Anti-venom shortage sparks call to hunt funnel-webs

Anti-venom shortage sparks call to hunt funnel-webs

www.abc.net.au

Funnel-web poison is needed to make the anti-venom which is used to treat spider bite victims. Without the anti-venom, victims may die within the hour.

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I wonder how many people will be bitten trying to catch one of the deadly buggers? I have seen many funnel webs in my time and they are probably one of the harder spiders to catch. Last thing they should be advertising is for people to take it upon themselves to catch one of these little a-holes.

These little guys can kill an adult human in less than 20 minutes, which means if your in a remote location, your chances are pretty slim.

Samuelis



Youtube Vid about the Australia Funnel Web

All the videos i have seen have painted a pretty grim picture of your country and has dissuaded me from wanting to visit.
Between the deadly snakes and spiders i don't know if visiting the great people are worth the risk of having a spider hide in your shoe or other cubby holes that would put one at risk of 20 min death.
I do hope the venom needed is collected in a safe manner.
I dunno know maybe i have been fear mongered?

Originally posted by deadeyedick
All the videos i have seen have painted a pretty grim picture of your country and has dissuaded me from wanting to visit.
Between the deadly snakes and spiders i don't know if visiting the great people are worth the risk of having a spider hide in your shoe or other cubby holes that would put one at risk of 20 min death.
I do hope the venom needed is collected in a safe manner.
I dunno know maybe i have been fear mongered?

Lol, it's the same as where you are.

reply to post by deadeyedick


lol, I feel guilty about feeling the same way. But I've known plenty of people who've visited various parts of Australia without incident. It's sort of like visiting Florida, which is also teeming with dangerous or creepy wildlife: be aware of your surroundings, know the hazards, and have a great time.

I was bitten by a brown recluse in my own home and they are not even native to this area. But I've traveled to parts of Asia that were riddled with poisonous snakes and huge bird catching spiders and came to no harm, though I've had a few frights with the giant spiders!

Mosquitoes are the only creatures that get me and torment me no matter where I go.

I hear yall and the crazy thing is that the wildlife doesn't scare me near as much as the discovery channel.
I do feel a calling to take a trip because beside meeting the locals i would like to find out more about blushwood trees.

The same goes for anyone thinking about visiting texas or us i say other than the picture that msm paints it's pretty great. There are lots of guides like myself that would love to show you around.

As far as spiders that can do damage like the one in the op there are some close but they are really not a problem. I do wonder what has caused this need for anti venom down under.

Yep, when they get up on their back legs fangs out and leap towards you…. you certainly know who is calling the shots.

I think I will leave capturing and milking for the experts, but thanks anyway for the offer.

Mickierocksman

Originally posted by deadeyedick
I do wonder what has caused this need for anti venom down under.

No one has the balls to catch them.

reply to post by SpearMint


I dunno maybe a better question is what is it worth to them?
I know that these days in the us money talks!

Originally posted by deadeyedick
I hear yall and the crazy thing is that the wildlife doesn't scare me near as much as the discovery channel.

I do feel a calling to take a trip because beside meeting the locals i would like to find out more about blushwood trees.

The same goes for anyone thinking about visiting texas or us i say other than the picture that msm paints it's pretty great. There are lots of guides like myself that would love to show you around.

As far as spiders that can do damage like the one in the op there are some close but they are really not a problem. I do wonder what has caused this need for anti venom down under.

That would be my biggest Q, why do we have a shortage, I haven't heard of a surge in bites so has their current batch reached it's used by date & no one has been ordering resupplies or what?

Most of our nasty animals won't bother u if you have some common sense so I wouldn't let it put you guys off a visit. Come on over & have fun & just be aware of your surroundings. I mean obviously swimming in the north, trying to pat a 7ft tall kanga while calling Skippy or ignoring the locals advice is something only suicidal idiots do but it doesn't take a genius to work that out.

Sydney funnel webs are bastards amongst bastards though, & the biggest issue is they like to live around people so encounters are frequent.
I rescued 1 out of a pool once, (they blow a bubble around them & can stay underwater for ages) instead of gratitude the prick attacked me & proceeded to chase me round the pool. Unfortunately for him on the 3rd lap my senses returned & I realised I outclassed him so I put a permanent stop to his shenanigans.
An adult can catch the easily enough u just use a butterfly net not a small jar & don't get complacent or arrogant.

P.S they don't need to get into your shoe, these guys bite through them lol srs.

Originally posted by WorkingClassMan

Originally posted by deadeyedick
I hear yall and the crazy thing is that the wildlife doesn't scare me near as much as the discovery channel.

I do feel a calling to take a trip because beside meeting the locals i would like to find out more about blushwood trees.

The same goes for anyone thinking about visiting texas or us i say other than the picture that msm paints it's pretty great. There are lots of guides like myself that would love to show you around.

As far as spiders that can do damage like the one in the op there are some close but they are really not a problem. I do wonder what has caused this need for anti venom down under.

That would be my biggest Q, why do we have a shortage, I haven't heard of a surge in bites so has their current batch reached it's used by date & no one has been ordering resupplies or what?

Most of our nasty animals won't bother u if you have some common sense so I wouldn't let it put you guys off a visit. Come on over & have fun & just be aware of your surroundings. I mean obviously swimming in the north, trying to pat a 7ft tall kanga while calling Skippy or ignoring the locals advice is something only suicidal idiots do but it doesn't take a genius to work that out.

