What do you Aussies think about white tails?

[pebble]

And thanks for the gift btw ;-)

I've had a few white tail spiders in the house in the past few months, which is strange as I'd never seen one before that, ever.

Pretty much everyone I've talked to locally says to kill them, but from what I've read from medical and agricultural experts, they're not that big a deal - the bite hurts, but is rarely anything other than that. I've been taking the spiders to the country and letting them go.

I'm wondering if kiwis are overreacting because this is the only scarey animal we have (we do have a reclusive katipo spider, which also bites and is more serious I think and which I've also never seen).

What do Aussies thing about white tails?

[milifestyle]

I don't like them... and they don't like me :o)

[pippimac]

pebble, I'm from here, and I just wanted to say I've got no qualms whatsoever about squishing them.
I'd never dream of killing a spider generally, but the idea of not being able to rummage around in the woodpile really annoys me.
I just had a bit of a poke around online to see if there's anything about whitetails displacing any native species. Couldn't see anything, but that's something to consider...

[pebble]

I didn't realise you got them in Welly. Do you have many? Why can't you rummage around in the woodpile? Is being bit by a whitetail any worse than a wasp or bee sting?

[Michaelangelica]

Management

White-tailed Spiders around your house can be controlled by catching and removing any that you see and by clearing away the webs of the house spiders upon which they feed.

Danger to humans and first aid

White-tailed Spider bites can cause initial burning pain followed by swelling and itchiness at the bitten area. Occasionally, weals, blistering or local ulceration have been reported - conditions known medically as necrotising arachnidism. As well as the spider's venom, minor bacterial infection of the wound may be a contributory factor in such cases.

A debate continues about the involvement of White-tailed Spider bite in cases of severe ulcerative skin lesions seen in patients diagnosed as probable spider bite victims. Typically, in such cases no direct evidence of spider bite is available. Sensational media reporting of supposed cases of severe "necrotising arachnidism" has given the White-tailed Spider a bad reputation. However, a recent study has monitored the medical outcomes of over 100 verified White-tailed Spider bites and found not a single case of ulceration (confirming the results of an earlier study). The available evidence suggests that skin ulceration is not a common outcome of White-tailed Spider bite.

Classification

http://australianmuseum.net.au/White-tailed-Spider
http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/re...white_tail.asp
I have never seen one.
Don't they like hot weather?
Maybe Global Warming has them emigrating to NZ

[eco4560]

It's the redback ones that you need to worry about. Do you want us to send some of those as well?

[pebble]

I thought they liked hot and dry, which is why I was surprised they live in Wellington. But they've probably adapted. I like them, they're quite cool to look at, bigger than a normal hunting spider (well, normal for NZ).

[pebble]

Nah, eco, we got our own redback - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katipo Beautiful, eh?

[eco4560]

She's rather attractive. Pity she's endangered.

[macey]

white tails are no problem ......really easy to catch in a glass and transfer outside.
A friend of mine got bittern by a white tail and the bite was pretty inflamed for a while but no long term ulcerative issues.
I'm fairly arachnophobic but can't kill them just because I don't like them!