gossip from Ole Simmo

[simmo123]

Hi Folks from Simmo

imageshack.com/a/img600/8631/a7fq.jpg

Hi again members,got a little time on my hands before the family mob arrive for the Christmas feast,Patricia is full on in the galley,Ole Simmo has carved the meat ,so I thought that I would bore the forum with a bit more useless info, this time about one of the little insects that are really common place in our envirement,the infamous Redback spider,much talked about & sometimes feared but actually quite interesting little fella’s.The reason Ole Simmo decided to bring this subject up because being the festive season & having more than our usual share of visitors coming, etc, including of course family I had to get my act together getting all of the chairs, tables etc out from the bowels of my garage & shed where they had been sitting since our last big get together, probably a couple of years ago. I thought that I could probably get away with giving them a quick dust over with a cloth, no such luck !!.because we have only been in our present home about 6 years, although the property was about five years old when we moved in, we have not had that many years to build up much in the way of excess articles that will never be used for years & which you keep just in case you will need it one day, our last property was a different proposition whereby I had a 20m x 10m shed which I used to keep equipment truck etc which I needed for my little business.& therefore nothing was ever thrown away. Ok lets get back on track, I have got the chairs etc but a quick dust won’t work because I found that under most of the chairs was the giveaway signs of red back spider infestation, little mounds of matted fine web up in the corners of the seats plus where the legs are joined to the chair base, given a little poke with a stick resulted in an angry redback spider coming out to protect he’s little nest which is teeming with dozens of baby redbacks. OK its out with the hose ,turn the jet on full & with a bit of luck you should get rid of most of them,because of our warm climate at the moment the chairs soon dry out & we are back in business for our celebrations. I thought that is was probably worth having a look under the tables that we use on our patio all of the time so I brushed a few out from there as well with the broom.I actually hadn’t seen that many since we moved here but I guess we probably had a few hanging off of our tools etc when we made the move.Ok, while I’m in the mood I had a quick look around the property while I was in the mood,found a heap of other places ,holes in our limestone walls,all over the stuff / tools that have been sitting for a while in our little shed, even checked our brick letterbox at the front of the garden where there were some fliers & a couple of xmas cards & found a few inside the box,in fact there was a reasonable size r/back on one of the xmas cards,a couple of quick sprays with the good stuff soon fixed them up. It seems to be a bit of a tradition but whenever we have visitors from ,usually the UK family etc one of the first things they want to see is a bit of our lifestyle so whenever we know that they are coming I usually keep a few good live specimens in there natural habitat,be it under a patio chair or maybe under the workbench in the shed ,our last visitors were privy to a beauty that was living in a corner of my workbench in the shed,they were really impressed & even took some great pics of it when it came out of hiding after I gave it a bit of a poke with a stick. Many years ago ( 45) on arriving in Aussie these sort of things also held the same attraction for us, plus it was a bit wild & woolly in those days, also we were a lot more isolated as well.I have only had one bite from a redback spider which was in the early years, it put me in bed for a few days before realising what the problem was.
Here is a little more info on our little friends
Description
Redback spiders, Latrodectus hasselti, are almost too familiar to need description.
Mature female redbacks are jet black spiders with a variable red stripe on the back of their spherical abdomen. Immature females are smaller, usually brown with whitish markings.
Their tough, untidy webs are usually near the ground with the spider hiding in a shelter tucked in a corner, often guarding her round woolly egg sacs.
Male redback spiders are rarely seen. They are small and brown with red and white markings.

Redback spiders are found throughout Australia, in drier habitats and built-up areas. They are common in dry places around buildings, outdoor furniture, machinery and stacked materials.
In the bush, redback spiders nest under logs and rocks. There is some evidence to suggest that redbacks are not native to Australia.
Redback spider bites usually occur when part of the body comes in direct contact with the spider or its web.
Life history
Redback spiders feed mainly on ground-living insects that blunder into their webs, but small vertebrates such as lizards and even mice can fall victim.
Also eaten - after mating - are the tiny male redbacks.
A female redback spider can produce eggs for up to two years after a single mating. Eggs are enclosed in 3-5 dirty-white, woolly, spherical egg sacs suspended in the retreat of the web and guarded by the female.
Spiderlings emerge after about 14 days and disperse on the wind as soon as conditions are right. This is how redback spiders turn up in new places or quickly recolonise areas from which they have previously been removed.
Pest status and management
Redback spiders are not aggressive, and rarely leave the web. However caution is advised as their bite is very poisonous and potentially fatal for children or the elderly.
After a bite, the onset of pain may be delayed for five minutes then increase in intensity. Subsequent symptoms vary but have included:
• nausea
• vomiting
• abdominal or generalised pain
• sweating
• restlessness
• palpitations
• weakness
• muscle spasm
• fever.
Anyone bitten by a redback spider should seek medical attention.
Do not bandage the bite but apply iced water and take simple painkillers.
An antivenene is available and very effective.
Manage redback spiders by learning to recognise their webs and the kinds of places they live. Always take care when gardening or moving objects where redback spiders might be hiding.
Fumigation has only temporary effects on redback spider numbers and kills its natural enemies.
CSIRO Entomology is not currently researching redback spiders. This fact sheet is provided for information only.
Hope you enjoyed my little rambling.

Best wishes to all
The Simmo’s ( Terry & Patricia
Ps Patricia doesn’t have a problem with these little fella’s, she will fix em up if I am not around...however the same can’t be said about our other bit of wildlife, the reptiles... that”s another rambling on its own

Hopefully I have got the pic as well