Quote:
Originally Posted by Vanilla
Another fear is of white tail spiders which is the only venomous spider that is aggressive and can bite you.
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They are certainly creepy little spiders who get a quick death when they crawl through my house but I don't believe they are especially venomous. The link between their bites and necrosis has also not been established in any scientific study. There was quite a bit of hysteria some years back about the white tail's bite causing necrosis but I believe it was mostly unfounded. Necrosis is thought to occur through local colonisation of the skin by necrotising bacteria with a bite or scratch providing an entry point for infection. Also as a hunting spider they eat Redbacks so that's a plus, although I don't believe you have to worry about them in New Zealand do you?