Nasty Redback surprise

[jean2579]

I was just about to pick up plastic garden hands today and spotted a female Redback.
I was plain stupid, gardening in the heat without gloves.
I was lucky today, I will certainly take more precautions in future. Red backs and pacemakers are apparently a bad mix.
Has anyone seen one of these spiders lately in their area?

[amber-eyed-girl]

Any spider bite can cause a reaction from rash to necrosis, depends on the person. As bidies bite for a reason, food or defense. There can be a little venom.

Necrosis can also be purely the body's response to a wound, too. You can get it with a cut.

I get a reaction from mosquito bites. The bite site swells up like an egg and gets red and itchy. If I take an antihistamine straight away it stops that. 

Spiders have venom, if anything looks funny or gets hot can be a good idea to see a GP in case necrosis or infection is on the way.

[channys_mum]

We have reddies everywhere here.

When I lived in Melbourne late 80's I had a too close encounter with a white tail. Just a tad sore and ugly.

[bright.ton42]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:

Any spider bite can cause a reaction from rash to necrosis, depends on the person. As bidies bite for a reason, food or defense. There can be a little venom.

Necrosis can also be purely the body's response to a wound, too. You can get it with a cut.

I get a reaction from mosquito bites. The bite site swells up like an egg and gets red and itchy. If I take an antihistamine straight away it stops that. 

Spiders have venom, if anything looks funny or gets hot can be a good idea to see a GP in case necrosis or infection is on the way.

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Yes a friend of mine got bitten by a spider when she went to do some gardening and put on her gardening gloves which were outside.  What followed was severe infection and/or necrosis for 2 years.....   operations,   thick bandages,   she was in a mess. She doesn't know what the spider was. 

[b3llag1na]

I was mowing yesterday and decided to break up a piece of timber that had been laying next to the veggie patch for the last few years.. picked it up and dropped it just as fast 'cause I felt something squishy.. the biggest redback I have ever seen ran out - her body was at least the size of  my pointer fingernail! I know it was female because the squishy was her egg sack.... both got promptly taken care of. (And no I wasn't wearing gloves. I rarely do)

Looks like we will be spraying around the back yard again.... 

I have also had them hiding under the lip of the dogs water bucket, in the letterbox, between pot plants, in the rocks on the edge of the fish pond, and just recently found one in the ensuite - a tiny one. I think it came down through the ceiling fan.

[lionrose.7]

I always thought red back were little till I saw that one in Southport, it was like the big black widow ones in America.

I used to shine the torch in the pantry at night to see if we had any left there, the red spot on their backs really stands out in torch light.

[cmcoins2000]

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@lionrose.7 wrote:

I always thought red back were little till I saw that one in Southport, it was like the big black widow ones in America.

I used to shine the torch in the pantry at night to see if we had any left there, the red spot on their backs really stands out in torch light.

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I would never have eaten again.

[lloydslights]

B3. be mindful of insecticide near fish

DEB

[b3llag1na]

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@lloydslights wrote:

B3. be mindful of insecticide near fish

DEB

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Yeah Deb, it's a problem.... can't spray so I tend to "go hunting"and squish them instead!