Content Warning: Spiders!

[Skeptic Ginger]

....Minor point of hilarity...

Playing badminton, outdoors one summer evening, a wild shot ended up with the shuttlecock stuck in a web.

The spider investigated, cut the 'bird' out of the web and made an immediate repair.

The players all felt that the spider expressed 'disgust' at the thing it had caught.

That is amazing! And that's a pretty hefty web.

When I walk out my door during web season I use a stick in front of me to knock the webs out before running into them. They can just learn to put them somewhere else.

 

[arthwollipot]

The Golden Orb Weaver really knows how to weave orbs.

 

[novaphile]

The Golden Orb Weaver really knows how to weave orbs.

I've stood outside, at sunset, watching them work.

They're so fast and the results are impressive.

Top tip, choose the right place to stand, or you can end up surrounded by webs.

NB. If you're really careful, you can break an anchor strand, and then re-attach it to something else after moving it to a better location.

I have no idea what a spider 'thinks' about this, or if they can think at all...

... but they don't seem to be bothered, they just check the web and keep working.

 

[pipelineaudio]

As a lifelong herpetologist, things without faces at best make me barf and at worse scare the crap out of me.

But recently two awesome youtube channels, My Wild Backyard and Travis McEnery's - these are the spiders in your house really make them interesting

 

[novaphile]

As a lifelong herpetologist, things without faces at best make me barf and at worse scare the crap out of me.

But recently two awesome youtube channels, My Wild Backyard and Travis McEnery's - these are the spiders in your house really make them interesting

Oh dude.

Our spiders definitely have faces.

Some of them have quite cute little faces.

 

[arthwollipot]

Yeah! Look at this guy's cute little face.


Huntsman by Andrew Gould, on Flickr

 

[stanfr]

ooo, spiders!

This guy crossing a dirt road outside of Death Valley was about the size of a squirrel.

 

[novaphile]

ooo, spiders!

This guy crossing a dirt road outside of Death Valley was about the size of a squirrel.


[qimg]https://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/imagehosting/thum_2919465ada9217e810.png[/qimg]

Oh cute.

I'm reminded of a tale from my mother...

It was late at night on a country road, her husband was changing a tire, and they both could hear something approaching them, scrunching in the gravel on the side of the road.

They shone their torch in that direction, and it wasn't a person or a sheep (both would have been reasonable) but it was a huntsman spider.

They both marveled at a spider, so large, it was disturbing the gravel on the road side, and could be heard approaching.

He told me that the spider was about the size of the hubcap, and I'm not certain he was exaggerating.

(I've seen a few big ones, especially out in the bush, but nothing as big as a hubcap)

 

[Orphia Nay]

I think I was bitten by a spider while I was sleeping on Saturday night (4 days ago).

I have an itchy lump near the crook of my left arm, and it's red around it, and there's a bit of a red 'line' coming up on the left side of it.

I don't know what sort of spider it was.

Spiders in bed, anyone?

 

[arthwollipot]

There was a spider in my bed when I was getting ready for sleep last night. It was about 2mm across.

 

[Ryan O'Dine]

I think I was bitten by a spider while I was sleeping on Saturday night (4 days ago).

I have an itchy lump near the crook of my left arm, and it's red around it, and there's a bit of a red 'line' coming up on the left side of it.

I don't know what sort of spider it was.

Spiders in bed, anyone?

I was hungry, you were convenient. Let's not make a big deal of it.

 

[GlennB]

I think I was bitten by a spider while I was sleeping on Saturday night (4 days ago).

I have an itchy lump near the crook of my left arm, and it's red around it, and there's a bit of a red 'line' coming up on the left side of it.

I don't know what sort of spider it was.

Spiders in bed, anyone?

I had 2 centipede bites in bed, back when I was living in Greece. Both bites woke me up and both centipedes were small buggers, 2" max.

One bite on my scalp and one upper thigh (I was glad to be wearing underpants in bed ... I'll stop there )

eta: both bites very sore indeed.

 

[Orphia Nay]

I'm wondering if I'm supposed to go to the doctor for this.

 

[Ryan O'Dine]

I'm wondering if I'm supposed to go to the doctor for this.

A quick Google suggests only funnel web spider bites are dangerous...

Funnel-web spider and other big black spider bite symptoms

A funnel-web spider bite causes:

bad pain
lots of sweating
nausea and vomiting (feeling and being sick)

Other symptoms that you may have include:

drooling
difficulty breathing
confusion
numbness
tingling
twitching of your mouth and tongue

Mouse spider bites are not common, but their symptoms are similar to a bite from a funnel-web spider.

 

[Ryan O'Dine]

Same source...

Redback spider bite symptoms

A redback spider bite can cause:

pain
redness
sweating at the bite site

First aid for a redback spider bite

If you have been bitten by a redback spider:

wash the bite area with soap and water
use a cold pack for 15 minutes to relieve pain
see your doctor if you have bad symptoms

If your pain is very bad, go to your local hospital emergency department.
First aid for other spider bites

For all other spider bites:

apply a cold compress to the bite site for 15 minutes
reapply as needed

You can use an ice pack wrapped in a clean cloth. This treatment will help relieve your pain.

Don’t put the ice directly on your skin as it might cause a cold burn.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Thank you, Ryan O'Dine.

 

[arthwollipot]

Yeah, there's really only two Australian spiders that you need to be worried about, and one of them isn't in your area.

Yet.

 

[Orphia Nay]

What about white-tail spiders? I think we have those.

 

[arthwollipot]

What about white-tail spiders? I think we have those.

Falsely accused.

The common story is that they cause skin necrosis, but this almost certainly isn't true, and cases reported of necrosis are because of infection, not the spider bite. The bite of the white-tail is no more serious than the bite of other spiders.

Which can of course be fairly serious, let's not beat around the bush. Spider venom is not to be trifled with. But people have reported to have died only from funnel web and redback bites, and none since antivenin was introduced in the 70s.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Thanks, yes, I've never heard news of anyone dying of spider bite.