Letters
Emergency medicine
Volume 175 - Issue 11

Eye exposure to squashed spiders

Author:  John E Stuart

Med J Aust 2001; 175 (11): 671.
Published online: 17 December 2001
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Letter

Eye exposure to squashed spiders

MJA 2001; 175: 671

To the Editor: I read with great interest the letter from Isbister and Balit describing ocular reactions to squashed daddy longlegs spiders.1 As an arachnophile, I think it is a great pity that people go around squashing these harmless beasts that are very efficient at catching and eating real pests such as mosquitoes and flies.

Living in a house that is well populated with daddy longlegs, I would like to enlighten readers on my own method of removing these harmless spiders from the house without harming either myself or the spider. This is the "open fist" method. The spider can be easily caught by placing the hand over and around the spider, leaving a small amount of space in the "open fist". It can then be removed from the house and released into the garden. I have used this method successfully on at least 20 occasions without suffering any bite or reaction.

Long live daddy longlegs!

John E Stuart
Paediatrician, John Hunter Children's Hospital, Locked Bag 1, Hunter Mail Centre, NSW 2310.
jstuartATdoh.health.nsw.gov.au

  1. Isbister GK, Balit C. Eye exposure to squashed spiders [letter]. Med J Aust 2001; 175: 391-392.


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