False Widow Spiders and the truth behind the scare
Here we go again, once more the newspaper headlines are full of pest related scary stories, and as we’ve obviously exhausted this year’s collection of outrageous rat stories, so the tabloids have switched their focus to the insect world, and now it’s the false widow spiders turn to be centre stage in this rather sad but boring drama.
Do I sound a tad jaded? Well, yes, I am a little tired of this industries no stop obsession with selling its services through fear, because, that is exactly what the British pest control business does: it sells unnecessary services through a form of mass hysteria because we’re the “experts” and we’re warning you that if you don’t listen to us, you’re about to die!
Ok, maybe that’s a bit extreme but its true, pest control companies, especially those with KILL as part of their name are constantly drumming up trade through fear, and the media loves this because it sells their papers, or the online versions, so it’s a win – win for everyone.
I’m going to buck this trend with this blog, and try to highlight the truth behind the hype, as Abraham Lincoln once said “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet”*
How do I identify a False Widow Spider?
The name false widow spider is a generic name given to many different species of spider; the most common of these are the rabbit hutch spider, the cupboard spider, the noble false widow and here in the South of England, the mediterranean false widow spider also appears on the Most Wanted list.
Despite the hype that surrounds them, these spiders aren’t huge, the females are larger than the males and they’re around 15mm in size, the males are much smaller at around 6mm.
On top of this there’s over another 600 species all under the grouping of false widow spider, so if you’re scared of spiders, probably best to turn this off right now.
You can identify all of these spiders by a dark and bulbous abdomen which is shiny in appearance, some of them even carry a skull type marking across their back, how’s that for scary? That’s like something out of a Tim Burton film.
This description, bulbous body, strange markings and eight legs pretty much sums up 99% of the spiders that you’ll find in the UK so working off this identification; every spider you’ll ever see will certainly resemble a false widow, but there’s no need to panic.
Are False Widow Spiders dangerous?
The answer to this question is yes and no, these spiders use a venom, similar to the chemicals found in wasps and bees, to defend itself and paralyse its prey, this is the reason for the stinging sensation that we get from a bite, in the case of the spider, or a sting from a wasp. The venom reacts with our pain receptors, and we get the intense feeling of pain, in itself the venom shouldn’t cause us any more problems than that single instant sharp pain, along with a swelling which is usually followed by a period of itching.
Some unfortunate individuals do suffer from anaphylaxis, which is a serious life-threatening situation where our body responds to the venom, in such an extreme manner that it causes our blood pressure to suddenly drop, and the affected individual becomes unable to breathe for themselves, so yes, any spider bite maybe dangerous for the wrong person.
But generally, it’s a big no, the bites are no more dangerous than a wasp or bee sting, however the biggest risk is not from the venom which you’d expect, but the bacteria found on the spiders’ fangs. This bacterium is injected directly into our bloodstream, and this is where the horror story begins.
I’ve just read a recent newspaper article, that was full of the same old horror clichés, by using words like explosion, toxic, and most dangerous, which were littered throughout the piece like confetti, and placed there just to scare the public into submission; these spiders are no-more dangerous than the humble bumblebee.
Technically speaking that is, to get a more balanced view, visit the British Arachnological Society’s webpage on spider bites; the balancing out bit is that these people actually like spiders; as someone who’s not especially a big fan of spiders, it’s a good article to read.
How can a spider bite be dangerous?
Other than an extreme allergic reaction to the venom, which must be pointed out is very rare, the real horror story comes from the result that just about any cut, or break in our skin can lead to, and this is called, necrotising fasciitis, and this is a real horror story!
What is necrotising fasciitis?
Did I make a derogatory reference to the pest control industry selling its services on the basis of fear? Well, if I did, and if we really needed to sell with fear, then I’m especially guilty for writing this blog, necrotising fasciitis is a (rare) flesh eating bacterial infection that eats away at human tissue.
Anyone can get this infection, all you need is something as little as a prick on your finger for the bacteria to enter your body, from there the injected bacteria release a mixture of toxins and enzymes that gradually destroy the living tissue around the wound site.
