Does the UK have any dangerous spiders?

As this site has now had some interest and is now searchable in Google, I will put on my sensible head and steer clear of any sensationalism...
In the UK, there is no particularly dangerous arachnid in the wild. That is that no fatalities from bites of any indigenous or immigrated and integrated/locally living species have ever been recorded.
It is, however, ignorant to simply dismiss spiders as completely harmless in the UK.
The danger is that to talk the truths, the facts can sometimes become contorted through rumour. This is one of the main reasons I set up arachnipedia.

There are perhaps four spiders of notable interest in the UK capable of inflicting a painful bite. ANY spider can bite and if threatened, it will try to as a natural defense mechanism. Even a humble money spider will try to bite.
All spiders carry a toxin. This is vital for disabling prey. These toxins can, when a spiders' chelicerae (fangs) are sharp or long enough to penetrate human skin, be dangerous. But there is no spider living in the UK wild able to deliver a bite any more painful than, perhaps a bee, hornet, or wasp sting.
The danger in this description is always apparent. Arachnophobes will now be compelled to squish more on the merit these arthropods bite.

So, I list here some spiders which may (and that is MAY) bite in the UK. The massive Tegenaria Gigantia/Duellica, or UK housespider - the ones that scuttle across carpets in autumn have rarely been reported as biters, but where they have reportedly bitten, it has felt like little more than a gnat bite! Important to get them out of the way, as people often fear these, one of the UK's largest spiders, more than others. Squishing these spiders is self defeating because although they aren't a threat to us, they are the worst nightmare of most other household critters in the UK!

So, the possible biters in the UK.

*Common garden orb-weaver. Fat-bodied brown spiders that spin gorgeous autumn dew-soaked webs. These can nip, but pain is highly unlikely.

*European cave spider - Large rusty-brown spiders (very rare) and live in caves. These can inflict a bite akin to a bee sting. But you really won't see one unless you go in a cave!

*Common Woodlouse Spider (crocata). By a weird twist of nature, these spiders are now considered a hazard to UK gardeners. They have evolved to develop sharp chelicerae to penetrate the outer shells of woodlice. It's wise to keep out of the way of these red/brown spiders (more details elsewhere on this blog) but if you are bitten, it's probably likely to be little more than a wasp sting effect - still not nice though!

*False Widows. There are several members of the false widow (steotoda) genus in the UK. Generally localised to the south east of the country, these spiders are, again capable of bee-sting-like bites. (Again, this spider is featured elsewhere on this blog).

So there you are!

There is a handful of other species that can inflict a significant bite in the UK, but spider bites are so rare it really isn't worth listing them!
Spiders are simply not a danger in the UK!

Click the YouTube links in the top right hand corner for the latest worldwide spider videos (I obviously cannot guarantee any of these are safe!)

Stay webwise....
Gav.