Beware the spider in the boot!

29/05/08 15:25 Filed in: Villager's News
Do you leave your gumboots and old shoes outside the back door? Don't do what I did last weekend and step into them on top of a redback spider. I knew there was a spider in there - I could see the web - so I put on a pair of leather gloves, groped around inside the boots and pulled out all the web, debris, egg cases etc. I assumed I would have got rid of the spider, but she was made of sterner stuff and had hung on grimly inside. When my foot began to crush her, she did what she was meant to do, and attacked with a vicious bite. The bite of an adult female redback is not funny at all, and can be potentially lethal, especially to a child. So please check carefully for spiders in any boots or shoes left outside the door.

For a picture of a redback spider and more information, go to:
http://www.aaev.net/management/nec/wildlife/index.html and click on the spider icon.

Elizabeth H.