Squatters in me wing mirrors! Anybody else got 'em? I've tried all sorts but can't get rid of them. Every day I have to brush the webs off before I set off. Sometimes they pop out and if I'm quick I can flick them off -yet next day another one's moved in! AAAARGH - they're driving me NUTS!!

Yes - I have - and it is great. Not at all distracting and the webs are pretty cool as well. They do not stay long. As soon as the cold weather hits us they will be gone.

Enjoy them while you can.

Dragon

OMG - today I reversed off the drive....set off down the road and sun was in my eyes...dropped down the visor and a ******* spider dropped onto my lap...almost crashed the car, stopped, jumped out squealing like a piggy and 10 year old son under strict instructions from parent...flicked it off me...by this time it has scrambled from my lap to my collarbone....*shivers*

:shocked:

hmmm, wing mirror spiders... the determined way they cling on when you're going along the bypass ....

never get a fly in my car though since the spinder took up residence :D

British spiders are harmless. They just refuse to bite - thank heavens. Its the bugs people do not mind so much that cause problems - ladybirds, for instnace, have a nasty bite and sometimes deposit really stinky stuff on the skin.

Spiders are useful and a sign of good fortune. Treat them with respect adn try not to harm them.

Dragon

Indeed, if it weren't for spiders we'd be overrun with flies, and that would be far worse.

I'm sure I picked up a wing mirror spider in Belgium and brought it back to the UK once, I hope it's not causing irreversible damage to our ecosystem now.

Originally posted by Dragon
British spiders are harmless.
Except for something I was told was a 'coal spider' in East Anglia. Blighters are not big but have a nasty bite and even leap at their prey (people) who lift the lid on their lair (coalbunker) :suspect:

Wing mirror spiders:
Our astra had one in residence for years. We got quite attached to him having failed to remove him with pressure washing and even replacing the broken glass of said mirror.

Our Zafira has only recently aquired one, and we now now eviction attempts are futile, so I guess we'll have to sell the car to get rid of him :D

That spider - what colour was it - cos I have noticed some pretty weird spiders wandering around of late. They seem to have this weird sort of intelligence and - have you noticed an increase in the size of common house spiders since you cae back with your foreign pet?

Hmmmm! Maybe its time for a touch of arachnophobia?

Dragon

from here: http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/spider.htm
Among the native spiders of Britain and northern Europe, for example, there are only one or two species that require some caution if handled. The water spider (Argyroneta) can give a fairly painful bite, but usually this is much less severe than the bites and stings of many common insects. Somewhat unpleasant bite wounds can also be inflicted by the larger species of Cheiracanthium and Steatoda. The latter species is often found in and around house and other buildings.
But it could have something to do with the massive import of plants in the area :roll:

one really hot sunny day last year, husband was drivin car round manchester.
me in very bad pmt mood started harping on about wantin a mcdonalds chocolate milkshake.
hands up i was in a cow bag mardy mood, well i got what i wanted in the end and took the lid off it to get a better suck on the thick mush of milk shake, when a flyin spider like thing flew in a landed bang on my cheek.
as i went to get it off i forgot all about said milk shake in hand and went to wipe it off.
throwin chocolate milkshake all over my face, and if that was not bad enough we had just pulled up at lights with a motor full of handsome lookin men at the side of me.
i slowly turned my head to the sound of choking laughter from my not so sympathetic husband. :hihi:

Originally posted by beautynbeast
.
hands up i was in a cow bag mardy mood

cow bag mardy mood! i like that phrase, i'm going to take every chance to use it now, but all one word, cowbagmardymood!:clap:

I have a spider in both wing mirrors i think i have had one in every car I have ever owned, I have given them names the right is Alan and the left is Trevor very industries chaps they are.

Originally posted by Dragon
British spiders are harmless. They just refuse to bite - thank heavens.

Dragon
apparently spiders here DO bite but have so little fangs and our skins so thick it doesnt do anything.......and they arent poisonous

Originally posted by Shiesh
OMG - today I reversed off the drive....set off down the road and sun was in my eyes...dropped down the visor and a ******* spider dropped onto my lap...almost crashed the car, stopped, jumped out squealing like a piggy and 10 year old son under strict instructions from parent...flicked it off me...by this time it has scrambled from my lap to my collarbone....*shivers*

:shocked: ;) a rattlesnake next then in the car :suspect: damn you spider

they must be a bit nasty tasting though, my little old dog used to catch them, chew them and then sit foaming at the mouth for a few minutes, shaking her mouth and saliva all over the place...RIP, my little daft dog...

Guess its part what you read and part what you want to believe Meltheball. The point is surely that if the teeth do not penetrate the skin then it is not a bite?

What is your definition of a bit? Just so I know in case my dog ever looks at you funny.

Dragon

Originally posted by Dragon
Guess its part what you read and part what you want to believe Meltheball. The point is surely that if the teeth do not penetrate the skin then it is not a bite?

What is your definition of a bit? Just so I know in case my dog ever looks at you funny.

Dragon

i classify a bite as when something bites you / tries to bite you.

one of our rats DOES bite you, but it doesnt bring blood, shouldnt that be classed as a bite then? when it clearly does

in fact ive just asked in irc
and the guy who answers is a nurse.

