Soggy soil is forcing some of the Illawarra’s creepy crawlies out of hiding, with funnel web spiders among the critters surfacing for a good airing.
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Monday’s deluge has proved too much for some of the notorious arachnids and experts are urging residents who come across spiders looking for drier homes to be cautious.
Australian Reptile Park operations manager Mike Drinkwater said it was common for female funnel webs to flee their sodden burrows after pouring rain and it was best to just leave them be.
But if moving them on was the safest option, and an adult felt confident enough to trap the spiders, they could go on to fulfil an important duty and potentially save lives, Mr Drinkwater said.
‘‘Primarily the males are the most valuable to us, they are six times more toxic than the females so their venom is very, very valuable in terms of going on to create anti-venom, but if people bring them in we’ll identify them and determine their gender, ’’ he said.
The Central Coast park is the only place in Australia with a funnel web venom program, which relies on the public to hand in spiders at drop-off points – the nearest to the Illawarra being Sutherland Hospital.
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ales of the spider’s gymnastic or aggressive antics were usually untrue, Mr Drinkwater said.
‘‘Everyone’s familiar with that image of them standing up on their back legs and that’s just a threat display, that’s about the most you’ll get out of them,’’ he said.
‘‘They’re quite a cumbersome spider, they’re not very agile.’’
Although a funnel web bite could potentially be fatal, there have been no reported deaths since 1981.
In the event of a bite, Mr Drinkwater said tightly wrapping a compression bandage around the area and then along the entire limb was the best treatment while awaiting emergency services.
Visit www.reptilepark.com.au for instructions on trapping funnel web spiders.