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Redback spider under men's basin at Pines

gfdonc

7-Dec-2009
1:24:48 PM

Ummm .. not sure about posting this but last week I did notice a largeish (for the species) redback spider under the handbasin at the men's toilet at the bottom of the Pines.

I left her there (she was preparing dinner, and it seemed rude to interrupt) but on reflection given the number of thong wearers using the basin it's probably only a matter of time until someone gets bitten .. if someone could take care of it humanely? thanks.

- Steve
No I'm not a troll.
Yes relocating her to the toilets for the appropriate gender would be a humane solution but wasn't what I had in mind.
Yes I have allowed for some upcoming double-entendres in my chosen description for footwear.

bl@ke

7-Dec-2009
6:48:07 PM

She could be used as a cheep source of new ropes ? Would be some nice low drag stuff i would imagine


contactgav

7-Dec-2009
8:11:52 PM

if people are prepared to kill bees and destroy their hives, why have such a dilemma with squashing a spider????


evanbb

7-Dec-2009
8:15:03 PM

I like spiders. You could also use the argument that the Redback is a native and the bee are European sport climbing trash.

With the spider silk rope in mind, check this out
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6850828.ece


Richard

7-Dec-2009
9:50:25 PM

jeepers, climbing really is dangerous.

not the first red back in the dunnies, not the last. Always worth a look out to see if these are creeping around (esp when you have kids, as they tend to be predominatly explore places spiders like and their hands are at the same height all the places ie under basins, behind cisterns, spiders like to live at...

lacto

8-Dec-2009
8:52:16 AM

red backs are everywhere , I have never known anyone who has been bitten , leave them be . If I couldn,t find 50 with a half hour I dont think I,d be looking hard enough , snakes are a little different if they are in an area you frequent or around the house I despatch them , so far this year only one agro 200 mm tiger , but neighbour has had 11 tigers and browns within 20 m of his house ( the 4 hectare swamp where they normally reside has dried out due to the drought and they are looking for food and water )

egosan

8-Dec-2009
9:59:21 AM

How many flies and mosquitoes will that redback eat in the course of her life? How many
baby flies and mosquitoes would those flies and mosquitoes breed if the redback did not
eat said flies and mosquitoes? Some simple maths brings me to the conclusion that killing
that spider will increase the fly and mosquito population at the pines by 4.5E12 plus or
minus a couple orders of magnitude.

I say leave the redback alone to continue her good work.


cruze

8-Dec-2009
10:16:03 AM

Kill it. They eat each other and steal food from other spiders. It is time for the Redback spider Day of Reckoning. Slit her throat! Bash her in! Kill the err... Redback!


wallwombat

8-Dec-2009
11:07:52 AM

On 8/12/2009 cruze wrote:
>Kill it.

That's what I say too. I know someone who got bitten by a redback earlier this year. He is a young, healthy bloke in his 20s and he got very sick for a couple of days. I'm sure there are a lot of children who use those toilets and I'm sure the effect of a Redback bite on them would be a lot more serious. Redbacks are hardly an endangered species. There are plenty of them around in other places besides toilet blocks. Get rid of the thing.

climbingjac

8-Dec-2009
12:36:25 PM

I too hate spiders. Can someone remove it and make the Pines a safer place? Surely putting a notice up on the noticeboard warning all said spiders of their destiny if they choose to infiltrate the toilet area should cover off the ethical side of things...


evanbb

8-Dec-2009
12:48:36 PM

The 'spider-life-deniers' among you are weak as piss. 'Oh no, the spider might bite me. Please, completely sanitise my life and experiences'.

I love the risk-averse (and lets be honest, it's a stupidly low risk) nature of this bunch. You climb cliffs for fun! Yet a spider in the shitter must be stopped!

gfdonc

8-Dec-2009
12:50:50 PM

I was more concerned for any children who might be using the toilets. The spider is at their level, they're more likely to poke around under there, and the consequences of a bite are more serious.

Should I have started a poll instead?

climbingjac

8-Dec-2009
12:56:03 PM

It's a question with no correct answer Steve - everyone has an opinion - and they won't all be the same. And then there are the spider-phobic among us to further complicate things. Even if a poll were taken and a decision made and acted upon, there will always be people that will disagree with the decision.

