32 thoughts on “Everyone Stay Cool”

  4. Rob_G

    If you click on the link, the Wikipedia page states that although the spider does bite, its bite it merely unpleasant for humans, rather than dangerous – and you called pest control for that(?)

  5. Spaghetti Hoop

    Tuh…going ’round pretending her husband is dead….

    Then again, maybe he’s a bollix and she wants him dead. Fair enough so.

  6. wubbelz

    Acronophobologists of broadsheet, since our climate can now support these fellas does that mean it could potentially support black widow spiders and other mad yokes?

  7. Atlas

    I’m no expert, but it doesn’t look like the picture of the noble false widow on its Wikipedia page.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatoda_nobilis

    Also, it says it’s “capable of inflicting a painful bite to humans, with most bites resulting in symptoms similar to a bee or wasp sting.” I think people might be getting a tad alarmist here.

      1. munkifisht

        By laypeople, but actually in the scientific community Wikipedia is considered pretty good compared to other sources. Peer reviewed studies have found that Wikipedia articles on scientific subjects are as accurate if not more accurate than those found in other sources and tend to reflect the most recent and most advanced thinking on a subject in a particular field. Indeed it is in a scientists interest to update the Wikipedia article once their work is published and reference it as it is normally the first source for someone trying to find out about a subject. I work in science and will tend to look at Wikipedia to learn the basics of a topic before I delve into in further depth. It tends to be contentious issues or celebrity biographies that are targeted for vandalism which is why they are normally locked for editing.

    3. deliverancecountry

      That’s gonna hurt though. Bees and wasps are wild obvious and noisy but these guys will be hiding in our shoes and in coat racks and UNDER THE BED>
      Let me be the first to say “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH”

      1. Spaghetti Hoop

        Under? No my friend, they’re IN THE BED.
        They gerrin under the sheets and wait till you’re asleep before crawling all over your face and finding a nice bit of flesh to picnic on.

  8. Bejayziz

    Jesus, whats with all the hysteria…I’ve seen a few in the garden and the hall way, why would you call pest control over something so harmless..theyre harmless and more likely to get stung by a wasp which is far more dangerous when you consider how many people are allergic to vespidae venom…False widow spider bites are harmless.

    1. munkifisht

      Are you sure you’re not confusing them with the common garden spider? They’re big mofos but much more prevalent

  9. TheDude

    I remember the good ole days when folks used to kill spiders themselves. Outsourcing man, outsourcing

  10. edalicious

    Ah here, I’ve had these in my garden for as long as I can remember. I can understand calling an exterminator for a wasps’ nest but a couple of these hanging around the place is not going to cause any hassle for anybody.

  11. karl

    I took a picture but I didn’t call pest control. There’s literally 4/5 of them on every window of the office and on bike racks and doorways. Some people are terrified of spiders, and with the media reports about them lately, it was thought it would be best to have them removed such that the employees could relax.

  14. Ciara

    this is the bit that freaked me:
    Males are able to produce stridulation sounds during courtship, by scraping 10-12 teeth on the abdomen against a file on the rear of the carapace.

  15. Bingo

    All the daddy longs have disappeared in my flat over the last month or so.
    Natural or have I a new, hungry flatmate?
    AM I NEXT????

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