White tail spiders

[Mom]

Ok all you budding entomologists...

I seem to have a large outbreak of baby white tail spiders in my office. They have been appearing over the past few days, and really too little to identify. I have been setting sticky tape traps :wait: to catch one so I could look at it under a magnifying glass. Dozens of the little suckers, but they are smart :rolleyes: and have evaded capture. This morning however, I got one :banana: about 4mm long in body and easily identifiable as a white tail.

So my questions are, will these little ones bite, because they appear from under paper on my desk, without warning. They walk on my monitors and generally are all over the place.

Where should I go looking for a nest? And how to kill them? Will a flea bomb do it do you think?

Lucky I am not scared of spiders is all I can say :niceone:

[Banditbandit]

Fly spray works on spiders ...

[ellipsis]

...we have just noticed the general build up of them around our verandah and house...seems to happen when the season starts cooling...for a spider that twenty years ago I'd never really heard of before, they now seem to have become a real pest here...the average size of the ones around here are an inch long and 3/16ths wide...very seldom run across the juveniles...

[Mom]

Fly spray works on spiders ...

Working on that principle then a flea bomb will work. There must be a nest of them in here though there are LOTS of them. I would prefer to kill the source of the infestation and not just spray the individuals. Also getting a bit gun shy picking things up on my desk really :baby:

[blue rider]

what nice, dry and dark place that is good for breeding lil baby spiders do you have close around your desk?
the computer box might be a good place to go looking.

[Mom]

what nice, dry and dark place that is good for breeding lil baby spiders do you have close around your desk?
the computer box might be a good place to go looking.

Funny you should say that I was thinking they were coming out of my monitors :lol:

[Grashopper]

Funny you should say that I was thinking they were coming out of my monitors :lol:

Argh, what a scary idea. :crazy: And no, I so didn't just have a good look around my office. At all.

[SMOKEU]

Kill it with fire.

[willytheekid]

Kill it with fire.

THIS +1

Just burn the building down!...that will kill the evil bastards Mom :yes:

(I hate them!!, they are "trying" to take over our house at the moment!..and like ellipsis said, no little buggers down here...just HUGE bitey bastards!)

[Mom]

THIS +1

Just burn the building down!...that will kill the evil bastards Mom :yes:

(I hate them!!, they are "trying" to take over our house at the moment!..and like ellipsis said, no little buggers down here...just HUGE bitey bastards!)

My boss might not like it if I torch his house though :rofl:


I am going for the flea bombs and nuke the room :Playnice:

[Big Dave]

Fkn Ausies.

Just spray em.

Funnily enough I haven't seen a single one since I moved back. Must be too hot here.


At one stage our son was facing amputation if they couldn't get the necrosis from a bite on his wrist under control.
Theory is there is bacteria on the fangs that can give a severe reaction in some people.
This was C1988 - before they knew of treating with peroxide.
They actually put him in a hyperbaric chamber and healed it.

[Big Dave]

They wouldn't be budding entomologists - they would be larvae.

[Mom]

They are horrible things, I dont have a good history with allergic reactions so am really, really reluctant to get a bite even from a baby spider.

[MSTRS]

Now this might all be bullshit - but I have heard that Whitetails' favourite snack is Daddy Longlegs. So if there are 'heaps' of one, there is bound to be plenty of the other in the immediate environment. The other thing I have heard is that the bite of the DLL carries one of the most deadly toxins known. However, their fangs are too short to penetrate human skin and are therefore harmless (to us). BUT - the theory goes - the venom is absorbed and delivered through the bite of a WT. Which is why their bite can be so serious.

[willytheekid]

Fkn Ausies.

Just spray em.

Funnily enough I haven't seen a single one since I moved back. Must be too hot here.


At one stage our son was facing amputation if they couldn't get the necrosis from a bite on his wrist under control.
Theory is there is bacteria on the fangs that can give a severe reaction in some people.
This was C1988 - before they knew of treating with peroxide.
They actually put him in a hyperbaric chamber and healed it.

