Spiders Do Not Like Conkers

Hey you horrible old Bat, keep away from my pets or else!!!!!!!!

Spencer.

The whole thing may revolve around the fact that a spider's taste buds are in his/her feet. That's why you can pick up most spiders if you don't piss them off and not run a risk of getting bit. That is, of course, unless you have a habit of washing your hands in crushed flies.

The one exception is the bird spider. They like nothing better than coming across a nest of baby birds and making a meal of them. I guess humans taste a little like chicken!!!

And by the way, what spiders do Europeans have to worry about?! Isn't that a bit like being afraid of bears and wolves in Europe?!

Personally I don't think we need any fear of spiders over here and I don't know of any that can be even remotely nasty.

We do however have bears and wolves in europe and if you are like me, liking the far out places where you find little evidence of humans, you will encounter them. Including more dangerous things like boars. Just remember that brain size is invertedly linked to aggresion.

I haven't been hiking recently though, life has gotten in the way big time since marriage and kid......and mortgage

Hi case491.

There are 5 or 6 spiders in the UK that can give you a bite if you irritate them, but most of these are quite harmless. But there are two that can give you a nasy bite, both of them are False Black Widow spiders, they are the "Steatoda grossa" and the "Steatoda noblis". They live mainly in the southeast of the country, but because the climate is heating up they can now be found as far north as Oxford.

Spencer.

Hi Spencer,

I did not know that about those spiders. I doubt of they cause anything worse than lets say wasp bites which kills several people a year due to imune problems.

I used to have an insect and spider field guide but it may have ended up in one of my local charity shops. I have too many books in a too small a house. I'll look for it.

Currently I am sitting here freezing my proverbials off as I have to make a fire. My central heating is not up to the job to heat the whole house on its own. I am therefor disputing your claim to this blobal warming heating the place up as it is not where I am sitting Talk to me again in about an hours or so, I'll be warm then

I found one of my old field guides but this one is very general and not too good.

It only mentions the steatodea bipunctata and mentions nothing about it biting. I would not be surprised if this book has as many wrong entries in it as it has missing ones as it does not even mention the real back ground of many of the common names for creepy crawlies but will coment on them in other non relevant ways.

I wish I still had my insect book somewhere

Thought of the day must be, "never throw old books away"

Paper is not resinated, wood is. The lignin that binds the cell walls together has been hydrolyzed out to leave the fiber back bones that make up the fiber.

The lignin decomposes to make volatile flammable gasses which keep the wood fire alive.

We have people here who buy scrap paper and mix them with a binder and some wax and compress them into fireplace logs. They add some mineral salts to give color to the flames.

They are also sold as compressed briquets that you treat like coal or charcoal

Hi case491.

Here is a list of the spiders that can give you an unpleasant bite in the UK.

False Widow ( steatoda nobilis)

Cellar spider (steatoda grossa)

Tubeweb spider (segestria florentina)

Wood louse spider (dysdera crocata)

Walnut orb-weaver (nuctenea umbratica)

Lace weaver spider (amaurobius similis)

Mouse spider (herpyllus blackwalli)

Rustic wolf spider (trochosa ruricola)

Bark sac spider (clubiona corticalis)

Stone spider (drassodes lapidosus)

Cross or garden spider (araneus diadematus)

Bruennichi's Argiope bruennichi)

Most of these are to be found in the south of Britain, but a few of them can be found as far north as Derbyshire. Some of their bites can cause pain and swelling for up to 24 hours.

Spencer.

I've seen people carefully handle black widows. As I said earlier, we don't taste like their food, and if you don't threaten them, they usually won't bite. Black widows are also very timid - the exception to this is when there is a clutch of eggs in the web. Then, the spider becomes somewhat aggressive.

I take it you're talking about the continent. Aren't the only bears and wolves in England are in zoos?

If you go far enough North in Europe, you'll also run into wolverines, which roam all through Northern Europe and North America.

I southern europe and southern USA there is that "necrotic" Brown Recluse or Fiddleback Spider, that if it bites you and you do not get treatment, the flesh literally falls off your bones over the next few days in the area of the bite!!! there were someghastly phots of people who had been bitten and not got treated....

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

Brown recluse

I now love conkers!

