Advertisement

Family declares war on giant spiders

A family has declared all out war on a group of giant spiders after finding and killing over a thousand in their home.

Hanlie Gorman, who lives in Sawbridgeworth, UK, said she first became aware of the infestation two months ago when she was bitten. It subsequently took her weeks to fully recover.

The arachnids are thought had travelled back with the Gorman family following a visit to South Africa.

"We have killed more than 1,000 of them," she told Mirror Online.

"Each day starts with a walk around the outside of the building removing any new webs and killing the spiders."

A photograpraph of one of the Hobo spiders which has infested the family home. Photo: Supplied
A photograpraph of one of the Hobo spiders which has infested the family home. Photo: Supplied

The tale brings to mind the 1990 spider flick Arachnophobia, in which a newly discovered Venezuelan spider, having being transported to a small American town, produces a new race of deadly spiders.

Mrs Gorman does not believe the type, which has infested her home to be deadly and she regularly exterminates them in her home.

"They are all Hobo spiders. The local pest controller was a little out of his depth and agreed there were not from here," she said.

"We believed we had brought them back from Cape Town, from where we had recently returned. We were wrong as we have found these spiders spread across Britain."

"Our beds are made as we do in South Africa with all the sheets tucked in," she said of the precautions they must now take as a matter of course.

"As we have found spiders on our bath towels, these too have to be checked, as do our clothes.
"And they keep coming back... the war goes on."