Although poisonous spiders often cause a great deal of concern in Australia, there are not very many fatalities that occur anywhere in the country due to spider bites. Despite this, you will certainly want to be able to identify any of the most dangerous spiders you come across so that you can take the appropriate course of action.
One of the most common venomous spiders you might see in the country is the mouse spider. This type of spider is found all over the mainland, and it has no less than eight different species, all of which look fairly similar to one another. You are more likely to encounter a mouse spider outside of heavily populated areas. That said, they tend to like semi-arid shrubland, so you might easily find one in your garden.
What do they look like and how can you get rid of them if you have successfully identified mouse spiders in your vicinity?
Identifying Mouse Spiders
One of the key identifying features of a mouse spider is the size of its head compared to the rest of its body. If you noticed a black spider with a more bulbous head than is usual, then it is likely to be a mouse spider. Several species of mouse spider also have oversized jaws which makes them easier to identify.
If you get close enough to a mouse spider to view it clearly, then you will probably notice that it has a carapace with a great sheen on it than other types of spider. Another way to tell them apart from other species is that the eyes will be spread out right across the front of the head. Nearly all other similarly sized black spiders in the country have their eyes closely grouped together.
The size of a mouse spider varies so this is not usually the easiest way to tell them apart from other arachnids. However, a typical mouse spider will be about 2 cm long across his entire body. You can find some which have only grown to about half this size. The very biggest mouse spiders grow to over 3 cm in size.
When Might You See a Mouse Spider?
Most human encounters with mouse spiders occur after the sun has gone down. This is because nearly all mouse spiders prefer to hunt at night when they are less liable to be predated upon. That said, you can see males running around during the day sometimes. This usually means that they are roaming in search of females to mate with. If so, you could be looking at a local infestation of mouse spiders and you ought to take action immediately.
Dealing With Mouse Spiders
Spider extermination professionals are called for if you notice more than a couple of mouse spiders in your locality. It is possible to use insecticides around your garden to deal with mouse spiders, but this often has limited success, especially during wet weather when the spiders will head indoors rather than hang around outside. Some people try to vacuum up their webs, but because the mouse spider is considered to be aggressive, this is probably not a good idea. Inspect your clothing when coming in from outside so that you don't accidentally bring a mouse spider into your home with you.
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