But they only live where it does not freeze in winter.....so I am not in great danger, YET!!

"southern Europe and southern USA ..."

Neither of your references mentions Europe.

"You're tryin'a put the fri'ners on us, 'ere" as we say in Berkshire.

That's what I thought, before digging up ...

British Arachnological Society

... and ...

Grid map of records on the Gateway for Tegenaria agrestis

I must admit that was from a memory of a warning put out some years ago, maybe completely untrue.....my apologies if so. It was something to do with shipping/aircraft bringing in non native species.....

There are 5 or 6 similar necrotic spiders with that way of protecting themselves according to Wiki, do you know if any of them are native or have been introduced (unwillingly?) to any part of Europe?

Hi Andy.

Eight years ago a woman in Wolverhampton bought a Yuca plant from a garden supply shop near to where I live, on arriving home she noticed that the earth surrounding this plant was moving slightly. After two or three minutes a large spider appeared, her husband took it to the local zoo here in Dudley, it was discovered that the spider was a Hobo spider (Tegenaria agrestis), the zoo kept this spider for its collection.

Then there are the other arachnids that are not mentioned these days in the UK but we have plenty of them, Scorpions, these are the common European scorpions from southern Europe. They established a large colony in Sheerness in 1969, since then they can be found in all the southern counties of the UK.

Spencer.

Yes but are they particularly venomous? In America, we have a number of scorpion species, and only one is dangerous.

Hi vermin.

Good question! The Tegenaria agrestis and the Phoneutria ssp both of which have been imported into the UK are very venomous, particulary if you are a child, old person or are alergic to their bite. There have been a number of adult people in the UK who have had to have hospital treatment after beeing bitten by them. Although treatment is not always necessary, if you do not seek treatment quickly their bite can be fatal. Spencer.

Hi, Spencer,

Where did you get the info. that T. agrestis has been imported into the UK?

Hi JohnDG.

From the British Arachnological Society.

Spencer.

The only thing I could find on their site was:

"Native? ... Information not yet to hand"

Don't know much about it myself, but from a bit of 'surfing, it looks as if Tegenaria agrestis was introduced to the US from the UK.

That was to get back at you Guys for sending us the Eastern Grey Squirrel!!, Which has managed to drive away and kill off most of the red Squirrels in the UK....

Hi Andy.

There are a number of different spiders that have been intoduced into Europe from places such as Brazil, India and lately from USA. Not all of these are dangerous, but most can give you a bite.

Here in the UK we have wallaby's, African Parrots, Freshwater turtles and grey sqirrels, all transported here by accident or as pets, then we have a host of insects and arachnids that have come by ship, lorry or plane including the common European scorpion. Recently we have seen the large European wasp and hornet over here, plus the maleria mosquito, the latest have come over here because of rising temperatures.

Spencer.

Hi JohnDG.

Thanks for the information. I love spiders, they can make great pets if you treat them right and not irritate them. I have handled most large Arachnids both here and abroard and have not once been bitten by them. They are some of the most facinating creatures to watch, and I could sit for hours just watchung them.

Spencer.

French carpenters occasionally use horse chestnut beams in some of the farm houses. They tend to crack as they age although always longitudinally and so there is little impact on their strength. They are continually cracking on a small level and making noises that, apparently, scares the spiders off. The places I have stayed over there with horse chestnut beams all brag about the fact that they have no spiders, so there may be some truth in that side of things.

Sometimes you can be sitting watching the TV and suddenly a large crack can be heard, almost like a pistol. This is when some of the stresses that have built up due to the micro cracking let loose. Makes you jump almost as high as when a spider lands on you.

Well, someone is definitely missing out on a lucrative opportunity!!!

Since a spiders taste buds are located in its feet, someone should try brewing a tea (minus the heat) from conkers. Then, spraying it where spiders frequent. If the spiders disappear, you've got an excellent product!!!

You also need to find a solution to the stains after that.

That way you get rich twice

Experiments into this have been carried out by a large number of BBC Radio 2 (UK) listeners, after Sarah Kennedy (0600 - 0730) mentioned this on her programme.

All participants who reported said the spiders left the house.

conkers emit a ferimone that a spider will avoid

where can I find these conkers to use in my house? I have tried looking for them, but I cannot find them.

Depends where you're from.