Funnel-web spiders are on the increase in Sydney, Australia.
Sydneysiders are on alert as a plague of funnel-web spiders spreads across the city, breeding easier in the warm, wet weather.
The Australian Reptile Park has had an influx of orders for anti-venom and the dangerous spiders hotline has been inundated with calls over the Christmas period.
It is thought that the long dry spell followed by heavy rain over Christmas has led to a surge in the spiders numbers.
The funnel-web spider is said to be in the top three most dangerous spiders in the world. A total of 13 people have died in Australia after being bitten by the spider, seven of them were children. The male of the species is the one most likely to inflict a bite. The spiders like to make their homes in moist, cool and sheltered habitats, usually under rocks and rotting wood but also in garden sheds. They tend to wander during warmer months looking for a mate and this is when they are most likely to be spotted in suburban gardens. They are also attracted to water and some have been spotted in swimming pools.
Symptoms of their bite include shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and a tingling sensation around the mouth and tongue. If you do suspect you have been bitten, it is advisable to call for an ambulance straight away, giving them a good description of the spider if possible.
Rex Gilroy, a spider expert who runs the Katoomba Rotary Club’s dangerous spiders hotline blamed the recent surge in spiders on global warming saying: “I think climate change might have something to do with it. This season there’s more moisture and coolness and the spiders have been able to breed up,”
Mr Gilroy estimates that his hotline has been receiving up to 30 reports of the spider by Sydney residents every week.
Mary Rayner, general manager of the Australian Reptile Park has been taking in the captured spiders. Just before Christmas they had two male funnel-web spiders and now have more than 40. She asks parents to be especially vigilant in checking children’s clothes, shoes and play equipment as children are particularly vulnerable to the bites.
Australia seems to be getting a few wildlife plagues lately, only last November the small town of Tharmomindah in Queensland was over-run by swarms of kangaroo and emus and further back in July we reported an increase in wild camels. I blame global warming personally, for everything.
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