Briton Almost Loses Arm Due to Bite from Poisonous Spider in Own Home (7 Photos)

A 60-year-old man from the south of England was seriously injured after being bitten by a noble false widow. This is a spider native to the Canary Islands that has become an invasive species in several other parts of the world over the past 100 years. The Briton was very unlucky: his house on the river bank became an ideal breeding ground for these unpleasant and dangerous creatures.





Ivan Savage, a former personal trainer from Slough, Berkshire, described what happened.

He had no idea that an army of 500 spiders had long since set up camp in his house. He only realized he had uninvited guests last August, when a noble false widow emerged from her hiding place and crawled up his arm while he was watching TV. Ivan felt a prick in his right elbow and then saw the spider making its way towards his arm to “sink its fangs into him” again.

“When I stood up, there was a large spider sitting on my arm with its legs fully extended. It was about the size of a penny. I was bitten twice - once on the elbow, the other on the hand. I thought, "Nonsense, it's just a spider bite." But after a few minutes my arm started to break out in small black boils. I felt unwell.”



At first, the man did not attach much importance to what had happened, but literally a few minutes later he felt very unwell and called the rescue service. And then he collapsed on the living room floor.

“I felt hot, but my bones seemed icy. I saw something in my peripheral vision. My condition quickly deteriorated. I called the paramedics, who told me to unlock the door in case I lost consciousness. Before I knew it, the ambulance staff arrived, and then I woke up in the hospital.”



Noble false widow

Ivan was admitted to intensive care at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough and remained unconscious for three days. While in hospital he developed sepsis and had surgery to remove dead flesh from his arm.



Doctors feared that the arm would have to be amputated to prevent further infection. But, fortunately, this was avoided.



“When I woke up, they didn’t tell me how bad it was. They increased the dose of antibiotics, performed surgery and, fortunately, saved the hand and arm. Later they admitted that I was 12 hours from death. Everything was very difficult for me. I didn’t realize until subsequent visits how close I was to death.”



During his two-week hospitalization, Ivan's house underwent a thorough anti-spider treatment. Pest control discovered a nest of false widow spiders under a windowsill (approximately 500 individuals) and also found false wolf spiders in the house. Ivan believes that his house is an ideal place for the breeding of all these evil spirits, since it is located next to the river.



A false wolf spider, also found in Ivan's house. It is also an invasive species

Now the man suffers from problems with the mobility of his injured arm. According to him, she was completely numb. The hand is scarred and there is reduced grip ability.

“Now it’s very inconvenient to use. I can't feel anything so I have to be careful how I use the hot water. If anyone else finds such a widow spider in their home, run away from it or kill it immediately. Don't underestimate them. These little creatures are deadly. I live in fear that this could happen again."