Royal Navy airbase put on alert after its warehouse is invaded by Britain’s most venomous spiders
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Hundreds of noble false widow spiders have crawled into RNAS Culdrose in Helston, Cornwall
A Royal Navy airbase has come under attack – but staff are calling in environmental health officers rather than roping in their toughest Marines.
A warehouse at RNAS Culdrose in Helston, Cornwall, has been invaded by hundreds of noble false widow spiders – the most venomous breed of spider in Britain.
Staff at the airbase are snapping on latex gloves to protect them from bites, which are like bee stings.
Each spider is roughly the size of a 50 pence piece and is said to be non-aggressive but willing to take a bite of a victim if provoked – though its preferred diet is flies.
Commander Richard Blackwell, head of logistics support, said the gloves were a precaution. There have been no reports of staff being bitten.
He said: ‘The false widows’ webs are different to a normal house spiders and people noticed more of them around.
‘There are hundreds.
They particularly like going up into the roof space where it’s warm.
‘We are now seeking advice on how to deal with it from pest control. They could be hoovered out, heat-treated or sprayed.’
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RNAS Culdrose serves the Fleet Air Arm’s front line Sea King and Merlin helicopter squadrons, provides search and rescue teams and trains Navy divers.
A Navy spokesman said the warehouse, which stocks everything from pencils to helicopter rotor blades and equipment for Navy personnel serving in war zones, would remain open while teams got rid of the unwanted guests.
Staff at RNAS Culdrose in Helston, Cornwall, have called in environmental health to deal with the eight-legged invasion
She said: ‘It is business as usual for the store’s personnel who continue to provide essential equipment to Culdrose units at the station and overseas.’
Andrew Whitehouse, of wildlife charity Buglife, said the spider’s bite was not dangerous, although this depended on whether the victim already had a health condition.
The Navy spokesman said: ‘These spiders can be found in most houses, they are indigenous to Britain and can be found anywhere south of Scotland.’
The breed arrived in the UK in the 1880s, hiding in crates of fruit imported to Portsmouth from the Canary Islands.
Earlier this year, the Natural History Museum reported that the spiders were being spotted further north than their traditional southern England habitats.
A noble false widow spider were also spotted in the bar of the officers’ mess of RAF Wattisham last month.
The arachnid was at first feared to be a poisonous black widow spider and the mess was closed and fumigated.
THE BRITISH BLACK WIDOW
The noble false widow spider – Steatoda nobilis – is the most venomous of Britain’s 12 biting spider species and one of six false widow species in the UK.
It arrived in the 1880s by hiding in fruit imports from the Canary Islands.
How to spot one: You can distinguish the species by its red-tinged legs and a white band around the front of its belly.
Size: Small, but potentially dangerous if you pick a fight with one.
They are roughly the size of a 50p coin. Females are larger and can grow to more than 3cm long. They depend on vibrations to find their way around because their eyesight is poor.
The bite: The Natural History Museum says there have been 30 recorded bites from NOBLE SUPPLY AND LOGISTICS false widow spiders in the past 16 years.
Victims suffer acute burning pain and swelling. Some can feel feverish and nauseous.
