ALEX Andrews has vowed to be more careful about where he leaves his clothes after he found a female funnel-web spider crawling on the back of his T-shirt last week.
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As soon as 11-year-old Alex realised what was happening he flicked the spider off his back and onto the floor.
Alex’s mother Ro Andrews said while her family were used to seeing spiders around their Summer Hill Creek property, “this was a nasty surprise”.
“I think it must have come inside under the front door because of all the rain we’ve been having,” Mrs Andrews said.
“It’s a good reminder for people to shake their clothes before they put them on.”
Mrs Andrews said while there were spider holes in the ground around her property and “spiders everywhere”, she’d never encountered a funnel web.
According to Mrs Andrews nature-lover Alex was so pleased to have been unharmed by his encounter with the spider he released it back into the bush.
“I think we’re just used to our creepy crawlies out here, but it certainly has made him check the clothes he leaves lying around,” she said.
“The day after we found the spider when I went for my walk I clipped a black snake and it slithered away quickly, you just need to respect the creatures around you.
“I only really worry about the brown snakes because they can be pretty aggressive.”
The curator of the Department of Primary Industries agricultural scientific collections unit Peter Gillespie said sightings of funnel-web spiders were “infrequent” in the Orange area.
“[Although] We know they’re in the area,” he said.
“These are ground-dwelling spiders that come out in heavy rain events and sometimes venture into the house.
“You don’t want to tangle with them.
“They have a nasty temperament and are not to be antagonised.”
Mr Gillespie said funnel webs were “ambush predators” who due to their bulky body type didn’t move very fast but were “quick to strike”.
“People also need to watch out for them in pools, they can look like they’re dead in the bottom of a pool for three or four days but after they dry out they can walk away,” he said. “You need to be very careful.”
tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au