Deadly spider found in Coventry warehouse

One of the world's deadliest spiders has been found in a Coventry warehouse. The Brazilian Wandering spider, normally found in south and central South America, was caught and taken to a reptile store in the city.

www.bbc.co.uk...

It's big. It's toxic and it's in England. It's highly aggressive and it's bite is reported to be 18x more potent than a black widow. :| It's also now on display in Stratford...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/9e709b9119e3.jpg[/atsimg]

Not something I'm going to be rushing to see! I'm getting chills just looking at it.

But it's a one-off right? Nothing to worry about...

Wrong!

From the 17th August: A black widow is found in a U.S. Import truck in County Durham.
www.bbc.co.uk...

From the 7th June: A black widow found in Kent in a shipment of cars (could this be related to those above?)
news.bbc.co.uk... (sorry about the newsround link. It's from a kids news channel.)

From the 20th May: A family is forced out of their home in Liverpool by a Brazilian Wandering Spider after it jumped into the dishwasher when the father was taking pictures thinking it was dead. Bananas again.
www.bbc.co.uk...

*Shudders* That'll be me paranoid every time I see something on the wall or running across the floor from now on.

I know it's probably quite common for things like this to happen in the UK but really. We don't need things that can kill you over here. We have enough with wasps in the summer and Autumn without deadly spiders trying to crawl through our windows.
My gran used to work in a fruit and veg warehouse and a huge spider crawled out of a bunch of bananas while she was there. I think she said someone killed it with a meat cleaver, but I'm not sure. In the end it turned out not to be deadly, which is kind of unfortunate for it.

I think I'd just have a heart attack

On the subject of spiders, I heard something on TalkSport yesterday about a spider laying eggs in a woman's ear. I can't find anything about it on the internet, but I think I might start sleeping with earplugs in. And shut all of the windows. And not buy any bananas or cars from the USA.

Maybe then I'll be safe...

reply to post by Ayana


You think that's bad, try living down here in Australia At a guess there is probably at least 5 or so Funnelwebs and many more Redbacks under my house only a few feet from where I sleep!

Had an Eastern Brown Snake in my backyard once, took care of it with a shotgun.

reply to post by Ayana

The only good spider is a dead spider! My husband got bitten by a Brown Recluse spider about ten years ago and almost died. He was hospitalized for nearly a week and has a huge scar to remind us to kill every spider that we see!

reply to post by Kryties


I couldn't My cousins moved over to Australia and I don't think I could even pay her a visit. I'd have to sleep in armour or something

I count on nothing being poisonous over here. When they become poisonous I get scared

reply to post by littled16


I feel for you. I can't imagine what that'd be like :| I don't like killing spiders, especially since they're not a hassle over here, but my dad has to take care of them for me

It's probably big news for someone living in England, but being an Aussie, we deal with this stuff regularly. No biggie. Unless a breeding pair make it onto your shores together, there's no chance whatsoever that England will be infested. Even then, the weather would not be appropriate for them and they'd probably die out quicker than they could mate.

Rest safely in the knowledge that you're more likely to get struck by lightening than die of one of these bites.

IRM


Edit To Add:

Loving the Avy Kryties! PMSL!

great...so long as they don't reach stoke i'll be happy as the last thing i need is the mrs worrying that every spider she see's will be some killer as the normal ones send her into a gibbering wreck as it is

reply to post by Kryties


gday Kryties,
U beat me to it...

i often wonder how, with all the exports that used to go back
to England from Australia,
how it is FUNNEL WEB spiders did not end up back in the "Motherland"...

PS, for all those wondering what an Eastern Brown is...its a snake..., a nasty one, too...

seeya

reply to post by InfaRedMan


I'll take the lightning, thanks

reply to post by maxatoria


I don't need to worry about them being poisonous. Just looking at one at the other side of the room creeps me out! *Shudders* I was hoping being up north would help my case but County Durham...

reply to post by shaneR


I dunno. To be fair they might do and just not be picked up on or die in the journey or something. With the climate being so different (and cold) over here, I agree that they probably wouldn't last long anyway.

