Jan n Neil

OK, after seeing just too many white tail spiders in the house, Spider Ban are coming in tomorrow. The final straw for me was watching one crawl across the ceiling and then drop - ever so suddenly - onto the sink in front of me.

Any one spider proofed their house? Do you do it as a matter of course every year? They are doing outside and inside, and I think it's not too expensive really if it works.

Jan

BEVS

I did it for the first time last year even though I'm not pro sprays.. I just got fed up with all the insects and the webs.

It worked really well and I would look to do it again this year.

shirl

Hi Jan

We used Mike the Spiderman every year, he comes in around November/December time and sprays the outside of the house and usually works fine for inside too as they have to crawl across the threshold to get in or the bricks by the windows so they get exterminated. I have not done the inside yet as I had heard you have to vacate the house for a while and cover absolutely every stick of furniture? However, this year I am being plagued by those great big horrid beetles, they seem to come up the drain or something as finding them in the bathroom and bedroom near the ensuite or maybe they are getting past the spider spray and coming in the windows! I know they are not spiders lol!!!! Would be interested to know what the inside is like once you have it sprayed and if there is a horrid smell to it for next time I get it done.

Jan n Neil

Huhu bugs? We get those too, they fly at dusk, and are attracted to light, like moths

Jan

BEVS

We had the inside and outside done.

Had to keep myself and the cats out of the house for 4 hours from memory, so I set myself up in the sleepout.

I had to put away things like pillows, cushions ,towels etc . Clear the vanity units and kitchen work surfaces . Didn't have to cover the furniture. I was told to wipe down work surfaces afterward.

They were in and out very quickly. Took only around 20/30 minutes in all.
There was a slight smell when I first went back inside the house but it was gone a couple of hours after flinging the doors and windows open.

Jan n Neil

Yep, we gotta get out for 4 hours and cover some bits up, bog rolls from memory

Neil

shirl

That's those peskie little things, OMG I didn't know they could fly !!!

mickey_d

The ones I see aren't little, they're huge!!

shirl

They bloomin well are huge lol!!! Especially when you nearly step on one. Wondered why I saw them on the floor upsidedown! Perhaps they crash landed!

P18PPS

We had a white tail in the car today travelling along the motorway! Kids screaming, I had to drive single handed whilst reaching down to grab a shoe and commence the squash of the 8-legged monster on the ceiling of the car!!

I wonder if Miss Muppets Revenge works on cars??!!!

Dustybin

Just for info, you do know that they actually aren't that dangerous, don't you??

"The bite debate

White-tailed spiders do bite but will only bite if handled or provoked. In most cases the bite will cause little harm, as there is nothing in the venom that will affect us.

There has been some media coverage in Australia and New Zealand in recent years about alleged White-tailed spider bites, but much of the information has been highly inaccurate. Describing the spider as "poisonous" is not correct, while links to necrotising arachnidism (where the flesh starts to die as a result of an infection in the bite) are also tenuous (see NZ Medical Journal reference below).
White-tailed spider, photo by Mike Gray
This large White-tailed Spider is suspected to have wiped out every spider within a storage shed over a period of many months. Photo by Greg Comfort, enlarged x2.

The main issue is whether a patient has actually been biten by a White-tail. In the majority of cases, there is no clear evidence a spider was responsible. Sometimes a spider is seen around the time of the bite, while in other cases it has been assumed it was a White-tail bite, either by medical personnel or the patient.

To test this, Geoffrey Isbister and Michael Gray studied 130 confirmed White-tailed spider bites (where the spider was seen biting and captured afterwards for identification) in Australia from February 1999 to April 2002. There were no cases of necrotic ulcers or confirmed infections. The full article they published is available online on the Medical Journal of Australia web site or as a PDF here. (Thanks to MJA for permission to use the PDF)

The New Zealand Medical Journal has also published research into the alleged toxic effects of Lampona species in patients admitted to Christchurch Hospital from January 2001 to January 2003. The article's conclusion is that there was no evidence of any patients developed necrotising arachnidism and that public fears of White-tail bites are misplaced. The full article is available on the NZ Medical Journal website (thanks to NZMJ for permission to refer to this).

A White-tail bite is immediately painful. It is usually possible to catch the perpetrator easily, since the spider has poor eyesight, and its identity can then be confirmed. It should be noted that cases of confirmed White-tail spider bites have rarely resulted in anything more severe than a red mark and localised, short-lived pain.

As with bee/wasp stings different people will react in different ways.

Written by Grace Hall (with additional bite notes compiled by Greg Comfort)
Landcare Research
Location: Auckland
Email Send email to Grace Hall "

Jan n Neil

AGree with all the above, though the spiderman who came did have some horror stories But then he would, wouldn't he

Anyway we're all protected now, the puppy used to chase them across the floor so I feel better for all of us. And we got no flies either, a welcome side effect of the treatment.

Jan

Tranmere Rover

I was bitten by a white-trail, and I'm still here. I know it was a white trail because I captured it. I was wearing swimming shorts (so I was "commando") and sat on it. Then I stood up again rather quickly on account of a nasty stinging pain on me nads. Old whitey was still on the chair, so retribution was swift and terrible. As was the pain on me nads.

But I survived.

Like the sound of having Tranmere Towers sprayed though - all the cobwebs drive me mental!!!

Jan n Neil

update: the house didn't smell horrid when we were allowed back in, and we haven't seen a single spider or fly since. For the peace of mind and the hoped-for decrease in webs, we are very pleased we did it


Jan

dannigirl

OMG, I would die if that happened to me!!!! Bloody hell...I would seriously struggle if it came down to driving and squashing....I HATE spiders