Hugh Marsh, aged 30, was in the Cotswolds for their cousin’s wedding when they reached into their shoe to find a spider from Australia had hitched a ride all the way to England
A tourist in the Cotswolds was left with their hand swollen “like a balloon” after a spider from Australia hitched a ride in their shoes – and waited years to strike.
Hugh Marsh, 30, from Perth, was in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, for their cousin’s wedding when they pulled what they thought was a wedge of tissue from the toe of their left shoe. Moments later, their skin began to itch and turn red.
“I looked in thinking there was a wedge of tissue in the toe, and pulled it out, like you would, with my fingers. That’s when I noticed my hand starting to feel itchy and saw the hairs,” they said. “I immediately knew something was wrong.”
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By the next day, Hugh’s hand had blown up “like a blimp”. Hugh said: “My whole hand was swollen like a balloon. It was as if I’d stuck my hand into a pile of cactuses. Extremely fine short hairs covered my middle and index finger, from the tips to the middle knuckle.”
Hugh believes it was a Badumna insignis – the black house spider – after comparing it with online photos. Native to Australia, the species carries an excruciatingly painful bite that can cause nausea, vomiting, sweating, dizziness and even skin necrosis.
Luckily for Hugh, the spider was already dead. They added: “It was a black spider with thin legs and large mandibles, about the size of an Australian 50 cent coin. It had been deceased for a while by the looks of it. It was like it had gone into the shoe, wrapped itself in a cocoon of webbing and died.”
The Aussie event photographer reckons the shoes had been sitting untouched in the closet for two or three years before the trip. “Thankfully it was just the spider hairs that stuck into my fingers and not an actual bite – I’d be a little worried how that could’ve gone,” they added.
Hugh was able to attend the wedding with the help of paracetamol before seeking medical advice. A strong antihistamine was prescribed, but the swelling took a week to subside. Looking back, they can see the humour in it. “I think it’s pretty funny overall,” Hugh said.
- Households in the UK have been urged to “seal windows and doors” as the spider season kicks off. Reports suggest that the season, which sees an increase in house spider sightings, has started earlier than usual. In Ireland, for example the spider season (a period when male spiders enter homes in search of mates) is already underway.