Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
AN EXPERT ON insects has warned of the dangers of Noble False Black Widow spiders after two Waterford women were treated for severe bites – with one spending six days in hospital.
The attacks, which were first reported on local radio station WLR, took place in the last two weeks and caused one of the women to move to a hotel in fear because her family home was infested by spiders.
John Dunbar, a PhD researcher at the Venom Systems Laboratory in NUI Galway, told the station that new research shows that the spider has now spread to 18 counties, with a significant concentration in Dublin and along the east coast.
Maria Condon from Ferrybank spent six days in University Hospital Waterford after large blisters formed on and underneath her leg within minutes of her being bitten.
Speaking to Damien Tiernan on the Deise Today programme, Condon said she had tried to get rid of the spiders from her house for a number of weeks before being bitten in her sitting room, where a spider ran up the inside leg of her jeans.
She said that she was told by hospital staff that the bite was from a Noble False Widow spider, as she had captured it under a glass and had taken pictures of it.
“Staff said it was the worst such bite they’d ever come across from a False Black Widow,” she said, adding that the spider was brown with white markings on its back and roughly the size of a two Euro coin.
“I wasn’t aware at the time of how serious the infection could turn out but I ended up in hospital for six days after what seemed to be three bites in total.”
Laid eggs
Noble False Black Widow spiders are not uncommon in Ireland or Britain but none were recorded here before the 1990s.
Experts believe their numbers are on the rise as a result of global warming, and they have previously been observed feeding on Ireland’s only native terrestrial reptile, the Viviparous lizard.
Another woman who lives in Gracedieu in Waterford city said she called pest control to remove the spiders from her house and garden a number of weeks ago, but revealed that they managed to return because they had laid eggs.
“I went to bed last Wednesday night and I thought everything was okay,” she said.
“Suddenly in the middle of the night I woke up with an awful pain in my foot. I knew something had bitten me.
“I threw back the cover and turned on the light and saw this thing run down the sheets and down over the end of the bed.
“I didn’t know where it had gone and my foot was very sore and it got worse on Thursday. It had bitten me on my instep. On Friday the swelling got worse and I had to go to hospital to get antibiotics.
“You’d never expect this in Ireland – you’d never expect to be bitten by a spider and have to go to hospital or whatever.”
Describing the experience as “horrendous”, the woman also revealed that she had to leave her home to stay in a hotel for the night because she felt she couldn’t stay in her house.
Potential bacteria development
Noble False Widow spiders are remarkably adaptable and possess fast-acting neurotoxic venom that can cause neuromuscular paralysis in terrestrial vertebrates.
John Dunbar of the Venom Systems Laboratory in NUI Galway has said that the False Widow spider can also produce very strong silk, which gives it an advantage over native spiders in entangling large prey.
He called for more research to be carried out, and said he is currently researching the venom of the spider in particular.
“It takes 500 spiders to get just one raindrop size of venom for research purposes,” he said.
“We are looking at the potential for bacteria to develop after bites and we are finding all sorts of activity in the venom but more research is needed.
“From hearing the stories of the women in Waterford, I do believe they were bitten by Noble False Black Widow spiders.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
“Those with the most to lose in Ireland, Messrs Quinn, Fitzpatrick and Drumm, for example, are all taking very different approaches.”
Lets not kid ourselves. These people are not the one with the most to lose. Ordinary people are. NIck might well feel he has done his bit in prison and therefore the world was set to right. But he make no mention of the companies gone bust, people out of work, people who had to choose to to pay to health care or feed their kids becuse of the actions of people like those mentioned above or indeed his own.
Do i think these folks should se the inside of a prison? For sure. But we shouldnt be under any illusion that justice is being served (rather than some social blood letting is underway) when the very system that Nick was involved in 13 years ago is exactly the same financial system on place today that gives power to Quinn, Fitzpatrick and Drumm etc to completely mess up our futures. Real justice demands real structural changes to how power and democractic control over our own futures.
Nice comment. well put.
The humility you so obviously display after what can only be described as the pits of hell in that prison is an education. I cant even for a minute contemplate what you went through but you know you paid your price faced up to your massive mistakes and acknowledged you did wrong it takes an intelligent person to do that – thank you for the article this morning
I honestly don’t think Ireland can move on until people like Sean Fitzpatrick are sentenced to long prison sentences! People’s confidence first and foremost has to be restored! However when no apparent action is ever likely to be taken against the likes of Mick Wallace, Ireland can never move on! The Fine Gael/ Labour government are proving to be just as culpable as their predecessors when it comes to turning a blind eye to crimes committed by their own kind! Jailing these people won’t solve our immediate problems, but it will inspire confidence and belief that this country can become a great place to live in once again!
Nick, that sounds like a seriously tough prison. Do you think you would have the same outlook now if you had served time in an Irish prison? I know its not luxurious but do you think that having TV’s, reasonable food, plenty of activities/exercise might not give you the time and space you need to come to terms with why you’re actually there?
Well if not I’m sure we can get a few sadistic volunteers to beat that “time and space” into their lives.
Read human rights reports on our prisons. They’re not pleasant, only recently has reasonable food come in and they’re are most definitely not getting plenty of activities/exercise in any of the prisons I’ve read of.
Now theres a thought, Quinn, Fitzpatrick and Drumm drinking from the prison toilet bowl
I appreciate the very candid and insightful article. It’s a shame that the correctional services don’t have this kind of successful rehabilitation more often. It takes a lot of courage to suffer the level of humiliation that Nick suffered and come out looking people eye to eye.
Mike
I enjoyed your opinion piece. Thank you. It is the clear thesis of the piece that time spent in prison allowed you to progress.It is not so clear why. Could you possibly elaborate on this?
Brilliant article. When you have to honestly face up to your own crap more than you ever imagined the permanent freedom you get from it afterwards is amazing.
I would read it again if I were you.
have your say