Initially it can be hard to diagnose because the horizontal spread of the infection isn’t visible, as the bacteria multiply, the wound will become extremely painful as this infection begins to spread vertically, down into the deeper tissue and structures of the body. The bacteria are also releasing gas, like hydrogen sulphide which breaks down one of major building blocks in the body, which is called hyaluronic acid. This is the stuff found in all those “Because we’re worth it” adverts for face creams and works to keep our skin smooth and supple.
At this stage without medical intervention, you’re in deep trouble with symptoms like nausea, a fever, diarrhoea and an intense thirst, the affected areas will start to swell and become covered in dark patches with fluid filled blisters popping up on the skin, as the affected area begins to die. In a few days you are facing complete toxic shock, organ failure and eventually death, all this from a small spider bite!
So, let’s not downplay too much how dangerous spider bites could possibly be, but in the harsh reality of life, you’re probably more likely to be run over in the Doctors surgery car park as you rush in to show the receptionist your swollen finger, than actually dying from a spider bite, even one with a skull tattoo on its back.
How long have False Widow Spiders been in the UK?
Coming back to a point of balance now we’ve had the scary bit, these spiders have been living in the UK for over 140 years, it’s believed that they came in with imported goods from either the Canaries or the Maderia islands back in the 1800’s.
Since then, they’ve slowly spread right across southern England and they’re moving northwards all the time, but the point is, scores of people haven’t been popping off the perch all over England for the last 140 years because of infected spider bites, have they?
Pest control treatments for spiders
The reason why there’s a question mark on that heading is because, well it’s a question and not an actual title. Can I as a professional pest controller offer you a treatment for spiders? No is the answer, not really because of how our chemicals work and how they’re applied.
I’ll explain further if this sounds confusing: the insecticides that we use in the pest control industry are generally based on a liquid, and these are applied either as a heavy spray from a pump sprayer or, as ultrafine droplets from a device called a fogging machine.
Either application sends out an insecticide which is most effective when the wet form comes into contact with the living insects, we also have another chemical which acts as a glue to basically strangle them and prevent them from breathing. Immediate contact is best, but we know that this is not likely to happen given all the spaces and cracks in which insects hide away. In order to get the insecticide onto the insect, the chemicals have a long-lasting residual effect to catch them as they move about, crawling over those surfaces that we treated.
Some very clever people designed these chemicals treatment to work like this, because insects don’t drink water; to stay hydrated they absorb moisture through a waxy coating that covers them. We use the mechanism of active ingredient absorption after the ‘wet’ treatment has dried out. And these very clever people made the chemicals to be long lasting, so the insects keep on taking in an accumulative dose until they die. So, what’s the problem with this you ask?
The problem with these treatments is down to the fact that spiders while away the hours sat, suspended in their web, safe from the chemicals. Added to this, is the fact that they run around on the human equivalent of a fingernail; there just isn’t enough body contact with the treated surfaces to get that build up of the active ingredient which we need to kill the insect. The chemicals can’t be active for ever and their lifespan is measured is just a few weeks.
Spiders present in the property during the treatment will die off, but those hidden away or outside of the treated area, well they just won’t be affected by our chemicals, so in my opinion, a “professional” spider treatment is just a waste of money and time.
Spiders are our friends!
You can, in theory, get necrotising fasciitis from just about anywhere, a paper cut, pruning the roses or opening a can of cat food, all these injuries piece the skin and have the potential to allow the bacteria into the body.
But getting back to reality, in that you’ve cut yourself thousands of times during your life and yet, never experienced any problem, so once again we are dealing with a hyped up situation, all to boost some companies profits whilst making you so much poorer.
Spiders are nature’s own pest controllers, yes they leave behind their webs which hang from the ceiling and collect dust, which will in turn, get ignored until the posh relatives turn up one afternoon and then they sit there looking up at the cobwebs, wondering if you ever do any housework.
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