Nasty Spiders

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Ron Clay

Guest
I heard that Winsor Castle is infested with a rather nasty poisonous spider. Sounds like a Violin Spider (Loxeceles sp) which is common to the warmer areas of the planet. They like dark places and wander about at night.

With all the large lorries travelling daily to UK from places such as Turkey, I am not surprised that spiders such as violins and black widows are now in the UK. Even our common house spider is getting bigger. The yanks call this the Hobo spider and have identified that it is quite venomous. A friend of mine was bitten by on of these things recently and his foot swelled up considerably.

Beware all long stay bivvy anglers. Violin spiders love sleeping bags and are very active during the autumn. If you live in Kent, watch out for black widows!!
 
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Stewart Bloor

Guest
''Beware all long stay bivvy anglers.''

Give me a break Ron, I'm just getting over my rat encounter.....
 
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Stuart Bullard

Guest
Black widows in Kent?? What is that all about Ron? I HATE, HATE, HATE spiders (well, venomous ones) and would not hesitate to move to Scotland if they were here in Kent. Well, OK, perhaps Scotland is a bit extreme.....
 
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Ron Clay

Guest
The two most dangerous of European Spiders are Latrodectus tredeimguttas (Black Widow) and Loxosceles rufecens (European Brown Recluse or Violin Spider.

Both species have a liking for nooks and crannies as are found in large lorries etc. Both spiders are extremely common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Southern France and Greece. Neither of them require a hot climate to exist as black widows can withstand a Canadian winter.

Fortunately neither of these spiders is aggressive although the Brown Recluse has the nasty habit of entering the confines of a sleeping bag or clothing at night. That's how I got bitten.

Personally, even in England I would empty out my sleeping bag before settling down for the night.

By the way Stuart there is a European spider that is now fairly common in Kent. It's quite a big job with striped legs and abdomen and packs quite a bite I beleive.

All these species are extremley active in September.
 
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Stuart Bullard

Guest
Sod that. I am taking string for tying up my trouser legs in future.......
 
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Paul Williams

Guest
Ron,
Are you trying to turn us all into a bunch of neurotic maniacs!!!! ;o)
 
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Paul Thompson

Guest
Now heres a story to get your teeth into..I saw spiders in Kenya a few years back that used to rear up on their back legs and i swear they hissed at you. They had them in Saudi too. Vicious little sods. According to the rumour, they give you a nip which makes a small area go numb, then they come back later and have a free lunch. I heard several tales about soldiers waking up with holes in their backsides, and blood stained sleeping bags.....
Even the locals wouldn't go near them. One night I entered the guard tent and found 6 lads and a captain , all with weapons, perched on a 6ft tressle table. When I saw the size of the spider I knew why. I was ordered to kill it, but buggered off before it saw me...
 
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Paul Williams

Guest
I don't mind em taking a chunk off the rear end but my Missus said i can't spare any from the front.....:(
 
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Fred Bonney

Guest
Lightening strikes,spiders?????anybody seen those big black cats that creap about at night?
 
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