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Spider removal, without killing plants

G'day everyone,

Just have a quick question for you all. Among the numerous spiders which happily co-exist in and around my Nep collection there is, I have just discovered today, a funnel web. I am happy for the rest of the spiders to live inside my Neps, as they are harmless and have a good life with lots of food supplied, presumably, by the insect attracting nectar of the plants. A funnel web is a little different.

It was actually a friend who noticed it hidden amongst my plants and he tried to lure it out with a long stick in order to get rid of it, but its bloody fast and bloody angry, so we decided that we'd leave it there for a bit until we can think of a better way to get rid of it.

Anyway, this is a very long winded way of asking, is there a spider bait or poison you know of which wont kill the Nep? I am hesitant to spray the spider or really to do anything chemical to it unless I can be pretty sure it wont kill the plants, but don't really want to find myself being bitten one day either! Any ideas? Sorry, I probably sound like a whimp, but man, you should have seen how fast it ran up the stick! Fangs going and everything. It's strange, we don't often get them here, usually its redbacks, which are much easier to deal with.

Anyway, thanks in advance!

All the best

John
 
Why do you need to get rid of it?
why is "a funnel web a little different"?

Scot
 
I concur with Scot, Why would you like to get rid of it?

I have a dozen spiders on my Neps. They actually do a very nice job of keeping the ant population in check. Granted some of them arent as 'pretty' as others but they dont come after me in my sleep :)

People tend to fear what they dont understand. These little guys may look menacing but even a black widow or brown recluse will not bite unless cornered.
 
He is from Australia, perhaps there is a safety concern. I hear there are some pretty venomnous spiders in Austrailia.
 
Well I hate to make you guys feel stupid but uh
Funnelweb spiders have some of the MOST POTENT venom in the WORLD.

So yeah I agree it needs to go. However as far as methods I have no idea - sorry dude! Stay safe. :)
 
So because it has the capability to harm or kill something that means you have to kill it?? Maybe we should eradicate grizzlies and cougars since they have the same capabilities...

What great logic... Again I'll stick to my previous quote: People fear what they dont understand.
 
Well if may chime in here Due to the Risk of a bite from this Highly toxic Venomuos Spider . I would find a way to remove it from you Nep's As to the killing of this this ,(ani will avoid a Huge clash with a good friend) But As a last resort an safty of your self do what is nessecery .
But i Agree , if you need to ever move your plants for any reason ,such as trade or what have ya you might wanna remove him or her

Persoanlly i hate them damn things (spiders) , I think they are eivil an straight from Hell

Daren
 
So because it has the capability to harm or kill something that means you have to kill it?? Maybe we should eradicate grizzlies and cougars since they have the same capabilities...

What great logic... Again I'll stick to my previous quote: People fear what they dont understand.

Oh I'm not scared of spiders... I'll live quite fine knowing there's a black widow in my room. But the thing is, this guy has to handle his plants, just like the rest of us. The chance of getting bitten is much higher than if it were just in his yard or something. I think that the possibility being bitten by a venomous spider vs. killing that spider... I'd kill it.
 
I wouldn't want a aggressive, potentially lethal spider near me. Is it in the pitcher?
I would ask a pest control service what the best way to capture or kill one is. Don't mess around with potentially deadly insects.
 
  • #10
Sydney funnel webs are highly toxic....lots of other spiders make funnel webs and arent....our grass spiders make funnel webs but arent much of even an inconvenience if you get bit......

as for how to get rid of it....in a word, fire :D








seriously though most any hardware store should have spider poison...or you could take a thing of canned air, flip it upside down so the liquid shoots out, smoke the spider with it, if the cold dont kill it it should slow it down enough for you to smash it......
 
  • #11
. I think that the possibility being bitten by a venomous spider vs. killing that spider... I'd kill it.

So why is removing it without killing it not an option??

Edit: It never ceases to amaze me how the second people feel threatened by anything they resort to killing it.
If you dont go messing with it, it wont come messing with you seeing as you're about a million times larger then it.

Yes it has a powerful arsenal so what? Should that be it's demise?
Get a pair of gloves, put the plant outside, fill the pitcher with water and flush the critter out and bring the plant back in. But of course that would be a MUCH larger inconvenience then killing it right?
We invade their habitats and then we expect them to not be in our homes? please...
Repellents are an easy solution to both sides but it may be a tad late if it's already inside.

Live and let live
 
  • #12
im all for relocating animals but when it comes to potentially deadly species....if yah dont have the experience to do it with reasonable certainty you aint getting bit, just kill the dang thing and be over it.....if there is a local pest control company that will come catch it for yah and release it and you want to pay the bill and feel all better bout yourself, have at it....
 
  • #13
Seeing as how he keeps CPs, I think he conscience will be clear if he kills it. Keeping CPs outside of thier natural habitat will definately kill more insects in that ecosystem than his boot.

Feed it to your nep afterwards so it's death will serve a purpose and call it a day. It will save the life of some cricket somewhere that would have been freeze dried or something.
 
  • #14
Seeing as how he keeps CPs, I think he conscience will be clear if he kills it. Keeping CPs outside of thier natural habitat will definately kill more insects in that ecosystem than his boot.

Feed it to your nep afterwards so it's death will serve a purpose and call it a day. It will save the life of some cricket somewhere that would have been freeze dried or something.

It's one thing for a plant to do what it naturally does, but to kill it because you're afraid it MAY bite you if YOU go mess with it is another.
I'm not claiming some tree hugging hippie methods here, I've killed my fair share of squeeters and other bugs but resorting directly to killing it without understanding it or resorting to another means is narrow minded.

