming part of the ecosystem? What timescales were they talking about?
Formicidaeically yours, (look it up)
Lucy
P.S had my last uni exam of the year today so hurrah for me
Rod said,
May 20, 2009 @ 6:08 pm
Lucy, sounds like a nightmare - avoidng deadly spiders in the UK is not something too taxing but ants . . . they’re everywhere.
I was reading an article n one of the broadsheet papers and they had the people who looked into the bites on savaged animals etc and there is no doubt that they are out there and suriving in some areas. They mentioned inter-breeding and that eventually they could spread and survive quite happily - we already have populations of racoons I think they said as well !
Great news on the Uni front - enjoy a well-earned rest !
Best
Rod
chris keyworth said,
September 26, 2009 @ 9:58 pm
Does any body know what the most Venomus Insect is in the UK ?????
This Should be interesting…….
Rod said,
September 27, 2009 @ 8:26 am
I’m guessing it’s either something everyday and surprising or something exotic that’s come here in a banana box and managed to settle !
What about a flea ?
chris keyworth said,
September 27, 2009 @ 6:22 pm
The Common House Spider (Tegenaria Gigantea) If this Spider had big enough fangs this would be the Second Deadliest Insect in in the UK. The First Goes to The Daddy Long Legs (Crane Fly) Highly Poisonus if Eaten….
the deadliest beatle is the Lady Bug, but only if you are an Aphid….
Regards
Chris
Rod said,
September 27, 2009 @ 7:26 pm
Chris,
this sounds ominous !
How many daddy-Long-Legs makes for a lethal dose to humans - also re spiders and the like aren’t we supposed to swallow a dozen or something in our lifetimes during sleep
I think I’ll sleep under a mosquito net tonight
All the best
Rod
chris keyworth said,
September 27, 2009 @ 7:55 pm
its unlikely you would ever want to put a daddy longlegs in your mouth as they taste absolutly foul, (trust me on that one) half a dozen my instructor told me, Spider venom is only toxic when in the blood stream and not when ingested unless you have an ulcer, same with snake venom and frog venom however it has been proven to induce halusinations (pink Elephants), similar with the Pinkus Beetle very deadly yet it is used in a famous seafairers drink Pink Gin.
if you look closely at a house spider you will see there fangs but they are not capable of puncturing human skin, however if you look at a common garden spider (Araneus diadematus) there fangs are much larger and capable of puncturing human skin, if these two spiders ever mutataded and bread together then we would have the deadliest spider in the world….
food for thought
Regards
Chris
Clive Lawrence said,
October 19, 2009 @ 9:16 pm
I am re roofing a house in Faversham in Kent and I noticed a spider which I have never see before,after looking on the net I think that I have Identified as the False Black Widow ( Purple Black with markings to its upper body,there are asos about 4 or 5 dead pidgeons in this area of the loft.I would like your comment
Thanks Clive
melanie said,
May 13, 2010 @ 1:52 am
I have eatin daddy long legged spiders when i was a kid i would let them crawl on me cause my sisters thaught i was sick and hated them i played with them all the time and once was dared to eat them. and i did! and yet im still writting this.. not deadly when digested im living proof,
Rod said,
May 13, 2010 @ 9:17 am
Melanie,
I’m pleased you survived and found your way to the site - welcome and thanks for leaving a comment - hope you’ll return
All the best
Rod
Obnoxious Co2 Breather said,
May 14, 2010 @ 8:27 pm
I went to put on my shoes the other week and just by chance saw something move, I shook the shoe and out dropped a spider, the like of which I have never seen before. I captured the poor little bugger and kept him in a glass, thinking I will look on the net to see what type of spider he is. Sure enough, a False Black Widow, a perfect match of the pictures illustrated of several web sites. I intended to take him to the local museum but unfortunately never found the time and he died but not before spinning a web around the bottom of the glass and losing and regrowing his legs, I never knew they did that. Oh I live in North Hampshire so this proves they are moving up country.
Rod said,
May 15, 2010 @ 9:03 am
OCB,
a worrying development and many thanks for the field report.
Your salient warning should serve as a timely reminder to us all.
Bang your footwear on the floor before putting it on - it served my father well in Egypt in terms of scorpions so it’s tried and tested !
Beware - it’s dangerous out there !
