This is scary... (1 Viewer)

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Maestro

Master Sergeant
Greetings ladies and gentlemen.

As many of you knows now, I hate spiders with a passion. So I was Googling different spider names to see if there was any dangerous species in Czech Republic... and Europe in general. (Knowing the existance of nasty criters in a country you are planning to visit is always a good thing, so you can stay away from those criters. Helps keeping down hospital expenses too.)

What I found when I typed "Black Widow Map" surprised me... This is the distribution map of both the Black Widow and Brown Widow.

BlackWidowSpiderDistributionMap.jpg


Is anyone else surprised to see that there is "Widow-class" spiders on over 50% of the globe ?
 
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You will not find a Black Widow in the Czech or in the majority of Europe.. That distribution map is not correct. The only Widow spiders that are found in Europe are on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). The "White Widow" is found in the southern parts of Russia closer to Asia.

The only potentially harmful spider to humans in the part of Europe you are heading to is the Kreuzspinne, which is a type of Orb Weaving Spider also known as the European Garden Spider. They are very common and found everywhere. Outside in my garden there is one every 5 feet or so. 8 out of 10 times however they deliver a dry bite (without venom) and if they do deliver venom, the venom is not very toxic unless you are haven allergic reaction (similar to bee venom).

The Yellow Sac spider is also found in Central Europe, but the venom is also very similar to that of a Wasp or Bee and not really harmful to humans unless you have an allergic reaction.

The Cupboard Spider can potentially be found in that area, and is known as a false Widow spider It however is not deadly, and usually just causes slight blistering around the bite, but this goes away after a few days and you will not die.

The False Black Widow has been found in other parts of Europe as well, but it is not common (In England it is known as the biting spider). The bite is painful but not deadly.
 
Okay... Thanks for the info, DerAdler.

So, if I understand you well, there is no dangerous spider (like the Black Widow or the Brown Recluse) in most of Europe. So if one of them bites me, it will only hurt for a while... That's great ! I know from experience that I am not allergic to Wasp venom, so if I have any kind of luck I won't be allergic to any of the spiders you've listed.

Thanks for the info. :thumbleft:
 
Dammit so there could be spiders in New Jersey!! Nah I don't really care since we only find them in winter and they generally eat all the smaller bugs sneaking into the house.
 
Okay... Thanks for the info, DerAdler.

So, if I understand you well, there is no dangerous spider (like the Black Widow or the Brown Recluse) in most of Europe. So if one of them bites me, it will only hurt for a while... That's great ! I know from experience that I am not allergic to Wasp venom, so if I have any kind of luck I won't be allergic to any of the spiders you've listed.

Thanks for the info. :thumbleft:

There is nothing to worry about here. I was bitten by a spider back in June and I had an allergic reaction to it, all it did was swell up and be a lil bit painful. Went away after a few days. Did not even go to the doctor.

Dammit so there could be spiders in New Jersey!! Nah I don't really care since we only find them in winter and they generally eat all the smaller bugs sneaking into the house.

Of course there are, Black Widows are found in most of the United States including the East Coast. Same with Brown Recluses.
 
Come to New Zealand , We aint got sh!t in the way of dangerous F'ers

The worst you'll find is an angry pig

No seriously don't come , I like the bush to myself :D
 
Oh nah flag that for a laugh mate

Definately don't seem like the type for NZ , except in Zoo's of course.

Flag encountering that without a wopping big gun
 
Black widows have a red hour glass on the belly, here in Oz the "red back" has it on it's back. Easier to spot. Course there are the other 20 or 50 that are worse! Come to Oz!! . Bill
 
Black widows have a red hour glass on the belly, here in Oz the "red back" has it on it's back. Easier to spot. Course there are the other 20 or 50 that are worse! Come to Oz!! . Bill

Don't take it personnal, but I think I'll rather stay here. Lucky as I am, if I don't get eaten alive by sharks, biten by deadly spiders or stinged to death by scorpions, I'm sure I'm gonna get choked or biten by a snake. ;)
 
Just gotta watch out for drop Bears mate...:lol:

Seriously we do have some nasties down here....but if you don't go looking for them chances are you won't have any deadly encounters...they ain't looking for trouble either!
 
It is the same anywhere you go. If you limit your life because of these dangerous snakes, spiders and other animals, why live at all?

Ironnically, I don't fear a lot of thing (yep, even snakes and scorpions don't scare me (go figure !)). I was just saying this to show how lucky I can be. Don't worry, my plane and hotel room in Prague are booked since April and I'm not gonna cancel it even if it starts raining scorpions on the Vinsceslas Place ! :D
 
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Really ? I was sure NZ was like Australia on that point... With a lot of dangerous spiders, scorpions and snakes. But hey, I've been proven wrong before ! :rolleyes:

Nah mate , no snakes in NZ. Few spiders but none deadly , nothing compared to Oz . Dunno about scorpions? never seen any?
 

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