awareness of spiders with potent venom

[Andrea82]

Ok, in another thread there was some discussion about people in Sydney not knowing about the potency of a funnelweb spider.
It made for an interesting question imo...are people aware of possible dangerous spiders in their 'backyard'?

It would be great if someone from Sydney could confirm or deny this.
What about other cities?
For reference,this was the thread:

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/lost-tarantula.280588/page-4#post-2435722

 

[matypants]

I'm located in the southern U.S. and have lived here all my life. I've had to explain to family members and co-workers that every arachnid has venom and a pair of fangs because that is how they primarily subdue prey, in addition to, or in place of, their webs. That their venom is what breaks down their food so they can eat. Not everyone is aware for whatever reason. But also, not everyone is interested enough in arachnids to read about them or study them. It's the same with reptiles and amphibians to a degree. Not everyone appreciates them, or is interested enough to study them. It's not a knock on them, it's just not their thing.

 

[Andrea82]

Thnx for the input, but I guess I need to specify m question more..
Are your friends and others aware of potent venomous spiders around their houses/in their city? (If there are any of course)

 

[cold blood]

I've lived on the other side of the planet my whole life, and people here know about the Sydney funnel web...its WELL publicized...like the widow here...I challenge you to find anyone in the states that doesn't know a black widow has potent venom.

I go to AZ and talk to people, people that have ZERO interest in arachnids, yet they know exactly which scorpions are the dangerous ones.

Knowing the dangers in your back yard is common sense....if you are not aware of dangers in your area, well that's one for Darwin to explain to you.

An Australian not knowing about the funnel web is like an Alaskan not being aware that bears can be dangerous.

 

[Daniel]

I know to avoid black widows and brown recluce, but honestly that's about as far my knowledge goes on dangerous spiders.

 

[cold blood]

I know to avoid black widows and brown recluce, but honestly that's about as far my knowledge goes on dangerous spiders.

Probably because those are the ones you NEED to know about. Which is logical.

 

[Andrea82]

I've lived on the other side of the planet my whole life, and people here know about the Sydney funnel web...its WELL publicized...like the widow here...I challenge you to find anyone in the states that doesn't know a black widow has potent venom.

I go to AZ and talk to people, people that have ZERO interest in arachnids, yet they know exactly which scorpions are the dangerous ones.

Knowing the dangers in your back yard is common sense....if you are not aware of dangers in your area, well that's one for Darwin to explain to you.

An Australian not knowing about the funnel web is like an Alaskan not being aware that bears can be dangerous.

No need for a challenge sir...
Okay,so the funnel web is known...but apparently the other species are not so well known.
Hoping for someone from Australia to chime in about the other species.
Thanks for the replies!

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

When I showed people a black widow I had, several expressed surprise to learn that the lived here...

 

[micheldied]

I've said it there and I'll say it here;

I grew up in Singapore, where we have some very dangerous snakes (Spitting Cobras, King Cobras, Bangarus and Calliophis species) living right next to our homes, and the majority of people do not even know that. This is a SMALL first world country that is pretty well-educated, and people have no idea about the animals that share the island.

I also have friends from Australia who don't know much at all about the Sydney Funnelwebs or any of the other potentially dangerous species, and I know pilots who have spent months at a time in Sydney who don't even know what they are (my dad is one of them, having spent up to 6 months in Sydney for many years).

 

[Chris LXXIX]

That was my point, more or less, cold blood. A native Australian Sydney citizen unaware of what Atrax robustus venom can do it's IMO a thing impossible to believe.
It's like to find an Italian completely unaware of what a 'pizza' is.
Education about the Sydney Funnelweb Spider starts in schools. At homes, checking shoes, swimming pool etc.
Why? Because that spider is considered, and with reasons, an eight legged menace.

It's not dangerous, because dangerous means everything and nothing at the same time. A complete wet bite on the neck from a 0.1 Pterinochilus murinus could be dangerous as well, even if we know that no one, so far, died for a Theraphosidae (no matter NW or OW) bite.
Atrax robustus venom is potentially lethal, meaning lights out without a race to the E.R and antivenom shot/s.

Now if i'm not wrong the OP in the other thread, prior, mentioned Steve Irwin, well... now i think that maybe not all of those people would been able to quickly 100% ID Atrax robustus in the unlucky and unwanted case of a "face to face" scenario, but still they know well what him (as you know 1.0 are way venomous than 0.1, and they wander of course) is able to do.

A friend of mine a decade ago rent a house in Sydney and the man (not someone exactly interested in inverts) told him to pay attention to those.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I've said it there and I'll say it here;

I grew up in Singapore, where we have some very dangerous snakes (Spitting Cobras, King Cobras, Bangarus and Calliophis species) living right next to our homes, and the majority of people do not even know that. This is a SMALL first world country that is pretty well-educated, and people have no idea about the animals that share the island.

I also have friends from Australia who don't know much at all about the Sydney Funnelwebs or any of the other potentially dangerous species, and I know pilots who have spent months at a time in Sydney who don't even know what they are (my dad is one of them, having spent up to 6 months in Sydney for many years).

I don't doubt that, man. But things could been different, no, from nation to nation? Plus i was talking about Sydney people alone, not about the entire Australia (still i'm skeptical about, Atrax robustus is way to famous in the whole nation). After years, and years, turned decades, of those sneaking into Sydney people homes, those people knows pretty well that bugger.