I'll just stay away from bananas.

reply to post by InfaRedMan


Oh marvelous, so now not just spiders to worry about, but 8 legged lightening

;-P

Originally posted by Kryties
reply to post by Ayana

 

You think that's bad, try living down here in Australia

At a guess there is probably at least 5 or so Funnelwebs and many more Redbacks under my house only a few feet from where I sleep!

Had an Eastern Brown in my backyard once, took care of it with a shotgun.

LOL you shoot a spider with a Shotgun??? must of been a big spider!

o please, stop your spider-paranoia!!!! Do you know more people are killed by people every year than by spiders? You need to be more scared of people than spiders!!!!!

Spiders are wonderful creatures once you know them, as are snakes, insects, etc. They just need to be respected.

reply to post by kushin




Lightning in the shape of a spider :|

Argh, I'm gonna have nightmares now!!!

reply to post by Hellhound604


Yeah but people have 2 legs and don't scuttle round at ridiculously fast speeds looking at me with big eyes on stalks and trying to crawl up my legs.

Okay, that last bits an exaggeration. That's never happened to me before.

I'm surprised I'm not though, actually. I have bizarre phobias. The spider one is actually one of the most normal...

And yeah, apparently more people are killed by donkeys than plane crashes annually. But I'd still rather be around a donkey than on an aeroplane.

Irrational phobias happen to everyone

Well things are changing...the insects are on the move, each year over the last 3 years or so we have new insects from ant types to spider varieties.

Each spring I use a hose to clean under the garden chair frames, this year the first chair I turned over had a dozen Brown Widows, have only seen one here once and a couple black widows and that was a wood pile.
I am so glad I did not just sit down the chair looked clean, but I must have been in it a ton of times during sunny winter days!! My hair is long and hangs past the chair arms. Later that same day a brown widow ran up my shoe and into my pants while I was moving stuff in the forest part of our garden...had to rip my pants off and kill it! I am not happy having a new biting spider around!

we had to bug bomb the garage. I have dozens of spiders that are good varieties and eat bad plant hurting insects, I leave them alone and if any end up in the house I take them back outside.

reply to post by Char-Lee


Ooh, nasty. I just... yuck. I don't like the idea of spiders being on me one bit. Especially ones that bite.

We're getting a lot of new midgy species and mosquitoes over here because it's warmer. And finding new species of insect and arachnid, but they may have been here all of the time.

It's cold and rainy today though. I don't think an Aussie spider would like it too much

Originally posted by Ayana
reply to post by Hellhound604

 

Yeah but people have 2 legs and don't scuttle round at ridiculously fast speeds looking at me with big eyes on stalks and trying to crawl up my legs.

Okay, that last bits an exaggeration. That's never happened to me before.

I'm surprised I'm not though, actually. I have bizarre phobias. The spider one is actually one of the most normal...

And yeah, apparently more people are killed by donkeys than plane crashes annually. But I'd still rather be around a donkey than on an aeroplane.

Irrational phobias happen to everyone

edit on 26/8/2011 by Ayana because: (no reason given)

edit on 26/8/2011 by Ayana because: (no reason given)

I don't really see them as irrational myself, it is reasonable to be scared of lightning, heights, spiders, snakes so what if people are rarely killed by them they are injured and in pain pretty often and killed sometimes.. my fear of heights for instance would never allow me to walk out into the river over the falls in Yosimite like the couple did that fell..it keeps me a little safer then the non scared ones!

reply to post by camaro68ss


Hehe no, sorry I should have said the Eastern Brown SNAKE - happens to be one of the most poisonous in the world - along with just about every other critter and creature down under lol. The funnelweb and Redback I mentioned ARE spiders though, just for further clarification.


@IRM - Cheers mate I've had quite a few people tell me they like this avvy - might have to make a few more and put them on rotation lol.

I was working in the produce department of a WalMart in Woodstock Ga a couple of years ago and had one huge black spider jump out of one of the banana crates. It landed on the floor and took off running for cover. Fortunately a fellow employee saw it and stomped it flatter than a pancake. That thing had a leg span of at least 3 inches before it was stomped.

Originally posted by Ayana
It's cold and rainy today though. I don't think an Aussie spider would like it too much

I know when it rains down here my house gets filled with various spiders seeking refuge - some like Huntsmans are great for keeping out the bugs but it's not so nice going to put on your shoes only to find a nasty Funnelweb has taken a liking to them.