Redbacks and Katipos

Charlotte · I Like It Here Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Posts: 70

I've just finished reading this: http://www.healthed.govt.nz/upload/PDF/1424.pdf

And now I'm very worried, as we have a five year old child.

Just how common are redbacks and katipos in, say, Wellington or Auckland city apartments?

How dangerous are these bites for kids?

What happens if a child is bitten, and the parents can't find the spider? How do the Docs know which antivenin to give?

I'm genuinely having doubts about moving now, and that is upsetting my husband......

karltsmith · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2004 2:22 am Post subject:

EEK!

I don't think most people actually like spiders do they, I don't, but you do have to put things into perspective don't you.

I lived in NZ for 3 years tramped (hiked) through bush lived in various parts of Auckland rural and the burbs and I never saw one!

Like most things your kids will grow up being taught the dangers and will treat them with respect.

It seams to me that you just have to follow some simple rules to be safe.

Great thread though and thanks for making us all aware of the issue and the up-to-date advice Nice One

I'm still going though....nice try...you just want to reduce the size of that pool don't you!!!!!

Look at it another way, NZ aside, where else in the world can you migrate to without some risk from the wildlife? At least you don't have to cope with the Australian wildlife which ican be deadly!

Arlevien · I Like It Here Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 56

I agree, its far more better that to have snakes at your kitchen and crocodiles in your backyard ( ..speaking on australia ).

We had walks on the NZ bush and all we got are harmless are mosquito bytes...

Gerry · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2004 3:43 am Post subject:

I think we can safley say that you stand more chanceof being bitten by an adder in Briatin or a mountian lion in the US than you do of being bitten by a redback or katipo in NZ.

Below is an extract for a 2002 report fom the ministry of health.

The habitat of the katipo, its rarity in most areas, and its increasing rarity in all areas mean few people suffer katipo bites; of the 444 spider enquiries received by the National Poisons Centre since the beginning of 2000, six related to katipo spiders.

Reactions to katipo venom vary from discomfort through to difficulty in breathing and problems with the nervous system, the only two deaths documented as resulting from katipo envenomation date from the nineteenth century (Hutching 1998). Latrodectus hasselti (the Australian redback) antivenom is effective for katipo bites; however, national stocks are not managed systematically nor are their locations centrally recorded.

The female Australian redback bite can cause serious illness, but since redback spiders rarely leave their webs, humans are not likely to be bitten unless a body part such as a hand is put directly into the web. Australian redbacks also have small jaws and often bites are ineffective. Australian redbacks are not geographically widespread in New Zealand; the main population being most likely confined to Central Otago with smaller populations possibly present in New Plymouth (IFF PRA). Because of New Zealand’s cooler and damper climate it is unlikely that populations will ever reach the same numbers as in Australia (Forster and Forster 1999).

Hope the info is useful

Charlotte · I Like It Here Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Posts: 70

Eve · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 6:21 pm Post subject:

Hi Charlotte

As an Aussie I have to say that either the Mortein in NZ is move leathal or the spiders here are pushovers Mr. Green

Are there spiders in the UK?? How long is the flight from NZ to the UK??...Kidding

Charlotte · I Like It Here Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Posts: 70

Hi Eve,

I believe the flight is about 30 hrs or so. Something I'm not looking forward to. Nutcase

Yeah, we have lots of spiders here in the UK, some of them quite big (YUK!), but none of them bite. We hardly see any, living in an apartment in London, but there's tons of them in the countryside. *Shudders*

Lauren · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 11:04 pm Post subject: Mortein

What's Mortein and what do you do with it to ensure a spider-free house!!

karltsmith · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 11:20 pm Post subject:

Mortein is an insecticde! You spray it where the creepy crawlies are and hope they die a slow and painful death from nreve poisening!!!!

Nice eh!!!!! Nice One

karltsmith · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 11:21 pm Post subject:

Sorry for the typo's

Thats NERVE POISONING Laughing

Lauren · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2004 1:40 am Post subject: Cool!

Cool!
At home we just catch spiders and put them outside but if they are huge and poisonous then dead works for me!

MichelleW · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2004 6:14 am Post subject:

Hi Charlotte,
I understand your concern,especially with never having lived with them yourself but all of my life I lived lived in places that had black widows (a cousin to the redback) and brown recluse(the bite is supposed to cause more problems than the widow) and have had very few run ins.We found widows twice when we lived in AZ but both hiding under our pool pump and never inside the house.I did have a close run in with a brown recluse last summer when I was taking my sons old baby clothes out of a box where they had been packed away.I pulled out a romper and was folding it and it was on the romper.My husband caught it and took it in to the university so we could be sure.I was lucky I didn't get bit,but for months afterword I was shaking everything out and was afraid of the kids getting bit since brown recluse bites have killed children.But in 32 years of living around those spiders those are the only experiences i've ever had. It doesn't sound like the spider problem in NZ is very bad.I wouldn't worry too much! comfort

Michelle

Charlotte · I Like It Here Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Posts: 70

Hi Michelle,

Thanks so much for your post!

You have reminded me that of something that makes me feel a bit better. As a family, we have spent quite a bit of time in California on holidays, over the years. I plain forgot that there are black widows in CA! We only ever spotted one black widow, and that was outdoors.

It's a good thing nobody got bitten by that brown recluse you found! I agree that as a mother, it's a worry.

Cheers, Michelle.

Robert · Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 10:16 pm Post subject:

SPIDERS ARE INNOCENT

(well, mostly innocent anyway!)

I work in an emergency centre in Christchurch and see numerous bites from various insects but no more than you would in the UK. Often these are attributed to spiders without any evidence at all. Most are probably horse fly or similar injuries.

The white-tail has a reputation for causing infected bites but this would seem to be erroneous from recent evidence. try telling the locals they are innocent though...

Our unit does not even stock anti-venin for katipo or redback bites and no-one (with a combined experience of several hundred years) had ever heard of anyone being bitten by or even seeing one. Be reasssured though - should the worst happen, the local blood bank probably has a few of the relevant vials hanging around....

As per the above posting on the habits of spiders, bites are rare and serious injury even more so.

Now, where did I put that mortein.... ;-)

Charlotte · I Like It Here Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Posts: 70

Hi Rob,
So the local blood bank has anti-venin? That's good to know.

Cheers for the reply! I'm really pleased to know that nobody in your centre has seen a redback or katipo bite, that's a big comfort.

I feel really good about moving again, now. Nice One