Shit!, poor kid! :(

They are bloody dangerous buggers!
I had one of my door men hospitalised from a single bite!...now, were talking about a guy whos over 7 foot tall, built like a brick out house and NEVER goes down in bar brawl (One of the toughest buggers you could ever meet)
One bite!...and he was in hospital, drifting in and out of consciousness, and fighting to save his leg!
Took him nearly two months to recover...we nicknamed him spider man after that.

...Don't underestimate these evil little aussie imports! ,word is, they have actually mutated!, cross bred, what ever!...they are MUCH more potent than the aussie originals...hence...I hate them!, and kill them on sight with boiling water! (boiling water ensure's that the females don't spray eggs as they die!)

Evil bastards!...look at em!
http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.4950144.3936/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg

fuck it!...use FIRE!!
http://thumbsnap.com/sc/Zk5syymi.jpg

[Usarka]

Now this might all be bullshit - but I have heard that Whitetails' favourite snack is Daddy Longlegs.
I was listening to a spider dude on the radio and he reckoned it was bull. He said if you don't believe him put a daddy long legs and a whitetail in a jar and see who wins.

[Scuba_Steve]

Now this might all be bullshit - but I have heard that Whitetails' favourite snack is Daddy Longlegs. So if there are 'heaps' of one, there is bound to be plenty of the other in the immediate environment. The other thing I have heard is that the bite of the DLL carries one of the most deadly toxins known. However, their fangs are too short to penetrate human skin and are therefore harmless (to us). BUT - the theory goes - the venom is absorbed and delivered through the bite of a WT. Which is why their bite can be so serious.

Mythbusters says they're not as harmful as people make out (video link below)



"Myth: Are Daddy Longlegs Really Deadly?
As seen in "MythBusters: Buried in Concrete"
Finding: BUSTED
Explanation: There are more than 40,000 spider species crawling around the world, but only a fraction of arachnids pack toxic venom. Sydney funnel-webs, Brazilian wandering spiders and black widows rank among the deadliest eight-legged critters, but MythBusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage heard that daddy longlegs are lethal as well.

Supposedly, daddy longlegs possess extremely powerful poison, but their fangs are too short to penetrate human skin. To find out, Jamie and Adam hunted down a host of daddy longlegs and took them to a spider specialist who could milk out their venom. Next, the spider specialist compared the toxicity of daddy longlegs venom to black widow venom. The red-bellied widow won out, busting the myth.

A microscopic measurement of the long-legged spider's fangs proved their miniscule quarter-millimeter length could puncture human skin, taking a double bite out of the daddy longlegs myth.


http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/45814-mythbusters-daddy-longlegs-minimyth-video.htm

[Laava]

They wouldn't be budding entomologists - they would be larvae.

I heard my name!
Both me and the wife have had spider bites. Jo,s was definitely a WT and she had a useless blistered forearm for a bit while the Dr,s reassured her that WT,s are harmless.
We dont believe it.

[Edbear]

Interesting thread, Mom! They certainly give a nasty bite, and whether it be venom or bacteria or both, you need to get to a Doc quick smart! I've not had a bite but have seen what they can do to a person.

Not nice! :(

[Mom]

Flea bombs purchased. Going to be used tonight. I now have 2 of the little suckers trapped on cellotape :devil2:

[Big Dave]

I heard my name!
Both me and the wife have had spider bites. Jo,s was definitely a WT and she had a useless blistered forearm for a bit while the Dr,s reassured her that WT,s are harmless.
We dont believe it.

This is wot I know.
Matthew was bitten by one while staying with family in Hobart. Spider was captured.
Welt soon broke down and was a necrotising wound - like a bad circular burn wound - was growing.
Rate of growth was measured and recorded. I still have the pics somewhere. Unpleasant.
They put him in the Hyperbaric chamber at the Australian Antarctic HQ (Hobart) and the growth arrested.
These days they treat with peroxide or other oxygen rich source - so I read anyway - and bacterial infection is not a big deal any more.

[tri boy]

Spray a "no entry" perimeter with Rip Cord.
It's a neuro toxin for most creepy crawlies.
I use it twice a year at home, and the spiders hang from their webs by the hundreds.
(strangely enough i am still breathing):rolleyes:

[awa355]

Fly spray works on spiders ...