(22:33:34) (Dunny) common garden spider, has fangs, does bite
(22:33:41) (Dunny) and can produce an allergic reaction
(22:34:04) (Dunny) we keep chlorpheniramine for it, but no anti-venom

oh great glad i know that now.
thats me sleepin with light on and shoe in hand :thumbsup:

According to the link given earlier the common garden spider does not bite ... or perhaps I read it wrong.

How does a rat bite without bringing blood? My dog may nip - cos he's a sheep dog - but I do not know anyone who class that as an actual bite.

All spiders have fangs.

More people die through slugs in this country than spider bites. Anyhow - they have never bothered anyone I know so I sitll say leave them be.

Dragon

Originally posted by soupy
I have a spider in both wing mirrors


I have that too.

Plus one or two that have made rather impressive webs on the rear number plate.

Originally posted by Dragon
More people die through slugs in this country than spider bites.
Anybody got wing mirror slugs then? :suspect:

Originally posted by Dragon
More people die through slugs in this country than spider bites.

Do slugs bite then? Or do they get stuck in your throat while you sleep or something?

More people die through slugs than spiders??? I hate slugs, but i've never thought I'd die from one? Saying that, I saw a mega huge one on the step earlier, I nearly fell off the step! But I guess most I would have got is a broken ankle. LOL

There was a mega huge spider on the ceiling the other day, had to get a huge glass to catch it in. Now, i could have killed myself falling off the chair trying to catch it.

We've got spiders on our wing mirrors, yep, can't get rid of the damn things.

In Australiia, my son was travelling in the car with hs girl friend and her Mother. He was sitting in the the back of the car, recently out from England, when suddenly he shouted stop the car, stop the car, her Mother thought he had gone mad.
There's a spider he said. They stopped and searched, no spider. so set of again.
Suddenly splotch on the inside of the windscreen was the biggest spider Andy had ever seeen in his life.
Amid the pandimonium the spider was ejected form the car and Andy said they looked in the driving mirror and could see it walking down the middle of the road.

hazel

The deaths by slugs are fact. The reasons are probably urban legend. Something about the mites that live upon slugs.

You seen those little white mites on slugs? Look closely. Apparently they get into a cut and they enter the blood stream. The body cannot cope with them and you die.

Dunno - but at least 5 deaths are recorded each year attributed to slugs.

Dragon

You also get "wing mirror" spiders on motorcycles as well....they just wont get off, persistant little sods !

Originally posted by Dragon
The deaths by slugs are fact. The reasons are probably urban legend. Something about the mites that live upon slugs.

You seen those little white mites on slugs? Look closely. Apparently they get into a cut and they enter the blood stream. The body cannot cope with them and you die.

Dunno - but at least 5 deaths are recorded each year attributed to slugs.

Dragon

:o :gag: :o :gag: :o

the same mate in irc (the nurse) says about slugs that they are toxic and some can give you meningitis aparently

Great - you have to love slugs don't you ..... not.

Slugs don't give you meningitis. LOL. Who is this RC? They are pulling your leg. As someone who has suffered the pain of meningitis I can tell you slugs were not involved - unless they were nasal slugs. Ewwwwwwww!

Dragon

I got quite attached to my wingy mirror spider in my car - i was upset when he went elsewhere - i always associate spiders with charlotte in Charlotte's Web now. I still sqwark if i see one unexpectedly but generally I am understanding and leave em to it. They might save my life someday.

I've always wondered how spiders decide where to make a web, do they watch the flies going about their daily bussiness and look for a "busy" bit of the garden ?

And why do they build webs inside garden sheds, it's not like the flies can get in to be caught ?

I had a wing mirror spider and I actually stopped the car to rescue it because I thought it would get blown to its doom on the road. I like spiders though.

Anyone else got Orb Weavers in their gardens? It's about the time of year you see them setting up their big webs. Here's (http://www.uksafari.com/spiders2.htm) a pic of one. Lovely. ;)

Originally posted by Dragon

Slugs don't give you meningitis. LOL. Who is this RC? They are pulling your leg. As someone who has suffered the pain of meningitis I can tell you slugs were not involved - unless they were nasal slugs. Ewwwwwwww!

Dragon

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1432489,00.html

:gag:

Originally posted by Dragon
The deaths by slugs are fact. The

A slightly more scientific source of information is here:

http://www.medicdirect.co.uk/clinics/default.ihtml?step=4&pid=2073

Originally posted by cgksheff
A slightly more scientific source of information is here:

http://www.medicdirect.co.uk/clinics/default.ihtml?step=4&pid=2073

I got as far as "organism most commonly causing eosinophilic meningitis is a rat lung worm", sounds vile.

I'm the original poster and due to your replies I started to view my spiders in a more affectionate light. So I now feel awful as Leo the Left died yesterday. Giving the car a good blasting and it washed him out and drowned him. It was quite sad this morning to find only one web done by Robert the Right. RIP Leo.

* Time-Expired *

I've got a whole nest of spiders in my green wheelie bin. A big one and thousands of tiny spiders.
A little off topic but i have eggs stuck to my washing line. they are very small and very stuck on. Do you think they are caterpillars? I'm a bit worried that they may hatch when the washing is out:gag: