How to Survive the World’s Deadliest Spider

You feel a sudden surge of pain in your foot. You freeze in horror as you look down to see a jet-black creature scurrying away. It’s a funnel-web spider, also known as “the world’s deadliest spider,” and it just bit you. There’s no time to panic. Keep watching if you want to make it out alive. Their funnel-shaped webs make the perfect traps for unsuspecting prey. And their fangs are bigger than the fangs of some snakes. The funnel-web spider is the deadliest spider in the world. You can find it along the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Don’t let its size fool you. Although its size ranges between 1.5 cm and 3.5 cm (.59 to 1.37 in) long, this is an aggressive spider. Its fangs are strong enough to pierce through a fingernail and its venom can kill a human being within 15 minutes. When traveling to places that are home to the world’s deadliest spider, you should be clearly warned. But imagine that crucial warning gets lost in the way people say things. And consequently, you go outside without antivenom or without knowing how to avoid getting bitten by a funnel-web spider. And that would certainly kill you. Fortunately, we have Grammarly Premium. So every time we find out that we don’t clearly state how you can survive a deadly threat, Grammarly comes up with a solution. Our favorite feature is when it reminds us that we are using too many words to express… Oh, yeah. That we’re being “”wordy”. Oh, and it even suggests some good… Well… “acceptable” solutions, with a large… Yes, “vast” vocabulary. You just click here, and that’s it. You can use it not only in your web browser, but also in your favorite desktop and mobile apps like Twitter, Gmail, LinkedIn, Outlook, and more. Do more than just spellcheck. Say what you really mean with Grammarly Premium. That’s 20% off. But to survive the world’s deadliest spider, you’ll need more than a vast vocabulary and clever writing. You will need to follow these steps. A funnel-web spider’s venom contains a neurotoxin called delta-hexatoxin which can kill humans by attacking the nervous system. It results in keeping nerves turned on and firing over and over again. Facial paresthesia, which feels like having pins and needles in your face, is a symptom of this spider’s bite. If you start to feel paresthesia, there’s no time to waste, so call for help while you can still talk, before your face begins to numb. In severe cases, the venom can cause muscles to spasm, dangerously low blood pressure, organ failure, coma and death. There are over 35 species of funnel-web spiders. All of them are dangerous, and you should treat them with extreme caution. However, the Sydney funnel-web spider is the deadliest because its venom spreads rather quickly. So if you’ve been bitten, clean the wound with soap and water, grab some bandages and apply pressure to the bite. This will help to slow the venom’s spread. In Sydney, in 2014, a six-year-old- girl was bitten by a funnel-web spider. Her mom took her to the doctor, but once they got home, the girl started to develop severe symptoms. She began vomiting, shaking uncontrollably and her vision turned cloudy. It turned out that a rare species of the funnel-web spider had bitten her, so she needed three doses of antivenom instead of the usual one or two doses. The girl survived. But if you catch the spider, it can help doctors identify it and use the right kind of antivenom. You can catch it using a jar, preferably one that is see-through. The venom can cause an irregular heartbeat. Staying calm and not moving around can help slow these adverse effects. Although 13 people have died from funnel-web spider bites, they happened before the antivenom for the Sydney funnel-web spider was developed in 1981. In 2017, in New South Wales, Australia, a 10-year-old boy needed 12 vials of antivenom, the largest dose administered in Australia’s history, after being bitten by a funnel-web spider hiding in his shoe. The boy recovered. And the spider was caught and released in a reptile park, where it is now part of a program making antivenom. Don’t ever poke these spiders. If you see one, find a way to let it go outside far from your home, or call a specialist to take care of it. Don’t harm them, and understand that they aren’t out to get you. For the funnel-web spider, killing humans is just an unfortunate coincidence. Their venom is only effective on invertebrates and primates. And since they feed on beetles, cockroaches, small lizards and snails, there’s no evolutionary reason for these spiders to attack you. They’re only defending themselves. Well, you followed the steps and survived this tiny but hazardous critter. But would you survive a bite from something bigger? What about a tarantula?