There are two different species of white tailed spiders in NZ, both ex-Australian that were probably introduced with household goods a long time ago (think 1800-s!)

Recent taxonomic investigations showed there are 61 species of white-tails in Australia, but just two of these have made it to New Zealand.

They are nocturnal hunters that love to live on the outside of our houses. Their favourite prey is grey house spider; yep, the one that makes those messy cobwebs on weather boards and in the corner of windows – and yes, also the one that lives in your car’s side mirrors!

Warm summers where people sleep with windows open make for an easy entry for the spiders.

When disturbed, they tend to run quickly and hide in all sorts of nooks and crannies. They may even find their way under the sheets as well

White tails can and will bite when trapped or provoked, but, the media reports of serious repercussions, including necrotising fasciatus or necrotising arachnidism (where the flesh starts to die as a result of an infection in the bite) are simply unsubstantiated.

So far, there is no white tail bite recorded where the biting spider was identified by an entomologist, and the patient was observed by medical experts, linking the whole cause and effect up in truly proper scientific manner.

The spider bites that have been followed up resulted in nothing more than a pair of red fang marks and a wee bit of short-lived pain.

Ironically, I often take a vagrant spider with me to show kids at schools, and those spiders are certainly capable of painful bites, followed by necrotising arachnidism!

If you handle them correctly, though, you’ll find they are not aggressive at all and will happily walk all over you. Keep them alive as they may clean the outside of your house of cobwebs… For free!