That would make a change, Fly spray doesn't work on flies,

As for the honky arse'd spider, I've had a bite, was sore but I didn't die :niceone: I think??? :clap:

[Maha]

How big was it? cos size does matter.

[Big Dave]

Maha might stop scratching now too.

[Maha]

Maha might stop scratching now too.

Well there is alot to scratch...:cool:

[leathel]

If you are going to bomb confined areas with fly spray....don't use your cig lighter as a torch to see if you got the bastards..... fire behind brick fire surrounds gets to the roof quite quick :weird:

No I didn't but.... I do know who did, and Its not the only time he filled the house with smoke :rolleyes:

[awa355]

How big was it? cos size does matter.

It was half the size of my ball peen hammer. I believe that some people can get in a bad way after a bite. I got bit on a finger while reaching under the wooden work bench. Was damn sore and red for a day or so.

[Road kill]

Shit!, poor kid! :(

They are bloody dangerous buggers!
I had one of my door men hospitalised from a single bite!...now, were talking about a guy whos over 7 foot tall, built like a brick out house and NEVER goes down in bar brawl (One of the toughest buggers you could ever meet)
One bite!...and he was in hospital, drifting in and out of consciousness, and fighting to save his leg!
Took him nearly two months to recover...we nicknamed him spider man after that.

...Don't underestimate these evil little aussie imports! ,word is, they have actually mutated!, cross bred, what ever!...they are MUCH more potent than the aussie originals...hence...I hate them!, and kill them on sight with boiling water! (boiling water ensure's that the females don't spray eggs as they die!)

Evil bastards!...look at em!
http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.4950144.3936/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg

fuck it!...use FIRE!!
http://thumbsnap.com/sc/Zk5syymi.jpg

The ones in OZ are more potent and more aggressive than those here.
Ours are pussys next to the Oz version,I put it down to the heat over there but kill anything without an invite anyway.
White tails eat other spiders so if your seeing dead spider remains on your window sills that's your first sign you have em' in your place.
All spiders have venom but like Daddy long legs most are either to small or non aggressive so don't cause problems.
Sydney Funnel webs would be an interesting import :crazy:
Their scary bastards.

[yungatart]

I heard my name!
Both me and the wife have had spider bites. Jo,s was definitely a WT and she had a useless blistered forearm for a bit while the Dr,s reassured her that WT,s are harmless.
We dont believe it.

I was bitten by an unidentified spider in the crook of my elbow in 1971. My arm blistered and peeled, very similar to a burn, involving about two thirds of my arm. It was incredibly painful, and took weeks to heal. I was not a very well or happy lassie....

[Maha]

I was bitten by an unidentified spider in the crook of my elbow in 1971. My arm blistered and peeled, very similar to a burn, involving about two thirds of my arm. It was incredibly painful, and took weeks to heal. I was not a very well or happy lassie....

That must have been a ''Pheasant'' experience...:lol:

[Mom]

I was bitten by an unidentified spider in the crook of my elbow in 1971. My arm blistered and peeled, very similar to a burn, involving about two thirds of my arm. It was incredibly painful, and took weeks to heal. I was not a very well or happy lassie....

Scarey stuff. Given my ability to react badly to stuff, I really dont want a spider bite to test my auto immune system. Flea bombs are diong their work. Hopefully that will be an end to the problem.

[Usarka]

I am tired of these mutha fucken spiders on this mutha fucken plane!

http://www.vintagewings.ca/Portals/0/Vintage_Stories/News%20Stories%20D/Spiders/Spiders4c.jpg

[jellywrestler]

Fkn Ausies.

Just spray em.

Funnily enough I haven't seen a single one since I moved back. Must be too hot here.


At one stage our son was facing amputation if they couldn't get the necrosis from a bite on his wrist under control.

the old tooth fairy pays up to $5 per tooth for kiddies these days i'm told, imagine what the Amputee Fairy is paying for limbs nowadays he may have made a fortune if he'd wrapped it up under his pillow.....

[slofox]

Mom, the fact that you have a sudden herd of littlies could well be the result of one egg cluster hatching. It may not indicate a nest.

[ellipsis]

Mom, the fact that you have a sudden herd of littlies could well be the result of one egg cluster hatching. It may not indicate a nest.