Out of interest - had the ranger or Arapiles maintenace people seen the spider - what is their general approach about spiders in the bathrooms? (Specifically redbacks in this case.) Might be handy to know. Perhaps it is the case they automatically remove the poisonous ones to avoid lawsuits if someone is bitten, and leave the other ones be. Don't know.

egosan

8-Dec-2009
1:02:46 PM

Our Friends at the Australia Museum bring us these tidbits:

Redback Spider bites
Redback Spiders are common in the spring and summer months. About 600 bites are
recorded each year in Australia. Some result in serious pain and illness, requiring
antivenom treatment. However, because of the female Redback's relatively small jaws
many bites are ineffective. The male is much smaller and bites are rare, the tiny jaws
having difficulty in even penetrating human skin. The two recorded bites had only minor
effects.

Antivenom and first aid
An effective antivenom is widely available. No deaths have occurred since its introduction
almost 50 years ago.

Pressure bandaging is not recommended for Redback bite as this can aggravate the
pain. Instead, cold packs or cold water may help relieve pain. Because the venom
molecules are large, they can take some hours to be transported from the bitten area via
the lymphatic system and into the blood stream. Medical attention should be sought if a
bite is suspected

It would be unfair not include a word from the folks at Family First:

For God sake, Think of the Children!

Everyone knows the pedophiles and redbacks go hand in hand.

Kill it, before it sells your children to the sex industry.

Wendy

8-Dec-2009
1:10:27 PM

I'm sure that this is not the only spider in a child accessible area of the campsite. Removing it probably only a token gesture of removing the one that someone happened to see. I had a friend bitten on the legs after sitting on a chair that the spider was settled on the underside of. They'll be all around the structures, bins and any fallen timber.

I would hope that PV do not take responsiblity for spiders in bathrooms for litigation reasons. How can anyone hold PV responsible for such normal things in campsites? Is it their fault if there's a spider in a pocket you put your fingers in? Or a snake on your belay ledge? Surely it is a responsibility of users to take appropriate care of things that one could reasonably expect to encounter? I sometimes even have redbacks in my house. Not to mention black house spiders, huntsmen, daddy long legs and the odd wolfspider. You can't escape dealing with them.

Fortuneately the redback spider venom is slow acting. You have plenty of time to get to the hospital. It's not an agressive spider either. The only spider I'd be stressing about is a funnel web and luckily for us, we don't have them down here.


wallwombat

8-Dec-2009
1:16:21 PM

On 8/12/2009 gfdonc wrote:
>I was more concerned for any children who might be using the toilets.
>The spider is at their level, they're more likely to poke around under
>there, and the consequences of a bite are more serious.

That's what I was trying to get at. If someones 3 year old is in there and gets bitten and ends up in hospital or worse, then all you "Equal Rights for Redbacks" people are going to look like a pack of tools.

Evan, if you had a small child and there was a dirty big Redback living in your bathroom at home would you let the spider live?

And I'm sure if the ranger new about it, he would kill it.


ajfclark

8-Dec-2009
1:21:09 PM

Last I was in those toilets there were tons of spiders in lots of places that little kids could get to (and lots of spiders in other places). Short of fumigating the whole place, I don't think there's much you can do. If you kill the one currently under the sink another will move in; it's obviously a good spot for a feed.

climbingjac

8-Dec-2009
1:29:30 PM

In homes it is possible to plug those things into the powerpoints that supposedly send out a frequency that is annoying to spiders and thus they stay away. There are lights in the Pines toilets (thus electricity). I guess in theory using such a device would therefore be possible, albeit bearing an electricity cost...


ajfclark

8-Dec-2009
1:33:54 PM

Looking at the number of spiders living on and around those lights, I'd guess permanently turning the lights out might have an impact on the number of spiders. It'd save some power too. Win win.

egosan

8-Dec-2009
1:39:45 PM

On 8/12/2009 wallwombat wrote:
>That's what I was trying to get at. If someones 3 year old is in there
>and gets bitten and ends up in hospital or worse, then all you "Equal Rights
>for Redbacks" people are going to look like a pack of tools.
>

Not a single death since the anti-venom was introduced. No one will look like a tool.

There are lots of ways a child can come to serious harm. One is trying to insulate them
from all harm.

There are lots of spiders at the Pines. Maybe the answer is to do a little aversion
therapy to teach them not to poke around in dark places.

There are 77 messages in this topic.