Shock after deadly spiders found in car

DISCOVERY: Angus man came face to face with black widows from California

Potentially deadly black widow spiders set up home in an Angus garage after entering the country in a Californian muscle car.

John Blain from Tealing was shocked to discover the venomous creepy-crawlies as he worked on his 1965 Ford Mustang.

One was just centimetres from the unsuspecting 47-year-old’s face.

He caught two of the arachnids, as well as recovering an egg sac, and handed them to the Scottish SPCA.

The Californian black widow is one of the most venomous in the world and their bite can prove fatal to the elderly or very young.

It is thought the creatures were in the car when it was imported to Aberdeen in March. Mr Blain then bought it in the autumn.

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: “As non-native species... they can seriously impact native animals and humans.”

A Tayside man was confronted by one of the most venomous spiders in the world “inches” from his face while working at his Tealing home.

John Blain was taking advantage of the Christmas holidays to refurbish his “beautiful” 1965 Ford Mustang – imported from San Jose, California, in March 2018 – in one of his sheds on Wednesday.

While working on the classic muscle car’s back brakes he noticed a “shiny black” spider in the wheel arch. Being used to spiders in his shed, he continued working on the car with the arachnid “about an inch and a half” from his face.

Out of curiosity while ordering parts later in the day, he searched the internet for information on Californian spiders, only to discover the creepy-crawly matched the description of a black widow.

Two live arachnids, both later confirmed to be of the species, were taken away in a container along with a spider’s egg nest or “sac” after he alerted the Scottish SPCA.

The Mustang was brought to Scotland from San Jose by a man in Aberdeen, who sold it to Mr Blain in the autumn.

The 47-year-old believes the spiders had been living in the vehicle since it was imported.

Mr Blain said: “I am planning on doing the car up. I was doing the back brakes on it and the spider was only about an inch and a half from my face.

“You see spiders in the sheds anyway. It had been there for hours. It could have had a wee bite, I suppose.

“I was ordering parts on the internet and searched ‘spiders in California’ – it was a black widow.

“The spiders have been in the car since they came over from America.

“It was almost a shiny black. It wasn’t scary looking to me – it wasn’t the size of a tarantula.

“It is meant to be 15 times more deadly than a rattlesnake in America.”

Mr Blain ended up trapping the two spiders for the Scottish SPCA to take away.

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: “We can confirm we were alerted to two possible black widow spiders in Angus after they seemingly came into the country by hiding out in an imported car from America.

“Bites from the black widow can be dangerous to humans and can cause severe muscle pain and muscle spasms.

“As non-native species they can seriously impact native animals and humans and due to the potential health and safety concerns. The spiders were put to sleep by a vet.”

was almost a shiny black. It wasn’t scary looking to me – it wasn’t the size of a tarantula

John was working on the back brakes of his 1965 Ford Mustang when he first spied the spider. He later discovered another spider and an egg sac in a wheel arch. Picture: Kris Miller.