... if I went looking for a white tail now I could suss three or four in any dry area within a short space of time...my shed is full of them...I chop them up with a very small axe and eat their babies...

[SMOKEU]

I didn't know how bad spider bites could be!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIAoSmfRHC0

[Mom]

Mom, the fact that you have a sudden herd of littlies could well be the result of one egg cluster hatching. It may not indicate a nest.

One egg cluster...

Gone burger...

Sad really, but I fear the bite to myself and the little one that shares my office space every day...

Perhaps now, they will actually spend money on CLEANING...

[wharekura]

I had one of my door men hospitalised from a single bite!...now, were talking about a guy whos over 7 foot tall, built like a brick out house and NEVER goes down in bar brawl (One of the toughest buggers you could ever meet)
My wife had to go on antibiotics because of a bite. I know another that had to go to hospital. Don't muck around with these spiders, kill them on site. Wear leather garden gloves if u garden - to give u more change of not having the bite penetrate.

[Mom]

Well I flea bombed. Told my boss not to open my office door, even put a sign on the door to remind him. Got to work this morning and the door had been opened. His wife tells me he did it before he came upstairs for the day, so probably half hour max after I set it off. Hope that was long enough. Have not seen a spider yet.

[Edbear]

Well I flea bombed. Told my boss not to open my office door, even put a sign on the door to remind him. Got to work this morning and the door had been opened. His wife tells me he did it before he came upstairs for the day, so probably half hour max after I set it off. Hope that was long enough. Have not seen a spider yet.

Ya tell some people not to do sumpin' and nek minute... :spanking:

[Smifffy]

If you get bit go directly to hospital, and tell 'em it was a workplace accident, and that you had identified the hazard. Your attempt to eliminate the hazard was circumvented by the boss, despite verbal and written notification. You shouldn't need to work for the rest of the year $$$. MOBIE would have a fieldday.

[Naki Rat]

It was half the size of my ball peen hammer. I believe that some people can get in a bad way after a bite. I got bit on a finger while reaching under the wooden work bench. Was damn sore and red for a day or so.Apparently the severity of symptoms from a WT bite depends on what the spider has been eating lately and how much pressure is put on the spider when the bite occurs. As part of the biting the spider also injects part of its gut contents into the victim in order to 'digest' the prey prior to sucking out its contents.

Worse case scenario is if you sit or lean on a spider that has a particularly septic gut full of its last meal. The amount of bacteria transferred in such a case would result in the more severe cases such as those that put the victim at risk of amputation.

Must be that time of year. I discovered a nest of baby (2-3mm) WTs in a stock box a couple of weeks ago. I squashed most of them I guess (30-40) but no sign of 'Mum'. I've had them in every place I've lived since the early 1990s at least both in Taranaki and Bay of Plenty and have had one bite on my forearm (spider in shirt I was putting on) that needed antibiotics to turn around the early signs of blood poisoning. We used to have the house on our orchard in the BOP professionally treated with pyrethum fogging yearly but the WTs kept turning up again.

[tnarg]

I was making my bed last night and spotted a little white tail. Did I kill it? no. Picked it up and found a nice dry spot for it outside. I used to live in the Waitakere ranges so am used to having lots of spiders around. I find it very hard to kill our little 8 legged friends.

[swbarnett]

Haven't had a white-tails bite but Irene got bitten by a Catipo through her polypro top while kayaking in mangroves up the Wade river near Auckland. Came up in a huge saw on her upper arm. Went to the chenist the next day for some hydrocortisone cream (I think that was the name). A week later it was completely gone. Looked horrible but really was no big deal. I dare say it could've been if left untreated.

[Laava]

I have heard that spiders are not so susceptible to insect sprays as they are not technically insects. (Yes we all know they are arachnids!) I don't know if the person who came up that gem was having a laugh or there was a basis in fact.
Anyone? Class?

[ellipsis]

I was making my bed last night and spotted a little white tail. Did I kill it? no. Picked it up and found a nice dry spot for it outside. I used to live in the Waitakere ranges so am used to having lots of spiders around. I find it very hard to kill our little 8 legged friends.


...knew a buddhist or two in my time...nice people...are you happy in your life, cricket...