Sydney funnel webs are bastards amongst bastards though, & the biggest issue is they like to live around people so encounters are frequent.
I rescued 1 out of a pool once, (they blow a bubble around them & can stay underwater for ages) instead of gratitude the prick attacked me & proceeded to chase me round the pool. Unfortunately for him on the 3rd lap my senses returned & I realised I outclassed him so I put a permanent stop to his shenanigans.
An adult can catch the easily enough u just use a butterfly net not a small jar & don't get complacent or arrogant.

P.S they don't need to get into your shoe, these guys bite through them lol srs.

How fast do the little buggers run?! The closest I've come to seeing one in the wild is a nest.

Originally posted by deadeyedick
How fast do the little buggers run?! The closest I've come to seeing one in the wild is a nest.

You can out run them easy but they are quick & if you tripped early in the race you would want to recover quick smart.
I would be careful near their nest cause usually you would have to back pedal & if caught of guard by one racing at you, ya might not be quick enough to react especially if your in close.

They are over hyped but in the sense of worrying about them because they have only ever killed a handful of people & none since anti venom was created, it's just their look, behavior & capability that makes them so well known/feared.
I'm fairly sure even though the female is venomous it's not even close to the male & all deaths have been from male & mostly kids. The males like to go walk about looking for a root in Summer, so with things heating up maybe that's why they are looking to stock up. Disclaimer: That may not be fact but I'm fairly sure it is but CBF googleing.
I would say the nature of them venom would give it other medical uses so maybe they want it for something other than anti-venom.

I remember my mum trying to kill one when it surprised her coming out of a hole in the clothesline. She went to flick it off with her hand and thought better of it so she grabbed a mop and started smashing it. IT WOULD'NT DIE. She must've hit it 20 times and it was still moving. It was later we found out it was a funnel web. Haven't seen one since though, heaps of Redback spiders around the garden.

reply to post by SpearMint


about 15k/h so they could easily catch an elderly or injured person. Where I'm from they tend to nest in air-vents in bedrooms above beds. You can usually hear them as they drop from the ceiling and make a thud noise on the duna. If you lay real still they wont bite, they'll just explore round your face and ears.

Originally posted by deadeyedick
reply to post by SpearMint

 

I dunno maybe a better question is what is it worth to them?
I know that these days in the us money talks!

Spider venom could lead to breast cancer cure, says James Cook University professor
www.cairns.com.au...

CAIRNS scientists are studying spider venom with the hope it could hold the key to curing breast cancer. James Cook University prof Norelle Daly has received a $200,000 research grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation to analyse whether the venom of tarantulas and funnel web spiders can kill breast cancer cells. "Spider venom could hold great potential," said the biochemist, who joined JCU last month. "This is early days and we're doing preliminary research that we hope will go somewhere." Prof Daly will test her theory in the lab by isolating the hundreds of molecules in spider venom and exposing them to cancer cells to see how they react.

Originally posted by Arielmoon
I remember my mum trying to kill one when it surprised her coming out of a hole in the clothesline. She went to flick it off with her hand and thought better of it so she grabbed a mop and started smashing it. IT WOULD'NT DIE. She must've hit it 20 times and it was still moving. It was later we found out it was a funnel web. Haven't seen one since though, heaps of Redback spiders around the garden.

edit on 2-9-2012 by Arielmoon because: (no reason given)

Yeah they can take a good beating that's for sure & you dont step on them cause they have straight fangs not curved & can bite through your shoe.
Red backs are another that is over hyped & thanks to that I was #ting bricks when I got bit by 1.
Raced to GP he told me nothing he could do go to a big clinic, went & waited half hour, told nothing they can do go hospital, went there sat in a waiting room for 3 hours & by that time I was hurting & panic set in so I gave the woman an earful.
Look woman I have been bit by a bloody big red back & it hurts & I think I'm dieing, she told me to chill it's just a red back go have a seat we will get to you eventually.
1 hour later I had an anger/panic attack & was emitted for an EKG to see if I was having a heart attack then they looked at the bite & told me I shouldn't need treatment cause if I had lasted this long I was on the down hill run anyway.
I was given a sedative for the panic attack & a panedole for the spider bite. lol

I've got a very strange form of arachnophobia. I truly am terrified of spiders, even small harmless ones. But I can't resist threads like these and stories about spiders like these. Lol, it's all fun and games until one accidently arrives in your EBay shipment!

Let me see...A spider with curved fangs that can bite through a shoe. It can blow a bubble and lurk under water in your pool. It likes to drop down on sleeping people from overhead vents. It's big for a spider. It is big for a hamster. It is uglier and more brutally fanged than anything my fundamentalist pastor ever conjured from hell in his sermons to scare us kids with. It can kill with a bite. And it's got my sister in law's demeanor when she is suffering from PMS.

By Jove, I think I've found something on this site even scarier than reptilians, Nibiru, zombies, Big Foot and Morgellons combined! Even better than a reptilian from Nibiru who smells like Big Foot and can bite you and give you a wicked case of Morgellons which will ultimately turn you into a zombie.

I actually want to travel to Australia for the express purpose of seeing this critter in person...but under controlled circumstances. I do not want a chance encounter involving overhead vents or a surprise in my laundry. However I would like to watch somebody go about catching one. I'd have to wear a gag though because I always scream when my husband has to evict large spiders from our house.

I also want to meet the amazing gutsy people who can live with a creature like this in their midst and talk about it with jovial tones like we here in my part of the US use to talk about squirrels.