Is this spider what I think it is?

Forums › Off topic › Is this spider what I think it is?

networkn

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#191720 13-Feb-2016 23:46

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r6m686vp67g372g/2016-02-13%2023.39.43.jpg?dl=0

If so, do we pretty much need to hire an exterminator? We have little kids (3 and 6) in the house.

I assume they aren't solo, so we have more than 1?

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#1491859 13-Feb-2016 23:56

Yep, that's a Whitetail. I squish them on sight. See them fairly often here (we have young kids too) but never saw them as a big enough problem to call in an exterminator plus I think they just come in from outside anyway.

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#1491861 13-Feb-2016 23:58

I collect all spiders from inside our house and put in the garden. Except white-tails. Those are collected, taken outside and shot. Or stomped. But we only see one every few weeks - or months. Not sure seeing one is enough to get an exterminator.

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networkn

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#1491862 14-Feb-2016 00:01

Ah ok, I had heard they were a real risk to small kids and elderly. I guess if we see any more I'll consider my options, it's the first. I read they are attracted to hedges and bushy areas, and our hedges are crazy overgrown.

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#1491878 14-Feb-2016 00:10

They eat other spiders, so the thing they're most attracted to is other spiders ;)

Their preferred prey is the brown house spider, apparently they don't so much go for daddy longlegs as it's 50/50 who will win in a fight...

networkn

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#1491879 14-Feb-2016 00:11

ubergeeknz:

They eat other spiders, so the thing they're most attracted to is other spiders ;)

Their preferred prey is the brown house spider, apparently they don't so much go for daddy longlegs as it's 50/50 who will win in a fight...

Just gives me the creeps thinking about spider fights. I find spiders so creepy, though I am not as freaked out by insects as I used to be.

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#1491882 14-Feb-2016 01:00

Could be worse..

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#1491898 14-Feb-2016 08:13

networkn:

Ah ok, I had heard they were a real risk to small kids and elderly. I guess if we see any more I'll consider my options, it's the first. I read they are attracted to hedges and bushy areas, and our hedges are crazy overgrown.

That's the media for you.

Yes they are a (very small) risk. We kill them when they pop up every now and again. You could look at spraying around outside with Ripcord or similar product. We spray our place every 6 months. Cheap and easy and works.

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#1491928 14-Feb-2016 09:49

The pedantic/facetious answer is "given that you haven't said what you think it is, how could anyone possibly answer the question?" :-)

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#1491931 14-Feb-2016 09:58

Whitetails are not really venomous to humans.

"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."

http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/science/plants-animals-fungi/animals/invertebrates/systematics/spiders/white-tailed-spiders

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#1491934 14-Feb-2016 10:09

We used to see occasional whitetails around the farmhouse but there haven't been any for a long time. We do have lots of other spiders so that is a good sign. My understanding is that whitetails are not desirable to have around, but they are not as bad as has been made out in the media. Probably more like a bee sting, if that. I think it varies with the individual.

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#1491935 14-Feb-2016 10:15

I remember being told that the venom of white tails was not particularly bad, but that they carried disease and their bite could lead to a nasty ulcer or boil. I looked into it after finding a couple in my house, and apparently it's a common misconception. This is from Wikipedia:

They are reported to bite humans; effects include local pain, a red mark, local swelling and itchiness; rarely nausea, vomiting, malaise or headache may occur. Ulcers and necrosis have been attributed to the bites, but a scientific study by Isbister and Gray (2003) showed these had other causes, mostly infections. The study of 130 white-tailed spider bites found no necrotic ulcers or confirmed infections.

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#1491937 14-Feb-2016 10:17

We have lots and lots of them at our house. Not really inside often but i just pick em up with my hand and put em outside to eat the daddy long legs.

I always thought they were nasty and had been picking them up for years not knowing they were white tails lol. Got bitten once and didn't affect me at all just stung like a pinch

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#1491940 14-Feb-2016 10:33

froob:

I remember being told that the venom of white tails was not particularly bad, but that they carried disease and their bite could lead to a nasty ulcer or boil. I looked into it after finding a couple in my house, and apparently it's a common misconception. This is from Wikipedia:

They are reported to bite humans; effects include local pain, a red mark, local swelling and itchiness; rarely nausea, vomiting, malaise or headache may occur. Ulcers and necrosis have been attributed to the bites, but a scientific study by Isbister and Gray (2003) showed these had other causes, mostly infections. The study of 130 white-tailed spider bites found no necrotic ulcers or confirmed infections.

Whilst talk of necrosis appears to be scaremongering, their bites do seem to have a nasty habit of getting infected. If you are bitten then make sure the site is treated appropriately.

They are actually quite aggressive spiders, and even though their bite isn't serious I still wouldn't want to get bitten by one.

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#1492092 14-Feb-2016 15:11

Copy the Cambodians - collect them up and deep fry them...

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#1492117 14-Feb-2016 16:14

I remember being told that the venom of white tails was not particularly bad, but that they carried disease

People say that about all sorts of creatures on the planet.

The truth is the most disease ridden are other humans - at least in your chances of being infected by something else.

It's a way of justifying often irrational hatred of the other species.

Spiders, unless you live in Aussie, are pretty much harmless to us humans. They eat an enormous amount of insects (and spiders are NOT insects themselves BTW), far more than birds do.

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