Rod
kaz said,
June 1, 2010 @ 2:01 am
i have got the biggest infestation of false widow spiders eva at my house, my dad has been bitten twice in his bed, my mum is concerned for the grand kids, but i find them really interesting, well i do at the moment because i haven’t been bitten (touch wood), but in all seriousness, they are every where, outside in the garden they are all along the wall of the house and the wooden fencing, the UPVC window frames have these little oval holes in them from where the screws were fitted, nearly every hole, upstairs and downstairs has a little resident living in and around it, this is on the outside of course, but indoors is a problem too, when eva furniture is moved there is always one or two about, really there is so many it must be very unusual, i have identified them correctly i’ve caught a couple with the old paper and glass trick, bought them next to the laptop and looked at the pics on line, they are defo the infamous biting sort. i just went outside about an hour ago and i counted 12 on the walls and the fence in the garden, i think tis is quite unusual for a small garden to have this many of any one species. what do u think?
Rod said,
June 1, 2010 @ 8:27 am
Kaz,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site.
That sounds like a nightmare !
Personally speaking, and for what it’s worth, I would contact your local council first and see if they can do anything via enviromental control or such like.
If not then perhaps a professional pest control company.
I’ve not heard of this before Kaz
Best of luck
Rod
CERN said,
June 1, 2010 @ 7:16 pm
I was having my kitchen redecorated last month {May2010), so I went out for the day , came home walked in the door and my boyfriend says “Can you get rid of a spider as the workmen wont go near the kitchen wall its sitting on”,
I laughed thinking just your common house spider which do grow quite big around here.
I walking into the kitchen ready to take the spider outside but I immediately saw its wasn’t the normal common spider we usually get and thought that looks far too much like a black widow, so I put a jug over it as it sat on the wall had a closer look and could see the brown markings and thankfully not the distinctive red hourglass. Not sure what It was a carefully took it in the jug outside and let it go. Then looking it up on the net realised it was a False Widow, which I now wish id taken a photo of.
So somewhere outside my house the Spider is still living but the boyfriend and I are a little more vigilant when it comes to spiders that might be living indoors with us.
I love and studied at college all nature and have always saved spiders from being squashed by arachnophobes but next time I think I will transport the little beasties further away from my house to somewhere more remote lol
Rod said,
June 1, 2010 @ 7:59 pm
Cern
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site.
Firstly congratulations on saving the workmen and your boyfriend
Secondly that’s very interesting that we get two comments on the same day about sightings - is there a picture building here ?
Thanks again Cern
All the best
Rod
jshsecure said,
June 14, 2010 @ 12:13 pm
Found 2x false black widows when moving slabs in garden of new home also grass snake and a whole host of other great wildlife
From woodpeckers squirrels and a nest of baby thrush. So cool what next!
shart said,
July 8, 2010 @ 5:57 pm
My daughter was bitten by a false widow spider last week she had to clear puncture wounds and her leg swelled quite considerably, she felt rough but not particularly ill. She is breast feeding her baby so would not use an antihistamine cream. One week on and her swelling is beginning to reduce, but it is still sore. The spider ran off after biting her, she was sat in the garden with her baby.
chris keyworth said,
July 8, 2010 @ 11:13 pm
not reading this thread its doing me no good i dont like spiders of any type or size and ive seen some monsters in my time im shuddering just thinking about um ….
regards
chris
Rod said,
July 9, 2010 @ 8:33 am
Shart,
many thanks for relating this - brings it all home as a real issue.
Thank godness the baby wasn’t bitten
All the best
Rod
julesr said,
July 10, 2010 @ 3:56 pm
hello. false widow spiders are everywhere in Southend-On-Sea - a major problem as we don’t see many of the normal variety any more as they are being eaten by this beasty. We have had about 20 seen in the past week on our out-building, and is a major concern for our children as they also populate their play house. I’ve tried to reduce their numbers, but they keep on growing. I’ve also done my research, with the females laying 200+ eggs, just shows you that what the dominent spieces will be. Jules
Rod said,
July 10, 2010 @ 7:22 pm
Jules,
thanks for the report - really appreciated and welcome to the site.
The problem seems to be worsening if anecdotal evidence is anything to go by and I believe it is.
All the best
Rod
Gem said,
August 9, 2010 @ 9:21 pm
Hi Thankyou so much for this website ive found it very helpful. we recently threw a spider across the street as im such an arachnophobe im scared of dead spiders too. we found it in our cellar and ive been worried sick ever since that we did the wrong thing. we didnt take a photo of it and i could have sworn it was a black widow save for the fact there wasnt a red mark on its back. when i put a glass over it it played dead straight away, and it didnt move until my boyf picked it up with the paper and glass method and it started to move again. fortunately weve only found the one so far but im thinking of moving up north now! i had no idea there was such as a thing as a fake black widow so thanks for putting my mind at rest ive been worried ive set a poisonous spider loose. i live in lincoln so they are definitely getting further north! Aug 2010
Rod said,
August 10, 2010 @ 8:44 am
Hi Gem.
thanks for the comment and welcome ot the site - they’re now officially in Lincoln
That’s only down the road !
Regards
Rod