Pakenham woman’s backyard becomes haven for creepy trapdoor spiders
It’s an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare. A Pakenham woman says she’s “about ready to move to the moon” after discovering hundreds of web holes in her backyard, the result of a spider outbreak that is also being reported in surrounding suburbs.
South East
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A Pakenham woman has made the horrifying discovery her backyard is infested with hundreds of trapdoor spiders.
And pet owners are being urged to check their properties and keep pets indoors if they discover the telltale burrows.
Janelle, who did not want her surname published, said when she noticed hundreds of holes in her backyard about three weeks ago, she thought they belonged to beetles.
But when she unearthed a huge trapdoor spider while digging in the garden, she was “just a little bit terrified”.
Dozens of people have responded to her post on a local Facebook page, posting photos and videos of web holes they had found in surrounding suburbs including Berwick.
Janelle said she was concerned the spiders would harm her two cats.
“I’ve been told if a small pet is under 5kg and it’s bitten, it can get incredibly sick and die from kidney failure,” she said.
“I’ve spoken to two exterminators and they told me each hole needed to be treated individually and to just let them be and they’ll eventually go.
“Let’s just say I’m about ready to move to the moon.”
Vets On Call head vet Dr James Taylor said if spider outbreaks occurred it was safer to keep pets indoors.
“If a pet is bitten there is the potential for an anaphylactic shock or kidney and liver issues — but it is a low risk,” Dr Taylor said.
“Ideally it is safe to keep pets inside until the threat is over as they could be bitten multiple times and that could lead to pain, discomfort and more chance of toxicity.
“Toxicity is body weight dependent meaning smaller pets are at a greater risk than larger ones.”
Museums Victoria entomology and arachnology collection manager Simon Hinkley said while the spiders were mostly non-aggressive — and not as venomous as the Sydney funnel-web — the Melbourne trapdoor spider could deliver a painful bite if threatened.
The female trapdoor spider tended to remain in or near their burrows and would only venture out if dug up or flooded, but males could go wandering looking for a mate.
“If they are stood on or feel threatened, (i.e. by being dug up and exposed or caught in the open away from their burrows) they may defend themselves vigorously,” he said.
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“The spiders can sometimes fall into people’s pools, and can survive for a period of time so don’t use your hands to fish them out if this happens as they may not be dead.”
And they were more common than people realised, he said.
“We get quite high densities of trapdoor spiders even in the middle to inner suburbs of Melbourne so it is almost impossible to ‘spider-proof’ your property.”