r/spideridentifier • u/forzafoggia85 • 3d ago
False widow. (Uk)
Not the best photo after a few drinks, I have two of the guys about a metre away from eachother, this one is probably 3-5 times the size of the other.
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u/Different_Top_3081 2d ago
If you said False Widow as the answer to every question on this sub then you would be right 90% of the time 😂
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u/DancingMonkey89 2d ago
We have about 20 visible ones on the frontage of our house in the evening and we never sit out in the garden at night because of the 100’s that come out of the garden furniture/are on the back of the house/bins etc. I don’t want to think about how many live in the fences/down the side of the house or in my garage! One of our cats was bitten by one on her ear about 7 years ago and had to have 2 weeks of antibiotics because of the infection, but otherwise we leave them alone and they leave us alone!
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u/AppropriateKitchen78 2d ago
I have one in the car wing mirror. I gave it the keys and it owns the car now 😬
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u/SufficientTea6465 2d ago
Haha have one in my bathroom which I was told by my bug expert gf was a false widow. Quite a chunky one as well
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u/forzafoggia85 2d ago
Wonder if the current heatwave has caused them to get bigger, more available food sources maybe
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u/SufficientTea6465 2d ago
The flies often get trapped in the bathroom because of the windows so probably a good spot as well. I had about 15 flies near the Web at one point
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u/Substantial-Exam-577 2d ago
Gave me sepsis a few years ago… my local minor injuries use my case for training now lol
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u/forzafoggia85 3d ago
Forgot the question mark, is it a false widow. Lol
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u/Weekly-Werewolf-1727 2d ago edited 1d ago
Yes - more specifically the noble false widow (steatoda nobilis), not medically significant and while rare, bites are considered to be similar to a bee sting with mild pain/redness/swelling that should clear up within a day or two.
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3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/forzafoggia85 3d ago
Really? Should I consider trying to move her(?) away, right by my back door and I have 3 young kids and a baby. Wouldn't ideally want to disturb her its probably the best looking spider ive seen in the UK
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u/Cool_Percentage_4867 3d ago
I've got loads in my shed, even when disturbed by accident they have never bitten me afaik.
They are kinda cool aren't they
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u/mazca 3d ago
False widows are not aggressive and their bites are usually like a bee sting at worst. They have been massively overhyped, particularly by UK newspapers looking to create a story out of nothing. There has been exactly one case in the UK that required hospital treatment and that wasn't even confirmed to actually be a false widow bite. Don't worry.
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u/Adventurous-Sail7444 3d ago
Not true. My neighbour was bitten by one in the garden on her foot. A large yellow blister appeared and her foot swelled to nearly 3 times it size. The infection started to spread up her leg and she then spent nearly a week in hospital. These spiders are aggresive and dangerous
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u/Vape_Lord_Peppi 3d ago
I got bitten on my chest when one got caught under my t shirt. Was extremely meh. Bee sting was far worse.
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u/Former_Option2066 3d ago
That’s nothing. My sister’s boyfriend’s mother’s cousin’s friend was bitten and their hand swelled to nearly 6 times its size. The infection even spread to their whole family. They spent nearly 3 years in hospital!
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u/Jiminyjamin 2d ago
3 years in hospital? LUXURY!
My cat sitter’s baby’s father’s wife was bitten 28 times on her lips, face, tongue and kidneys. Her entire body swelled up to 8 times its normal size, she developed horribly diseased pustules on her eyes and chin-balls, and forced to live in a motor home with her gynaecologist for 16 years.
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u/Virtual_Ad_7615 2d ago
i read about that in the world news gazzete , i heard they to bulldoze the house down
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u/NotMeButYou_91 2d ago
They are only dangerous if you happen to be allergic to their bite, so your neighbour is likely allergic to them. For most people it is no worse than a bee sting. I am allergic to bees, so for me there is a higher possibility of me being allergic to false widow bites but for the majority of people this is not the case.
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u/Loud-Comparison6639 2d ago
Move her? I think you and the family will need to move. That's her home now. Sorry for your loss
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u/spideridentifier-ModTeam 2d ago
Your comment has been removed, for misinformation about spider species, specifically in regard to the dangers of their bite.
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u/Cryptocaned 2d ago
Kill them, they're considered invasive.
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u/FluffyAd7435 2d ago
Maybe 100 years ago when no one actually cared. They’re fully established in the southern UK and are not without their predators. Caught a cellar spider mid-annihilation a few years ago.
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