By JENNY STOCKS

Fortunately, British homes are unliklely to be invaded by species as large as the tarantula

For many, just the thought of spiders can bring on a cold sweat, but this autumn, with numbers soaring due to the wet summer months, we will have to get used to our new house guests, warns Jenny Stocks

WHY ARE WE SO TERRIFIED OF THEM?

Is it something we are born with or that we learn?

‘I am 100 per cent in the nurture camp,’ says Dr John Tweddle, arachnid expert at the Natural History Museum.

‘Children of phobic parents will be brought up with a general uncertainty of spiders and possibly go on to develop a full-blown phobia.

‘Even the momentary sharp intake of breath from a parent when an infant approaches a spider is enough to engender a fear.’


Invasion of the arachnids: House spiders can give a nip if they feel threatened


ARE BRITISH ONES POISONOUS?
Surprisingly, all spiders in Britain are venomous — it’s the way they disable and digest their prey. But most of them are harmless to us.

‘Small spiders have fangs, but they can’t penetrate human skin,’ says Mark Bushell, assistant curator of invertebrates at Bristol Zoo.

‘Only 14 species out of around 600 in Britain are reported to be able to bite people, and most spider bites are no worse than a bee sting.

‘House spiders can give a nip if they feel threatened, but it feels like being pricked by a thorn.’

Two species vie for the most venomous: the walnut orb weaver and a type of false widow, Steatoda nobilis.

Their human victims describe burning sensations, local pain and swelling, often followed by pulsating pain and sickness.


Surprisingly all spiders in Britain are venomous, it's the way they disable and digest their prey


HOW DO THEY GET INTO OUR HOMES?
According to Craig Walker, who works with arachnids in the bug department of London Zoo, some spiders live in our houses all the time.

It’s just that we are more likely to spot them when they grow bigger and when the males wander around looking for a mate (which is why they come into our homes at this time of year).

New arrivals looking for shelter can crawl through an open window or door without us noticing, or even be brought in on our coats or shopping.

IF YOU GET RID OF THE WEB, WILL THE SPIDER LEAVE?
No. Craig Walker says many spiders spin webs daily, so they will be relatively unperturbed by your feather duster.

‘Most webs that we dust away come to our attention only when they are old and dust has built up on them,’ he says. ‘The spider is probably long gone to another one by then.’

Surprisingly, only half of spiders spin webs. The fearful-sounding wolf spider runs after insects, jumping spiders hop after them and spitting spiders launch sticky venom at them.

And yes, all of these could find their way into your home.

HOW TO GET RID OF A SPIDER KINDLY
According to our experts, the best way to dispose of a spider without killing it is not by using any of the contraptions on the market.

These include the £10.49 battery-operated spider vacuum from Lakeland that sucks it up and spits it out again, or the long Spider Catcher (available online for £9.99) that traps the creepy crawly in soft bristles that open and close around it.

In fact, the best way to do it is the tried-and-tested drinking glass and piece of card method. Slip a piece of card under the spider, put a glass on top of it and dispose of it in the garden.

source: dailymail