[SMOKEU]

I have heard that spiders are not so susceptible to insect sprays as they are not technically insects. I don't know if the person who came up that gem was having a laugh or there was a basis in fact.
Anyone? Class?

Spiders are not insects. They're arachnids.

[huff3r]

I have heard that spiders are not so susceptible to insect sprays as they are not technically insects. (Yes we all know they are arachnids!) I don't know if the person who came up that gem was having a laugh or there was a basis in fact.
Anyone? Class?

Insect sprays for crawling insects definitely work on arachnids. Killed the ones making cobwebs on my car no worries.

[swbarnett]

Spiders are not insects. They're arachnids.
And daddy long legs aren't spiders. They're Opiliones.

Edit: Or so I thought. It seems that the NZ daddy longlegs is not a harvestman afterall but is in fact a suborder of spider.

[awa355]

Insect sprays for crawling insects definitely work on arachnids. Killed the ones making cobwebs on my car no worries.

I'll bet the spider living inside the external mirror is still alive. :bleh:

[Laava]

I'll bet the spider living inside the external mirror is still alive. :bleh:

The hardiest of the spiders!

[huff3r]

I'll bet the spider living inside the external mirror is still alive. :bleh:

Possibly, but the one in the door jam fell out dead the next time I opened the door. And there have been no new webs in the interior after I sprayed the ones I found too.

Damn Range Rovers have too many hiding places! They love my light-protection grills.

[roadracingoldfart]

CRC Brakleen , nuff said really. Any insect or spider has about 4 seconds left when sprayed with it , then the body just has to disposed of in the normal stamping method.

[Edbear]

CRC Brakleen , nuff said really. Any insect or spider has about 4 seconds left when sprayed with it , then the body just has to disposed of in the normal stamping method.

Sorta like the sledgehammer to crack a nut scenario. That stuff is lethal! :blink:

[roadracingoldfart]

Sorta like the sledgehammer to crack a nut scenario. That stuff is lethal! :blink:

Trichloromethylethane is you friend

[Mom]

CRC Brakleen , nuff said really. Any insect or spider has about 4 seconds left when sprayed with it , then the body just has to disposed of in the normal stamping method.

However much the greenie in me does not like this :rofl:

Not sure my boss would approve of me spraying one of his rooms with CRC though :shit:

[awayatc]

don't mind a bit of tail myself.....

white is good.....


Have indeed got some nasty reactions at times though.....

[Mom]

CRC Brakleen , nuff said really. Any insect or spider has about 4 seconds left when sprayed with it , then the body just has to disposed of in the normal stamping method.

Actually, I can come up with a better one. Camping, poxy flies! Many beers/wines and still the fuckers annoy. Bloke gets up and starts liberally spraying flying bugs. With Silicone spray. About ruined the dignity of a few there laughing so much. Apparently the flies at Ruakaka now come into land and slide off the surface so fast they self destruct hitting the next solid object they collide with :sunny:

[roadracingoldfart]

Actually, I can come up with a better one. Camping, poxy flies! Many beers/wines and still the fuckers annoy. Bloke gets up and starts liberally spraying flying bugs. With Silicone spray. About ruined the dignity of a few there laughing so much. Apparently the flies at Ruakaka now come into land and slide off the surface so fast they self destruct hitting the next solid object they collide with :sunny:


I can imagine dents around the edge of the table etc with this method :msn-wink:

[Maha]

So um, I just bagged (well small plastic container) one of these...:confused:
It was crawling on the outside of our bedroom window. It's missing one leg...opps.


Photo added of the one I got, 2.5cm or 1 inch from arse to tip.

[Edbear]

Not as far as I know.

[Maha]

Not as far as I know.

I put it in the freezer, after 10 minutes it rattled like a small peeble, so tomorrow I will spread it out and pin it to a piece of cork...:niceone:
Had second thoughts on keeping it, it's in the bin, the photo will have to do.

[Maha]

Not as far as I know.

Show misses Ed the pic I added....:msn-wink:

[Edbear]

Show misses Ed the pic I added....:msn-wink:

She said, "It's HUGE! Yuk!" They get them at daycare and have to watch out for the babies.

[Mom]

It needs to shave :eek:

How revolting :laugh: