spiders

Just when I thought I was beyond being afraid of spiders... Turns out there's the Chilean recluse spider. It is super, super, dangerous. It bites you and you have to put ice on it to stop the venom moving round your body too fast, and get to the hospital pronto. It forms an ulcer that destroys soft tissue, but the bite may not be visible for up to seven hours after being received. The wound can become as big as 10 inches. 3-4% of cases result in death according to a study in Chile.

This guy can be from 8-40mm in size. Apparently to be absolutely sure that it is what it is, you should see if it has 6 eyes instead of the standard 8. Yeah right, like I'm getting that close to it, are you mad???

The spider likes the dark, hence being called the "corner spider", and can be found hiding behind picture frames or behind furniture. They don't bite unless they feel attacked. But they do sometimes crawl into clothes, especially if they're in a heap on the floor (like mine often are) or into beds. In these situations you attempting to use said item would be considered an attack.

Zelma was telling me last night that they are really quite common here, and the general attitude is if you see a spider, kill it. Feeling pretty grateful right now that I haven't been bitten to be honest, because I had a spider roomsharing with me for like 3 weeks, and just last week I picked up my hoody and there was a spider in it. I shook it out and let it go.

Unfortunately for me, I'm one of those people that upon hearing something, whether it be someone talking about bugs, or having a headache, or feeling like they're gonna throw up, I immediately think I feel the same thing. Last night in bed I was certain there were spiders in there with me. Not helpful.

When I was told about this last night my face of surprise was greeted with "what, so you haven't heard about this before?"

Um, NO.

Thanks for telling me, I suppose... Better late than never!