Spiders

When I was in my thirties I was lying in bed about to go to sleep when I felt an incredible pain in my upper arm. I soon learnt that the source was a white tailed spider (Lampona sp.) It had travelled from the great outdoors and into my bedroom in my washing basket. I had thrown the clean (spider-carrying) clothes on the bed before putting them away.

The pain was bad. Real bad.

I ejected out of bed. Located the treacherous beast and mashed him to a pulp.

A primal response I realise but he started it.

The treacherous beast - pre-annihilation

Three weeks later I was still in pain. I had a clear and evident mark where the bite had occurred. I was worried.

Went to the doctor. Doctor had no idea. He looked in the bottom draw of his desk for the insect bite book. Scrolled through. Prescribed some topical cream and said that if it didn’t improve I should return.

These were the days when we were just learning about necrotic ulcers allegedly caused by the bite of these spiders. The flesh starts dying. Huge ulcerated patches with skin falling off. Limbs amputated. I was worried.

There was no necrosis but what did happen was that the bite did not ever heal properly.

It appeared that a pocket of poison was retained just under the skin. Every time that spot was knocked it would flare up. Become painful and itchy. Drove me crazy.

I tolerated this for a year and then got out the pocket knife. Figured that if I cut out the poison pocket it would solve the problem. Minor surgery in the home. I excised the venom-filled flesh. Squeezed it to make it bleed, alot. Applied a bandaid. Problem solved.

Of course, I don’t treat all spiders (or their bites) in this fashion.

As a general rule spiders that are wanderers or very large are relocated outside. If they are prepared to stick to their web in a corner they can stay. Even their offspring can stay.

Over the summer months I have noticed a huge number of Orb-weaver spiders (Eriophora sp.) about the place.

The picture below is of a very large female (she looks female to me) who lives down at the hay shed. She has constructed an extremely large web that spans a space of about a metre square. The carcasses representing many meals remain suspended in the web.

I duck under the web to retrieve a hay bale. She never flinches.

I wonder if she watches me. I know that I am watching her.

As I walk about the bush I see them everywhere. Webs erected between ferns or bushes. The little spiders sitting right in the middle.

Beautifully coloured hairy spiders with round bellies (NB. not called “bellies” in the science world).

At home I had a little Orb-Weaver who insisted on making her web across the fence at the entrance to the pool. I had to carefully break it every time I went for a swim. I could see her sitting on the fence, probably swearing at me.

After a few days ‘Orby’ got the message and started making her nest at an angle. I could walk past it to access the pool and she didn’t have to slave away each night remaking the web.

I am grateful for her work catching mosquitoes and flies. Perhaps she is grateful that I haven’t mashed her to a pulp.

Golden Orb Spider (Nephilia sp.)