back to article Ocker CANNIBAL DEATH SPIDERS invade Japan!

One of Australia’s two lethal spiders, the Redback (Latrodectus hasselti), has escaped into Japan and is creating national terror, according to news outlet The Asahi Shimbun. First spotted in Japan back in 1995, the spider has now reportedly reached 22 prefectures in the country, the site reports. Most of the affected areas …

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  1. Thorne

    Tourists

    We get their tourists, they get ours. Seems fair.

    1. Reg Blank
      Go

      Re: Tourists

      To be fair, Japanese tourists pay their way and apply for visas before visiting. These redbacks (not a racist term, I assure you!) are illegal immigrants to Japan, sponging off Japan's ecology, being anti-social and generally behaving badly. Probably getting drunk and picking fights, too.

      Of the long list of deadly things in Australia, Japan should be grateful to have received a "gift" from near the bottom of both the "Deadliest" and "Most Aggressive" lists.

      Redbacks at least know their place in nature. They know that humans are above them on the predator spectrum and scurry away respectfully to shelter when we disturbed them.

      It's everything else in Australia that is having a difficulty with the concept of humans as apex predators. Haven't they ever read a bloody book?

  2. Martin Budden Silver badge
    Coat

    I found one under my Japanese-made telly two days ago.

    To be fair, I do live in Australia.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    Only a flesh wound

    Nice timing on the article. I was bitten by a red back a couple of days ago. I've required no treatment other than an ice pack and a beer or two (I seem to have gone native). Yes, it hurts a fair bit (like a bad burn), but in the vast majority of cases that is pretty much as bad as it gets. I wouldn't want the kids to get bitten, but they seem to be pretty clued up and just leave them alone whenever they find them. The one that got me was hiding in a shirt I'd left on the floor. Sneaky little bugger. If I didn't know better I'd swear my wife put it there to teach me to pick up my clothes.

    1. Thorne

      Re: Only a flesh wound

      Did you get any cool super powers?

      1. Euripides Pants

        Re: Sooper powers

        The insect has to be radioactive for that to happen

        http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1991-04-11/

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Joke

        Re: Only a flesh wound

        Yes, I now have the amazing ability to wield a spray can of pesticide.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Only a flesh wound

      I do not think you would have gotten that lightly if bitten by a Sydney funnelweb. So the article got it right - we (I live outside Australia) should say thank you that it has not decided to leave the Sydney area and go on a world tour.

      1. Chet Mannly

        Re: Only a flesh wound

        "I do not think you would have gotten that lightly if bitten by a Sydney funnelweb."

        True, but there's an anti venom for that too - the last death from a spider bite in Aus was in the 80's...

  4. Esskay
    Flame

    I'm surprised it's taken this long for one of our nasties to reach foreign shores, considering the speed at which those from elsewhere appear to flood Australia. (also surprised to realise that we only apparently have two species of venomous spider - for some reason I thought we had more?!)

    Really though, if you see a redback, you pretty much have to be looking for one(most of the time). It's the funnel webs that I get concerned about (at least they're easier to spot & kill - until they spot you and come scurrying towards you at top speed).

    < flame, cos its the closest thing I could find to a redback.

    1. Tim Starling

      Two species of venomous spider

      There are many species of funnel web spider:

      http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/Funnel-web-Spiders-Group

      Probably a lot of them would have a lethal bite if you managed to convince one of them to bite the right person and then denied that person medical attention for a few days. Mouse spiders might be deadly also. It's just that there are only two species of Australian spider that have been confirmed to have ever killed anyone.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "I'm surprised it's taken this long for one of our nasties to reach foreign shores"

      We got Dame Edna some time back.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A list of all animals in Australia which are NOT deadly:

    - some of the sheep.

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      There are rabbits, too. I'm pretty sure I heard something about rabbits once. Or have they "gone native" and now bounce around chewing people's rocks off?

    2. Chet Mannly

      Also some of our freshwater fish don't kill you - the imported ones like trout :-)

      Of course, that could be because the crocs will get you before the fish get a chance :-)

      1. Elmer Phud

        I am old

        "Nah mate, the crocs ate all the sharks"

  6. FozzyBear
    Devil

    The red back causes national terror!!!!!!!!!!

    BLOODY HELL ship over funnel web and white tailed spider, Bugger it truly inspire national terror ship over our 5 deadliest snakes as well. Piss off the taipan or the king brown (damn easy to do too) and those bastards will take delight in chasing you down. Close off the beaches give them the box jellyfish, sea snake, blue ringed octopus and great white, then for fun the male platypus for the freshwater.

  7. Evil Auditor Silver badge

    Make them (the redbacks) into a Japanese delicacy and they'll soon be gone.

  8. Moktu

    With all the wildlife that is simply waiting to rid the country of as many humans as it can, it never ceased to amaze me how they ran round screaming like a five year old, at the very sight of a "European Wasp"

    It's always funny to watch an entire BBQ of surfers and rugby players run around screaming, because of one little wasp.

    1. Steven Roper
      Alert

      That's because

      redbacks, funnelwebs, brown snakes, taipans, box jellies and all the rest of our indigenous deadlies don't fucking FLY... (Except possibly for the drop-bears, and even those only travel more-or-less straight downwards out of the trees!)

  9. Sequin

    Mike Harding did a comedy routine about the red-back many years ago - a blioke gsits down in the dunny and is bitten in an unfortunate place by a red back that is hiding under the toilet seat.

    He wakes up in hospital and asks the doctor "Can you take away the pain and leave the swelling?"

    1. PatrickE
      Thumb Up

      True story

      Most stories are based on truth. My Dad was working with the Dept of Civil Aviation in Oz until the late 70s. We lived in a place called Tenant Creek and the wife of one of his colleagues, Mrs Atkinson was a nurse and worked at the local clinic. This is in the late 60s and it was a very outback place.

      Anyway, we were having a barbie and Mrs A tells the story of a local stockman dragging himself into her clinic, in very obvious pain. So he'd gone to the thunderbox (outside dunny) and had been bitten by a redback on the old fellow. That's gotta hurt! So she relates, the guy says "please missus take away the pain but for gawds sake, don't take away the swelling!".

      True story? We thought so as she wasn't one to make things up.

  10. nichobe

    Maybe

    Someone will invent a redback proof toilet seat now.... or auto cleaning one...

    1. Ugotta B. Kiddingme

      Re: Maybe

      or maybe an auto-LOWERING one...

      1. Anonymous Custard
        Boffin

        Re: Maybe

        But they can't hide under it if it's up?

  11. Qwelak
    Mushroom

    Have they reached Fukushoma yet?

    Be prepared for a giant, mutant, radioactive redbacks terrorising Japan with eight laser shooting eyes, firey breath and able to spit poison 200yds - I give you Redzilla

  12. 404
    Childcatcher

    First Crocodile Dundee, then Steve "Crazy Ass" Crocodile Hunter, now vicious spider death knights... wonderful.

    Australia has much to answer for!

    ;)

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Australian Tourism advert/warning...

    http://youtu.be/eNEeq5qGh8I

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