Spider identification

Soldato
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looks a lot like a false widow...

loads of them around here. Had to make a make-shift flamethrower when I was getting the old BBQ ready to take to the tip because it was full of the buggers
 
Soldato
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I've seen loads of false widows recently.

The key to survival is making sure their husbands don't find out.

It's unlikely an issue since being true to form for several spider species, including the false widow, the female will have already dispatched the male and in some cases consumed them.

Now, how you process that and what opportunities it affords is really down to whether you are a glass half empty or half full person.
 
Caporegime
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Very common-looking spider though I'm not sure what it is.

If it is a false widow, then I guess I've been a little lucky as I routinely pick them up and place them outside.
 
Soldato
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Very common-looking spider though I'm not sure what it is.

If it is a false widow, then I guess I've been a little lucky as I routinely pick them up and place them outside.

Missing sector Orb weavers and lace web look pretty similar but are totally harmless.

This one in the OP however looks like a noble false widow IMO. They aren’t particularly dangerous but I guess if you do indeed routinely handle them then maybe you’re lucky not to have had a nip… or they just trust you lol.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-dangerous-are-false-widow-spiders.html
 
Soldato
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Tend to call them Cupboard Spiders, its less dramatic. We have loads of them and Tube Web Spiders. I found a couple of Tubewebs much, much larger than anything I have ever seen online. They didnt survive interragation. We have been in the current house for 7 years and only seen one spider indoors, i think the Tube Webs eat anything that crawls on the outside of our house and never come indoors themselves.
 
Soldato
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Loads of them down south but never saw them up north. It's a male cupboard spider (aka false widow). The female has a big round butt with grey on. Around the female there'll be multiple egg sacks, destroy them. They generally behave like regular house spiders, including getting into your bed at night, and if you accidentally squish them you'll get bit. Bite is like a wasp sting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatoda_grossa
 
Associate
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It's a male Noble False Widow (Steatoda nobilis).

That is a False Widow. They can bite and it will hurt like a bee sting but they are not dangerous.



:eek:

Venom composition
Two thirds of the venom is composed of latrodectus-like toxins. Since the toxins are so potent towards the nervous system, they are known to induce neuromuscular paralysis, extreme pain, and occasionally can be responsible for human fatalities. Their venom is mainly composed of peptidase, serine protease, alpha latrotoxin and delta lactroinsectotoxin. Peptidase and serine protease are both pancreatic lipases and chitinases (enzymes) that help with digestion. Alpha-latrotoxin and delta lactroinsectotoxin are toxins. About 49% of the venom is toxins, 15% are enzymes, 18% are proteins with other functions and 18% are proteins with unknown functions.

Alleged incidents
  • In 2006 a Dorchester man spent three days in Dorset County Hospital with symptoms of heart seizure, after suffering a spider bite believed to be caused by Steatoda nobilis.[3]
  • In 2013 a man in Sidcup, Kent was allegedly bitten in his sleep, reporting that his hand had turned black and yellow. His hand remained swollen for five weeks until doctors gave him a course of antibiotics.[33]
  • In October 2013, it was reported that a man from Romford in London had been allegedly bitten by a false widow. He was treated for bacterial infection with antibiotics and needed to have his leg drained of pus.[34]
  • In October 2013, a British school in the Forest of Dean was closed for a day for fumigation as a result of a dense population of Steatoda nobilis on the site.[35]
  • In 2014, a woman from County Durham had her left index finger amputated after contracting the flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis following a claimed bite from a false widow spider.[36][37]
  • In October 2014, an Irish man went into cardiac arrest and spent a day in intensive care after being bitten three times by what was claimed as a false widow, on the hip, side and shoulder.[38]
  • In October 2018 four east London schools were closed due to false widow spider infestations.[39]
  • In September 2019, it was reported that a man in Southampton was bitten while he slept, and left "barely able to walk"
Seen loads of these in the garden.... Time to get the flame thrower out.
 
Soldato
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In the UK, it probably wasn't a spider. There are a variety of bugs that can bite a person, so why assume it was a spider? You don't know when you were bitten. Or even if you were bitten. The inflammation doesn't prove poison. It might have been a bacterial infection. It might have been an excessive immune response. I'd say there's not enough information to prove the cause.

Was definitely a bite, as there was a bite mark that the swelling propagated out from. Due to the mowing, the only other thing I could have thought would be some kind of ant?

That thing on the broom is a false widow, quite a small / young one too compared to the ones we have living round the outside of the house.

@UberTiger

Several species of uk spider have enough strength to bite us with impact.

Cave Spider, False Widow, Tube Web Spider, House Spider and Woodlouse Spider all can give a nasty bite but reactions seem to be most common from False Widow and Woodlouse Spiders.

Interesting, that's quite a few than I thought! Now where did I put my vacuum to get rid of these cobwebs....
 
Man of Honour
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Was definitely a bite, as there was a bite mark that the swelling propagated out from. Due to the mowing, the only other thing I could have thought would be some kind of ant?

Some kind of tick comes to my mind. Or a flea of some kind. There are some bitey bugs.

Does a bite from something so small leave a mark that's unambiguously a bite mark? How would you tell the difference between a tiny puncture wound from a small spider's fangs and a tiny puncture wound from a thorn or a sliver of something thrown up from a mower? It's not something I know anything much about.

:eek:

Alleged incidents
  • In 2006 a Dorchester man spent three days in Dorset County Hospital with symptoms of heart seizure, after suffering a spider bite believed to be caused by Steatoda nobilis.[3]
  • In 2013 a man in Sidcup, Kent was allegedly bitten in his sleep, reporting that his hand had turned black and yellow. His hand remained swollen for five weeks until doctors gave him a course of antibiotics.[33]
  • In October 2013, it was reported that a man from Romford in London had been allegedly bitten by a false widow. He was treated for bacterial infection with antibiotics and needed to have his leg drained of pus.[34]
  • In October 2013, a British school in the Forest of Dean was closed for a day for fumigation as a result of a dense population of Steatoda nobilis on the site.[35]
  • In 2014, a woman from County Durham had her left index finger amputated after contracting the flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis following a claimed bite from a false widow spider.[36][37]
  • In October 2014, an Irish man went into cardiac arrest and spent a day in intensive care after being bitten three times by what was claimed as a false widow, on the hip, side and shoulder.[38]
  • In October 2018 four east London schools were closed due to false widow spider infestations.[39]
  • In September 2019, it was reported that a man in Southampton was bitten while he slept, and left "barely able to walk"
Seen loads of these in the garden.... Time to get the flame thrower out.

According to that list of alleged incidents, in 13 years in a country with a population of over 60 million there were 3 reported cases of serious probable poisoning from probable spider bites claimed to be from a false widow. Pretty good odds there.
 
Associate
Joined
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]
Some kind of tick comes to my mind. Or a flea of some kind. There are some bitey bugs.

Does a bite from something so small leave a mark that's unambiguously a bite mark? How would you tell the difference between a tiny puncture wound from a small spider's fangs and a tiny puncture wound from a thorn or a sliver of something thrown up from a mower? It's not something I know anything much about.



According to that list of alleged incidents, in 13 years in a country with a population of over 60 million there were 3 reported cases of serious probable poisoning from probable spider bites claimed to be from a false widow. Pretty good odds there.

Still, more than enough for me to equip myself with a flame thrower for the future :D
 
Soldato
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Essex
Why do I click on these threads?? :( :( :(

As above, looks like a false widow. The front legs are soo long, and the body has a cream coloured pattern.
 
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