Help! False widow in my house :( what should I do?

LolitaLove

I got in not long ago (but I am not drunk) and I went into the utility room to get a drink (the fridge is in there). As soon as I walked into the room I saw a spider suspended in mid air. As it was suspended mid air I got a good chance to have a very close look at it....it's a false widow. I have immuno-compromised people visiting sometimes so having one in the house is not a risk I want to take. I knew I'd have to kill it but I just couldn't, I couldn't bring myself to. So I tried to catch it in a glass with a magazine but it scuttled back up to it's web is on the fluorescent ceiling light. I can't sleep now knowing it's there, and has probably laid eggs, and there's probably loads of them. What's the easiest, nicest way to kill them? Any advice appreciated

forgotmyname

Nicest way to kill them?

Vacuum it up and dispose of it?

I find spiders fascinating. But there must be a limit on the number otherwise they become a nuisance. I spotted a web in the garden with a small yellow/orange blob.
I went upto it and just about to poke it when tons of tiny spiders all scattered.

I wish i had a camera. It would have been brill to watch.

Spray with vinegar?

Triggles

Nicest way to kill it? Seriously, unless you're planning on standing there pulling all it's legs off one by one, then one method is pretty much the same as any other, don't you think? lol

Don't vacuum it. I've seen a number of people stating spiders will survive in the vacuum and can lay eggs in the vacuum. Pretty sure you don't want that.

System

Nothing like a bit of hysteria abut a spider that has been in this country for years and is now spreading because of the climate.

Chuck the thing out of the door/window as you would any other spider!

From NHM rather than a hysterical journalist

Adult spiders are capable of biting humans. Spiders are not aggressive and most injuries to humans are
defensive bites delivered when a spider becomes unintentionally squeezed or pinched.


Steatoda nobilis the false widow spider will only bite defensively when under attack.

The bite of the false widow spider can be medically significant in humans, but usually without any long-lasting effects.
Reports from those bitten describe a certain amount of pain, which often radiates along the limb or part of the body where bitten, and often a degree of swelling in the affected part. Some describe fever and a general feeling of being unwell. These symptoms may last for a couple of days but the total effect is unlikely to be more serious than that.
As for bites from other species in the genus Steatoda, it can produce a set of symptoms known as steatodism.
More serious symptoms have occasionally been reported, but are likely to be the exceptional reaction of individuals to the venom. It is always advisable to seek medical attention if symptoms persist.

The problems come from secondary infection due to people scratching ther bite site and not the bite itself I.E. self inflicted septicaemia and blood poisoning

sleepymans

LolitaLove wrote: »

.... What's the easiest, nicest way to kill them? Any advice appreciated

I am seriously arachnaphobic so a nice method for me isn't necessarily a nice method for the spider....so I use variously...

a spider-catching implement I bought off a gadget website which grabs them in-between some bristles and then you release spider outside...

or if spider is not moving or on a floor or flat surface I cover with a jam jar till someone else is around and deals with it for me (I couldn't bear to try to pick it up....shudders.....)

In sink or bath...a squirt of fairy and a blast of water....I call that the drown and down method as the body usually washes away.......if its not too large a beast:eek: that is

on a wall or ceiling I'm afraid I have a long handled dustpan & brush and thwack it dead...sweep up the remains!

I have resorted to hairspray and flykiller spray but not often:eek:

In the situation you describe the spray might have been my chosen method.

davenport151

!!!!!! wrote: »

Nothing like a bit of hysteria abut a spider that has been in this country for years and is now spreading because of the climate.

Chuck the thing out of the door/window as you would any other spider!

From NHM rather than a hysterical journalistThe problems come from secondary infection due to people scratching ther bite site and not the bite itself I.E. self inflicted septicaemia and blood poisoning

Thank you for posting that mugwamp, exactly what I had read the other day and was looking to post.

nickj_2

show it the the sole of your shoe

themull1

I thought the title of the thread said false window!! and i was thinking whats a spider got to do with a false window.....i'm obviously losing the plot.:rotfl:

System

To put things in perspective see http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/insects-spiders/identification-guides-and-keys/spider-bites/ for reports on 12 other UK spiders that have a venomous bite. All of them a lot more common and indigenous to the UK

-taff

nicest way to kil it....a newspaper.

get a sponge ready to mop up the mess on the celiing though....and did you get any sleep?

27col

themull1 wrote: »

I thought the title of the thread said false window!! and i was thinking whats a spider got to do with a false window.....i'm obviously losing the plot.:rotfl:

That's what I thought that the title said as well.