'Alarming' rise in False Widow spiders in Ireland

Kermit.de.frog

Can we open our borders and give homes to jumping spiders instead?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEMPLrWh35g

Billy Mays

Spotted one of these on the ceiling in my living room last week


Caught it in a glass and chucked it outside

Sheepdish1

MeepMeep2021 wrote: »

I know what you mean. That feeling is extraordinary! It cuts through whatever everyday thing you were doing at the time. Reacted that way to a small caterpillar type thing I encountered in Northern Mexico.. turns out it was a highly poisonous variety. So, is it epigenetics and ancestral memory or something like Jung's collective unconscious (or neither)? Either way, or something more mundane altogether, it's the strangest feeling.

I’ve had this too before I knew what they were. I usually just pick up spiders on my hand and place them outside but instinctively knew not to pick these up. I like insects and found it interesting my reaction. I find them in my house from time to time and pop them in a glass and put them outside. I’m not sure why people feel the need to kill them (or any insects really).

archfi

An expert on radio this morning says they are here to stay, yet his advice was to not kill them and shoo them back outside, yeah to repopulate - it's invasive and it bites FFS.
Came in via freight/travellers from Canaries and Madeira around 1997/98 according to him and population started off in...Bray.
Most bites when putting on clothes and when in the sack!

FIRE.

Sheepdish1

loyatemu wrote: »

I've never seen one in the grass, they live in nooks and crannies around the house and shed. Tons of them here, as the article says, probably the most common spider I see around the house, but always outside, and they're not remotely aggressive, if you go near them they hide.

They seem to like nesting around window frames, there were loads of little eggsacs there earlier in the year. I went around and vacuumed them up, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference to the number of spiders we have now.

Yes I agree. They aren’t aggressive and try to hide when disturbed. They are much harder to catch than most spiders and just want to hide.

xzanti

I thought I had one in my kitchen a few weeks back. Very similar looking markings on the body.

A quick google image search brought up the innocent Lace Weaver spider. Very common in rural areas and completely harmless.

I wonder how many false widow sightings were in fact the lace weaver.

biko

LizardKing

Saw this in my sitting room .. safely removed outside the house via Glass and kitchen towel.



T'was a Big Un

Ken Tucky

WD40 works great...as in killing them

Dyr

LizardKing wrote: »

Saw this in my sitting room .. safely removed outside the house via Glass and kitchen towel.


T'was a Big Un

loyatemu

that's not a false widow, looks like a common/giant house spider.

odyssey06

Vittu wrote: »

My house has considerable numbers outside. Killed plenty so far. Never saw them inside. In Co Cavan. Never bitten.

This sounds like the start of a horror movie... all contact lost after the last diary entry recorded

LizardKing

loyatemu wrote: »

that's not a false widow, looks like a common/giant house spider.

I thought the markings matched that meme posted earlier ... so I said I'd post the pics I got...



I think you are correct about giant house spider , still scared the crap outta me and the kids :-)

Wibbs

I got bitten by one in 2019. Out in the garden taking clothes off the line. I disturbed one that had hidden in the fold at the top where the peg was. Bit me in the thumb, quick as you like. No pain initially so just thought it had run over the thumb. Then the pain started. Like a wasp sting. Then the burning in the thumb started and it swelled up within five minutes to a third bigger than normal. That died down after a few hours, but the burning pain remained for about a day.

ambro25

plodder wrote: »

Indeed. They had the sunshine, but at least we didn't have the dangerous spiders .. until now ...

What next? Crocodiles?

Puddle sharks

.42.

I thought they were supposed to be small.

They are the size of a 2 euro.

Found one in the porch

Sent the pic to NUI Galway who confirmed

Hi ****

Yes, this is a noble false widow spider Steatoda nobilis. Looks like an adult female.

Regards
JP

JimmyVik

xzanti wrote: »

I thought I had one in my kitchen a few weeks back. Very similar looking markings on the body.

A quick google image search brought up the innocent Lace Weaver spider. Very common in rural areas and completely harmless.

I wonder how many false widow sightings were in fact the lace weaver.

Very few id say.
They are everywhere now. Definitely much more distinctive than the weaver.
Big round shiny body on them. Cant be mistaken.

JimmyVik

LizardKing wrote: »

I thought the markings matched that meme posted earlier ... so I said I'd post the pics I got...



I think you are correct about giant house spider , still scared the crap outta me and the kids :-)

The house spider is bigger. The false widow has a big fat shiny body.
I hate them all tbh

brevity

.42. wrote: »

I thought they were supposed to be small.

They are the size of a 2 euro.

Found one in the porch

Sent the pic to NUI Galway who confirmed

"Regards" to you to JP.

Maybe some advice on what to do would be helpful...

.42.

brevity wrote: »

"Regards" to you to JP.

Maybe some advice on what to do would be helpful...

I just moved it to a bush across the road.

TheValeyard

.42. wrote: »

I just moved it to a bush across the road.

neighbours letterbox.

.42.

One thing I would say is that when you see them you will know what it is.

The size and shape and how shiny they are, are very distinct.

TheValeyard

.42. wrote: »

One thing I would say is that when you see them you will know what it is.

The size and shape and how shiny they are, are very distinct.

They even move more aggressively.

I'd a lovely big house spider nicknamed Ted living in my garage for ages. He kept away from me, I kept away from him. Grand. One day Ted was gone and one of those yokes was in his place.


Poor Ted.

.42.

TheValeyard wrote: »

They even move more aggressively.

I'd a lovely big house spider nicknamed Ted living in my garage for ages. He kept away from me, I kept away from him. Grand. One day Ted was gone and one of those yokes was in his place.


Poor Ted.

Yeah... Teds final experience was probably something like this

10-10-20

.42. wrote: »

I thought they were supposed to be small.

They are the size of a 2 euro.

Found one in the porch

Sent the pic to NUI Galway who confirmed

Ugh Jesus - that's the repulsive thing that I saw in my shed alright. Same markings and indentations on the bulbous body.

TheValeyard wrote: »

They even move more aggressively.

I'd a lovely big house spider nicknamed Ted living in my garage for ages. He kept away from me, I kept away from him. Grand. One day Ted was gone and one of those yokes was in his place.

Poor Ted.

Same - there was a large house-spider (hairy-legs, €2 coin size) living behind my tool-box until about 3 months ago. He had a leggy lady-friend locally who was the mother of his kids and they were in this long-term on-off relationship while he was resident. Anyhow the big hairy-legged fella is now missing and the little-lady doesn't like the look of the false-widow who now making many eyes with her. She might have to move into temporary accommodation while they find a suitable home as she was dependent on hairy-legs for a couple of flies and he was also handy with the web repair. I'll keep ya posted on the progress, but the local widow support group won't help out until she coughs up a exoskeleton or a death cert.

dmc17

Found this lad in the shed last year. Assume it's one of them?

TheValeyard

dmc17 wrote: »

Found this lad in the shed last year. Assume it's one of them?

Yeah, that's one. Her shed now.

.42.

Awesome

Dr Dugon says that female False Widows have the ability to produce one egg sack containing up to 200 eggs every 3 to 4 weeks from March until October. This means these spiders have a longer lifespan than most native species, which is generally 5 to 7 years versus 1 to 2 years for native spiders

Hoovered up one and a load of eggs at the weekend. Is there anything that can be put down to kill them?

TheValeyard

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Hoovered up one and a load of eggs at the weekend. Is there anything that can be put down to kill them?

Claymores.