Sex-crazed false widow spiders on the prowl and set to raid UK homes this autumn
HORDES of dangerous false widow spiders are invading homes as they come out of hiding to mate.
One of the warmest Septembers on record has boosted numbers of the arachnids, the most venomous in the country.
But they will start to move indoors as the autumn weather gets colder. Jess Price, of Sussex Wildlife Trust, said: “They are fully grown and males will be walking around looking for a female.”
She said false black widows liked living near humans as we tend to attract insects like flies.
Jess added: “The warmer weather means there are more insects around for them to eat, so they will live longer.”
Milder temperatures have also helped the spiders spread.
They are usually seen only in the South but have been recorded as far north as Yorkshire. False widows can bite humans when threatened.
Their nip is similar a bee or wasp sting but some are left with terrifying allergic reactions.
A lorry driver in Somerset had a “gaping hole” in his wrist after surgery for a reaction to a bite.
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And a Teesside mum of two is on antibiotics after a suspected bite.
Yesterday Stephanie Sheehan, 28, of Brighton, spotted three of the spiders in her garage.
She said: “The biggest one is massive. Its body is as big as a large marble and it moves fast.”
False black widow spiders first came to the UK in 1879 after being accidentally imported from the Canary Islands. They are now widespread across the South of England.
Petrified Brits often mistake the critters with the deadly black widow spider which are not found in the UK.