Just because you grow/own CPs doesnt give you some sort of license to kill bugs, justifying your actions by saying ' it's ok I own CPs, it was going to happen anyways.' is absurd.
If that's the case then I guess I could justify driving a H2 by saying 'It's ok I grow trees in my backyard'.
 
  • #15
I think he does understand it, French - he understands that it could easily kill him if he simply lets his guard down. This isn't like a spider bite that swells up and itches. It's closer to a pit viper hiding in your crawlspace or a rabid dog hunkering down in the bushes in your back yard. Would you hesitate to kill a dangerous pest like a growing spider mite infestation? Would you escort aphids back outside peacefully on the off chance that they didn't lay eggs on your plants that will eventually destroy them?
These spiders have a tendency to hide, are very fast moving, and are extremely aggressive. They aren't intimidated by larger animals the way that many venomous insects are - specifically because they can kill larger animals that happen to threaten them. I'm not normally an advocate of killing as pest control, but this isn't something big and obvious that you can catch, like you would with a bear or the like. Also, spiders are quite prolific, and killing one isn't going to damage their gene pool the way that it would with a less fecund type of animal. Honestly, I don't understand how you can criticize when you yourself admit to killing things as benign as mosquitos. (The chance of dying minutes after a mosquito bite is virtually zero; death from an Atrax robustus bite is nearly certain if you don't quickly receive medical treatment.) And to refer back to your own words:
... to kill it because you're afraid it MAY bite you if YOU go mess with it is another.
These spiders WILL kill YOU because THEY are afraid you might be there to eat them. And that's not just a skewed belief they have acquired from generations of negative portrayal of humans in spider media; that's a behavior that's hard-wired into the spider's DNA.
I suggest spraying with dilute rubbing alcohol. Not sure if it works on spiders, but it's my default response for things like aphids and scale. The canned air idea sounds good too.
~Joe
 
  • #16
I guess I really must follow my own words then and know more about these certain arachnids. The whole idea of killing before anything else is just one of those topics that irks me.
If I know I'm going to live in an area where some sort of wild and dangerous animal lives, I try to prevent it from entering as much as I can (ie repellents)so I dont have to deal with removing it later.
Back to the mosquito example, I dont go killing every mosquito I see, just the ones that bite me. Heck I even let the larvae be.

And yes you're right seedjar, if there was something as aggressive and dangerous and it caught me off guard, my initial reaction would be to defend myself which would most likely result in me killing it.

Sorry for the rant, like I said, the kill thing just rubs me the wrong way, but I will admit SOMETIMES it is the quickest/easiest and best answer. I'll get off my high horse now :-D

I am curious though, would you ( happy-gnome) be able to snap a picture of it? Google turns up some nice looking buggers so this should be a treat.
 
  • #17
it MAY bite you if YOU go mess with it

Exactly. Now if I knew a way to get it out WITHOUT being injured I would, if I were in the situation... HOWEVER, I don't. So chances are I would get bitten. I would be too concerned for my safety even with the flushing of the pitcher method... I don't think there's any debate here.
 
  • #18
I understand your point of view french3z. I will catch most any insect in my own home, bees and wasps included to set them free. But if that truly is a funnel web spider, I would either kill it or call a professional to remove it.

After I caught my breath from running and screaming that is. :)


I guess I really must follow my own words then and know more about these certain arachnids. The whole idea of killing before anything else is just one of those topics that irks me.
If I know I'm going to live in an area where some sort of wild and dangerous animal lives, I try to prevent it from entering as much as I can (ie repellents)so I dont have to deal with removing it later.
Back to the mosquito example, I dont go killing every mosquito I see, just the ones that bite me. Heck I even let the larvae be.

And yes you're right seedjar, if there was something as aggressive and dangerous and it caught me off guard, my initial reaction would be to defend myself which would most likely result in me killing it.

Sorry for the rant, like I said, the kill thing just rubs me the wrong way, but I will admit SOMETIMES it is the quickest/easiest and best answer. I'll get off my high horse now :-D

I am curious though, would you ( happy-gnome) be able to snap a picture of it? Google turns up some nice looking buggers so this should be a treat.
 
  • #19
Spiders....uhg lol this hobby has definitely got my over my fear of them, but still hasnt removed my dislike of the whole group in general lol.
Personally, if it were a non-venomous funnel web, id leave it be...
However its the sydney funnel web, which it obviously has the possibility of being due to your location, id kill it.
I dont know if you have a family, but even if it were just me, killing a single spider certainly outweighs the medical risk at hand.
Like Joe said too, its a single spider, its not going to damage the gene pool, and i dont want to hear any takes off of that like "Oh its just a single plant, lets remove it from the wild, it wont damage the gene pool" because it holds no grounds with spiders, facts are, they multiply by the thousands and are much more prolific than neps or any other CP (other than perhaps D. capensis and bumannii ;) lol)
Again, if it is the Sydney Funnel Web, id have it professionally removed, or id kill the hell out of the damned thing.
Yann as far as the "As soon as someone feels threatened, their first instinct is to kill it" - Well obviously it is, its called a natural instinct. To defend yourself, or those who mean something to you anyway, if you lack the instinct of self defense, then you pretty much set yourself up for a whole mess of bad things.
 
  • #20
I don't like killing small animals or bugs, but I do agree with SK, pretty much everything he said.
 
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