spider in my garden is dangerous?

How do I know if a spider in my garden is dangerous?

Like a nightmare scenario from a budget horror flick, Britain is under attack from eight-legged beasties.
A mild summer has helped these creepy critters to breed then grow far bigger and fatter than usual. But with cold on the way they are about to invade our homes too.
When Mirror Online asked for pictures of the most terrifying spiders you found at home our, er, website was inundated.
These uninvited guests can deliver a bite as painful as a deep injection so Dan and son, Ruben, three, don’t want them indoors.
Dan said: “I’m not scared of spiders but even I’m freaked out by these. When it got dark they all came out and there must have been more than 50 of them.
“I know they bite so I worry about Ruben. I will have to speak to the council or get an exterminator out.”
Even more worrying are repeat sightings of the false widow, seen as the most venomous spider in Britain. In 2012 a builder from Bromley in Kent was bitten on the foot and feared it would need amputation after his entire lower leg became red and blistered.
A decorator in Essex who was bitten had his leg cut open to flush out the poison. And in Gloucestershire a school had to close when false widows came indoors for the autumn.
And last week a usually harmless giant house spider was suspected of biting a six-year-old Birmingham girl whose skin turned bright red in reaction.
However spider expert Lawrence Bee of the British Arachnological Society says there’s no need to panic.
“Most house spiders are entirely harmless . They aren’t going to chase and attack you,” he says. “All they want to do is eat insects, find a mate and breed. One reason we feel scared of spiders is because they are so much bigger so its easier to make out their eyes and fangs and hairy legs. And house spiders aren’t the nicest looking things... even I don’t like the look of them.”
Today Lawrence talks us through the scariest-looking spider pictures sent in to Mirror Online...

Garden Spider

Garden Spider
Garden Spider
Latin name Araneus diadematus
Can grow to 4cm
Appearance Eye-catching and alarming with its round body with yellow, brown or orange markings and white “plus” sign on its back.
Will it bite? Not a chance.
Invader? They’re as British as fish and chips and bad weather, but can also be found around the world in various guises.

Wasp Spider

Wasp Spider
Wasp Spider
Latin name Argiope bruennichi
Photo sent in by Sacha Benedette, from Sevenoaks
Can grow to 4cm
Appearance Egg-shaped body with black and yellow stripes.
Will it bite? Rarely, and if it does it shouldn’t harm a human.
Invader? Very much so. Once native to North Africa, it’s been in the UK since the 1920s but there has been a surge in numbers over the last 10 years due to our increasingly mild climate.

Cucumber green spider

Cucumber Green Spider
Cucumber Green Spider
Latin name Araniella
Photo sent in by Lyndsey Withnall, from Wednesbury
Can grow to 1cm
Appearance Short legs with a comparatively large, bright apple-green body designed to provide camouflage in its natural woodland habitat.
Will it bite? Highly unlikely. It’s not aggressive and due to its size and small fangs it would find it impossible to break through human skin.
Invader? Despite its almost tropical colouring this spider has long been native to the UK. It is rarely seen outside of its preferred leafy habitat. And even then its camouflage makes it hard to spot.

Lace-webbed spider

Lace Web Spider
Lace Web Spider
Latin name Amaurobius
Can grow to 3cm
Appearance A distinctive black and yellow colouring with a V-shape on its back and thick, hairy brown legs.
Will it bite? Possibly. It can deliver a nasty, painful nip which could cause swelling. Worryingly these nocturnal creatures prefer the indoors.
Invader? Nope. It’s another native Brit.

Tube web spider

tube web spiders
Tube web spiders
Latin name Segestria florentina
Photo sent in by Sandra Daley from Timperley
Can grow to 5cm
Appearance Black with thick legs and distinctive green fangs
Will it bite? Yes, but it’s unlikely. The venom isn’t life-threatening or particularly problematic but the bite itself is painful.
Invader? Another import from warmer Mediterranean countries, they’ve been arriving in Britain for around 150 years via our main seaports and now seem to be flourishing thanks to our increasingly warm climate.

False widow spider

False black widow spider
False black widow spider
Latin name Steatoda nobilis
Can grow to 4cm
Appearance Black and rounded with white markings on its back.
Will it bite? Yes, but only if it feels threatened.
The venom can kill a bitten human who doesn’t get medical attention, or the victim can suffer severe reactions or infections.
Invader? Yes, this relation of the deadly Black Widow spider came to the UK in the 19th Century from the Canary Islands and is now quite common here.

House spider

House spider
House spider
Latin name Tegenaria domestica
Photo sent in by Nick Griffin from West Wittering
Can grow to 5cm
Appearance Brown and hairy
Will it bite? Unlikely. It’s more likely to scurry away or roll up into a defensive ball. If it does bite it will be painless and harmless.
Invader? No. But its more aggressive cousin, the hobo spider, is a relatively recent arrival which can inflict a painful bite if it feels threatened. This can become infected.

Giant house spider

House spider, above view
House spider, above view
Latin name Tegenaria gigantia
Photo sent in by David Cole from Bridgend
Can grow to 8cm
Appearance Brown, hairy and big.
Will it bite? On rare occasions, like its regular house spider cousin, but it would rather run away. If it does bite the venom is usually harmless and the nip not too painful. But its fangs can bite through human skin.

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