Media spins creepy frenzy over spiders

Are we a nation of arachnophobes facing into an arachnid apocalypse?

With lots of hype around house invasions and potentially lethal attacks, leading arachnologist Myles Nolan says there’s no need for panic, recent media frenzy is all just a web of lies.

“A lot of people get freaked out at this time of year thinking their homes are going to be invaded by spiders,” he said.

“But it’s important to note that most spiders do stay outside and even if they do come inside, the vast majority of them are fundamentally harmless.”

There have been various media reports suggesting the warm summer has led to an increase in spider numbers and sizes — that their food source has thrived and as a result, so have they.

Mr Nolan said: “I’ve seen no evidence of that at all. If warm weather has led to an increase in spiders, it has probably also favoured the predators who feed on spiders.

“There are so many factors at play that it’s very difficult to determine if a species is thriving more or less from one year to the next.”

While both sexes stay in their webs until autumn, the males then become nomadic and go in search of a mate.

This means spiders are more likely to venture indoors at this time, but are not necessarily coming into houses to stay for winter.

It is also important to note that while all spiders are venomous — this is how they catch their prey — they don’t all have fangs that can penetrate human skin.

Having said that, bites, when they do occur, can be painful and cause extreme discomfort.

As such, we’ve compiled a list of common spiders so you know which ones to avoid.