All the money i have that if tomorrow morning we reach Sydney and ask to the first 300 people we meet on the first residential district/house hood, all of those knows (at least in a 'technical' way) what Atrax robustus is.

 

[micheldied]

I don't doubt that, man. But things could been different, no, from nation to nation? Plus i was talking about Sydney people alone, not about the entire Australia (still i'm skeptical about, Atrax robustus is way to famous in the whole nation). After years, and years, turned decades, of those sneaking into Sydney people homes, those people knows pretty well that bugger.

All the money i have that if tomorrow morning we reach Sydney and ask to the first 300 people we meet on the first residential district/house hood, all of those knows (at least in a 'technical' way) what Atrax robustus is.

Definitely, things are different from place to place. Also, I wasn't saying that people in Australia (that I know who grew up there) don't know what Atrax robustus is, I said they didn't know much about the spiders or their venom except that "they are dangerous".

 

[Andrea82]

@micheldied
@Chris LXXIX
Thank you for taking the time to post your statements in this thread as well!

@Tim Benzedrine
Seriously? Wow....

 

[Haksilence]

The lack of awareness is probably due to the fact that EVERYTHING in Australia has fangs and deadly venom.

So why bother with specifics when you just treat everything like it can kill you

 

[TownesVanZandt]

The lack of awareness is probably due to the fact that EVERYTHING in Australia has fangs and deadly venom.

So why bother with specifics when you just treat everything like it can kill you

Maybe you are right. Here in Norway we don´t have a lot of venomous animals that bites. We have 624 registered species of true spiders, but all of them are harmless and a bite will give a small rash around the bite site at worst. Most people will not be able to name a single species, but simply refer to anything as a "spider". Some people suffers from arachnophobia or just don´t like spiders, but everyone knows rationally that they are harmless and treats them accordingly. We do however have one venomous snake, the Vipera berus commonly known as the European adder. Unless you have a severe allergic reaction to its venom, it is not a very dangerous snake for humans (My OW tarantulas will probably give most people a much worse reaction). Still absolutely everyone will know this snake by name. Most people will be able to recognize it if a specimen comes with a "zigzag"-pattern, but since they also comes in plain brown or black, a lot of people will automatically just assume that every snake they see is this one. I have seen several people scream out "adder, be careful, it´s an adder!" in the forest when the snake in question clearly has been a non-venomous grass snake (Natrix natrix) or even a Anguis fragilis which actually isn´t a snake at all, but rather a limbless lizard who looks nothing like an adder.

 

[Andrea82]

Maybe you are right. Here in Norway we don´t have a lot of venomous animals that bites. We have 624 registered species of true spiders, but all of them are harmless and a bite will give a small rash around the bite site at worst. Most people will not be able to name a single species, but simply refer to anything as a "spider". Some people suffers from arachnophobia or just don´t like spiders, but everyone knows rationally that they are harmless and treats them accordingly. We do however have one venomous snake, the Vipera berus commonly known as the European adder. Unless you have a severe allergic reaction to its venom, it is not a very dangerous snake for humans (My OW tarantulas will probably give most people a much worse reaction). Still absolutely everyone will know this snake by name. Most people will be able to recognize it if a specimen comes with a "zigzag"-pattern, but since they also comes in plain brown or black, a lot of people will automatically just assume that every snake they see is this one. I have seen several people scream out "adder, be careful, it´s an adder!" in the forest when the snake in question clearly has been a non-venomous grass snake (Natrix natrix) or even a Anguis fragilis which actually isn´t a snake at all, but rather a limbless lizard who looks nothing like an adder.

Exactly the same situation over here. We don't have anything deadly living in the wild here in the Netherlands,except for maybe the adder as well. More people die here due to anaphylactic shock caused by a wasp or bee.
There are some rumors however that the black widow and false widow are making appearances,due to global warming.

 

[EulersK]

I'll have to agree with the general comments from those in the US. In the Mojave Desert, you'll find brown recluses and black widows, and everyone knows what they look like. Many people can even spot a juvenile black widow, which completely lacks the infamous markings (they look a bit like a zebra). We don't really have any terribly venomous scorpions where I live, just a striped devil every few feet. No idea what what the scientific name is, but they got their namesake from their stripes and extreme aggression... which is adorable, considering they're the size of a nickel and completely harmless.

Around my house, I always catch and release. Sometimes I'll even feed the stray spider a good meal before releasing. However, if I find one of those two spiders, you better believe it's getting the boot. As another user said, certain species are a menace when they enter the home. As most of us know, an actual death from those two species is actually quite rare, but that doesn't mean their venom is something to take lightly.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Here in Lombardy (but lives in the whole nation) we have Loxosceles rufescens, not something to mess with, if not for Loxoscelism.

A man living near my town just two years ago lost his finger for those effects, triggered after a bite.

Btw those spiders, along with other (and harmless) ones, were my spider pets when i was a children durin summer days. Caught a lot in the country.

However, are people here in Lombardy (and in the rest of Italy in general) able to quick ID Loxosceles rufescens? They fear him and they know him mostly as "Violin Spider" but aside for that, no way, they can't ID that.
So they smash everything with eight legs that moves.