Most people are paranoid that Spiders will crawl up onto their beds while they’re sleeping and bite away. According to the University of Washington, it’s extremely rare for a spider to crawl up on your bed and bite you:
Here are some facts: Unless you are sleeping on the basement floor, a spider might wander onto your bed as often as twice a year. Not every night! If you take elementary precautions like not letting the blankets or bedspread touch the floor or walls, the incidence of spiders on the bed will be effectively zero. If a spider does get on a bed, usually no bite will result. Spiders have no reason to bite humans; they are not bloodsuckers, and are not aware of our existence in any case.
Secondly, even if a spider crawls on you, it will only bite if provoked. Since their fangs are housed in their underbelly, you’d have to push the top of the spider down onto yourself for it to try and bite you. Besides that, it would have to be stuck in your clothing or you would have to be sticking your hand in its web or den. And even if there are bumps that make you think you’ve been bitten, it’s more likely to be a bacterial infection than a spider bite.
Also interesting is the unwarranted paranoia of Brown Recluse spiders that most of us possess. Sure, the Brown Recluse spider is an extremely dangerous species, but it doesn’t really exist outside the midwest and southern regions of the U.S.:
In a study published in October 2003, four western U.S. arachnologists were contacted in regard to 216 brown recluse spider bite diagnoses made in California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado in 41 months. In contrast, only 35 brown recluse or Mediterranean recluse spiders could be verified as EVER being found in these 4 states.
Long story short, If you see a spider, don’t panic. Just don’t try to become its best friend either. [UW and UCR, Thanks Dawn!]
Mr Biggles
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 7:42 AMOk, I know Gizmodo has it’s roots in the US, but for a little bit of Australian content, let’s not forget the Sydney Funnel-Web, which is aggressive, and I believe (although don’t quote me) more venomous than the Brown Recluse.
Tim
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 8:09 AMI’d presume a high proportion of readers on .au are located around Sydney and therefore should make themselves spider-aware rather than simply un-paranoid.
With funnel-webs in particular being so common and so deadly, it’s worth educating yourself about the places you might find them (inside shoes, under doormats, esp. during wet weather) and the places you don’t (on walls, in beds etc).
Paranoia may not be good but being wary is warranted in Sydney IMO.
Josh
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 8:23 AMI agree, not only the funnel web we also have the red back spider. For the people in the US it is like the black widow but not as bad as the funnel web.
Paddy
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 12:30 PMI work in a small town in Australia pop approx 3000. I am the GP and work in the ED too.
In the last 2 weeks, I have seen 7 spider bites (2 red backs and 5 white tails).
Aussie spiders bite, and (although I’ve not heard of a spider cross the road to bite someone!) it’s usually through accidental contact with the spider, rather than deliberate provocation.
As above, don’t leave clothes/bed linen on the floor and check your shoes/garden furniture/dunnie seats before using them!
T-M
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 2:32 PMIt’s okay guys…
Spiders don’t actually exist… They’re a myth…
***Rocking back and forth in the corner***
But seriously, the best defence against spiders is a good offense… have a few cans of super strength insect killer and it’ll be fine….
Iain Graham
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 3:14 PMI’ve had a rather large huntsman living in my backyard for the past week. It collects all the bugs that would normally make their way into the house via the patio.
Live long, my arachnid ally.
red t-rex
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 4:20 PMNot quite true. Normal human behaviour can appear threatening to a spider. My teenage son came home 1 night and was talking to me in the kitchen and during the conversation casually brushed at his upper arm as something was irritating him. Within a few seconds he felt intense pain in his upper arm and a red swelling appeared. Turned out to be a male Redback spider which accompanied us to the hospital. They game him a cold pack to place on it while waiting in the E.R. waiting room and by the time he got to see a doctor some 2hrs later it had already started to go down. It’s pretty rare to die from a redback bite these days but the bite can be mighty painful.
My policy for spiders is relocation from inside to the outside garden (mainly due to the wife and daughters getting freaked out) unless it is a redback in which case it gets the death sentence.
Tom
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 5:44 PMNo way, if I see a Red-back in my yard it has to go. They will make you so sick with pain if they bite you.