Edward
Ray Mears
Taken in my kitchen!
Incredible, huh?


Do you think the spider killed the mouse?
yeah, well, they are more than capable. Their bite knocks people around. That will keep the spider going for a long whileYes Randall. Definitely! The mouse was caught in the spiders web. Also look how sweaty he was. His body was trying to secret the position, obviously didn't work. I have never seen anything like it in my life! It was quite sobering, yet at the same time amazing!
yeah, well, they are more than capable. Their bite knocks people around. That will keep the spider going for a long while, at least through winter. Then he might start eyeing you off.
I hope you left him with his mouse. None of his mates will ever believe him otherwise.I noticedUnfortunately his pest control services are no longer wanted & he has since been relocated somewhere far, far away, namely too the bush
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Redbacks are nasty things and have a quite a number of them here. Begining of summer give a spray of spider killer to keep them under control along with various assorted funnel webs and trapdoors.
As a pest controller technician of 25 years, I have to say that this is something that I have never seen before. Mice and other mouse sized marsupials often come into contact with redback webs, because they often web at ground level, and where mice travel. Mice can easily be killed by a small amount of redback venom. Do you have any baits around the house. Just wondering why the mouse was too weak to get out of the web, could be even a neighbour baiting. Just a tip though. redbacks are pretty handy to have at home as they kill most other pest insects. I never kill them at my house. Don't tell anyone I said that though. I have been bitten 4 x now at work, and it was a very different experience each time, from sick as a dog to a bit like a bull ant sting.
You summed up exactly what I was thinking!!
Sorry for the late reply, just saw this comment. Red back webs, and other spider webs have a very high strength obviously, however I am up close and personal with them every day and your assumption holds no water whatsoever. The" Evidence" that you speak of almost always has ulterior reasons why the dead animal is in this situation. Bats, mice, rats etc etc can be predated on by a redback, but almost always because the animal is weak, sick and or other external factors are involved. Sure it makes a splashy facebook post or meme, but there is more to it than the picture suggests. As far as knowing where is baited, and where is not. How could you know? It's just not possible. A rodent could travel many kilometres in the time the bait has taken to incapacitate an animal. That is why baiting with second generation actives is such a destructive method of control, the net for secondary poisoning is spread way too far to monitor, and is a leading reason why so many dogs die each year from poisoning. But hey, just my opinion.No, 'there are no baits around the house, or the neighbours house', mateIf you were 'a pest controller for 25 years' you should know their webs are very strong. There is plenty of evidence of them capturing & killing prey much bigger than this mouse. It is what it is & the pictures prove it. Once in a life time event, I am proud to share & blessed to have seen
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Thanks for that. FASCINATING.Me too!
I read somewhere a woman found her cat dead with a Red Back in its mouth in a web. I also saw footage of a 'sizeable' brown snake (about 2 feet long) caught it a Red Back's web then killed- its on you tube live. I think the spider runs down and bites its prey, then retreats, before it has a chance to free itself, this is particularly the case for larger prey, but its rare. The spider can also spins web-jackets from a distance and sometimes coat the animal in a thin sack of web (a tomb). I noticed this can be really hard to see. This mouse looks almost mummified, especially near the head- I don't know if this is the web or the poison acting within its body- my guess is its a thin web as the mouses hair cant carry poison? This is quite horrific too look at! Reminds me of the Alien movies.
So from what I have seen I don't think the web has to hold the prey forever, it just needs to hold it momentarily, enough time for the spider to bite! BUT I have also noticed spiders are a lot more cautious when it does this- meaning I think it is a rare event, especially with larger prey, but it obviously can and does happen! I couldn't believe it when I saw this & my family came around and saw it also and were all equally amazed.
I was walking outside at night once along the edge of my house. A full moon was out. As I walked past I saw a massive red back running up and down a web about 2 feet long from the house wall to the ground. Had I been walking there I would have been attacked. It was extremely aggressive and fast. I also noticed when they run toward you, they do so in a weird zig zag & jittery pattern & at different speeds and angles. The seem to stop momentarily, so you think they arent travelling that fast, but they are! It disorientates you & you cant judge how fast it is coming. Its amazing! I picked up a can once with a stick and saw this happen. I literally only just dropped the stick in time! I stood there confused, shocked and in fear- the red-back nearly got me
Another thing I noticed is red-backs rarely come inside the house, but when they do they have always made their webs right near my pets food and water, which is where this one was! I think this is intentional and is amazing. One reason I never leave food lying around the house!
Sorry pictures are not clearer. I used a (standard) Canon Power Shot camera. If you look at the width of the floorboards, I had to get my head extremely close, perhaps less than a foot away from the spider. I think he could even sense the heat from my breath as he got nervous at one stage but only a little as I was very cautious, so I had to hold my breath & move very slowly, when all the instincts in me wanted to do it quickly!
Imagine if they were the size of a huntsman spider, they would probably kill us!