Giant false widow spiders are set to start invading people’s homes in weeks - as mating season starts, experts have warned. It is early September that people need to start keeping an eye out for them invading the home. Warm and wet conditions this summer provided the perfect breeding ground for the eight-legged creatures, and they are cousins of the deadly black widow spider.
Their bite cannot kill a human but the venom causes painful burns and swelling, and can lead to a fever. You can identify them by their brownish-reddish bodies with white markings. Spiders usually start to come out in early September, with their presence noticeable in homes until around mid-October.
After this, they tend to be spotted indoors less often. Female spiders are known to stay in one place for all of their lives, but males are always on the move. During spider mating season, the males will go searching for females and often find them inside homes, which is why you may notice more of them over the next couple of months.
In the UK, there are more than 650 different species of spider and while all of them can bite, only 12 can cause harm to humans. The British Pest Control Association (BPCA), has previously urged people to avoid contact with False Black Widow spiders, but not to panic if they spot one in their home. The spiders are not aggressive, but may bite if there is accidental contact.
A spokeswoman for the BPCA sad: “Requests for False Widow pest control call-outs tend to peak in Octobe.