Who's Afraid Of A Little Spider?
If you are afraid of spiders, you might want to look away now, because
we could be seeing more of our arachnid friends than usual this
autumn, with their numbers predicted to keep on rising.
A succession of mild winters saw a 200% rise in species in some parts
of the country last year, and similar numbers are expected this year.
Which means huge house spiders like the one which wandered into Dan
Barrett's home in Sidcup, will be all the more common.
"We found it in the kitchen on Tuesday night just before we went to
bed," he said. "My wife was on the phone, and I heard her say 'Oh my
God'. I came running into the kitchen and when I saw it I just stood
still, I was shocked."
So was he scared? "I had to call a friend round at half past ten at
night to come round and kill it, so that maybe tells you how I felt!"
And according to the experts, it's not just larger spiders we can
expect to see more of, but all sizes, and species, including those not
native to these shores.
The Steatoda Nobilis, or False Widow for example, originally from the
Caribbean, has been surviving in the South of England for the past two
decades, but there are signs it is starting to spread north.
"With climate change, if that's what we're seeing, it affects the
distribution of species", said Greg Hitchcock from the conservation
group Buglife. "It means that if species are introduced from warmer
countries through container transport, for example, they are more
likely to survive."
The problem with some of these exotic spiders is that they can attack
when under threat.
"The False Widow does have a potentially painful bite," says Greg. "If
they feel threatened or are half squashed they might bite, but bite
reports are quite rare, and it doesn't kill people."
If you are afraid of spiders, however, that is likely to be of little
comfort. You may just have to get used to the view from the top of the
kitchen chair.
Sky News: 7th September 2007
