Capital’s creepy crawlies thriving

‘‘Raining spiders’’ is how a Wellington pest control expert has described spraying one house while fighting an influx of creepy crawlies this summer.

Warm, dry days mixed with mild nights typically mean more juvenile rodents and bugs survive to adulthood, and an abundance of food means they live longer – and grow bigger.

Wash Rite Wellington coowners Tim Beale and his partner Baylee Beale are waist-deep into their first summer season running the pest control and cleaning company.

At a home in the hilly bush of Akatarawa north of Upper Hutt, washing the nasties off a home was ‘‘like raining spiders’’, Baylee Beale said.

‘‘The creepy crawlies were coming out of the weatherboards as soon as the water hit the home. My heart couldn’t handle it.

‘‘As soon as he went to the next part of the house, it was just like raining spiders. There was like centipede-looking things. It was awful.

‘‘They don’t just get flies, they get big fat blowflies that latch on to you. And now with the earthquakes as well, people are talking about ants. They have been saying the ants have been crazy phenomenal amounts in their pipes and everywhere.’’

She said had become ’’10 times more scared’’ of white tail spiders after seeing the effect of a bite from one on her friend’s thigh. ’’It was just eating his flesh’’ and he was hospitalised.

Te Papa’s resident spider expert Phil Sirvid said white tails, like other spiders, would also be more abundant but to classify them as a threat would be ‘‘overstating the case’’, as their venom was not particularly dangerous to most people - unlike their bite.

Sirvid said the current conditions in Wellington would mean much more creepy crawlies.

In general, only two species were known to be genuinely dangerous in New Zealand: the katipo and the closely-related Australian redback.

‘‘For me as a Wellingtonian, the real summer spider is the native black-headed flax jumping spider. They are not considered dangerous to people, although they may sometimes cause a start when they jump on someone unexpectedly.’’

- Fairfax NZ