Spider bites leave small puncture marks on the skin. This can be painful and may cause redness and swelling.
Advice is to put an ice pack wrapped in cloth on the bite for at least 20 minutes if it’s swollen, keep it raised if possible, and take painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen if it’s painful.
Professor David Lalloo, from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine says the bites from false widow spiders “are not dangerous”.
But they can make people feel unwell for a day, he added.
When it bites, the noble false widow injects a toxin which can cause pain in the bite area, minor swelling and in extreme cases make you feel sick, according to Buglife.
The spider’s bite doesn’t result in gangrene-like infections – the insect conservation charity says this results from a bacterial infection which could come from any source including touching a mosquito bite, scratch or splinter wound with dirty fingers.
There are no proven cases where the noble false-widow has caused death, coma or permanent injury, Buglife says.
In fact, the female noble false widow spiders are notably sluggish and non-aggressive, it adds.
“They will never run or jump at you in an aggressive manner as some people describe.
“Most British spiders couldn’t bite you if they tried; their fangs are too small or weak to penetrate human skin,” the charity says.
“Most large spiders are not inclined to bite a human – you can handle hundreds of large house or garden spiders and never get bitten.”
Sometimes venomous spiders can be brought into the UK on produce or goods from abroad.
Buglife says spiders found in grocery areas of shops should be treated with caution.
