Repeated bites from false widow spiders have driven a Kent mother out of her garden, she said, leaving her unwilling to dry clothes outside or spend time there.
She said one bite first appeared as a red mark, then darkened into a wound that left a permanent scar.
Here's what to know
Danni Virgo, a 45-year-old mother from New Romney, Kent, said the problem started in 2020. After taking laundry in from the washing line and later changing into freshly washed pajamas, she told DevonLive she felt "the most almighty pinch" on her thigh and then saw a spider crawl from her pajama bottoms.
She said the bite quickly worsened.
"Within a day, it had turned black and had this massive head on it," Virgo said.
A doctor later identified the bite as coming from a false widow spider and said the wound had become infected. Antibiotics helped her recover, but she added that she was bitten two more times within weeks.
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Virgo later said that, after checking her yard with a torch at night, she saw false widows all along the fence and nests around the garden.
"There's around 100 in my garden," she said. "We've tried peppermint spray on the fence, natural oils, spider sprays, but there's just no way of getting on top of it."
Spider-bite hospital admissions appear to be rising in the U.K. NHS figures cited by DevonLive showed spider bites were linked to 100 hospital admissions in 2025, compared with 47 in 2015.
More background
"We have a washing line in my garden and they like to hide in the pegs," Virgo said.
She said she no longer uses the garden as she once did and now dries clothes indoors because she fears being bitten again.
What can be done?
Virgo said her doctor recognized the issue immediately, and antibiotics helped her recover.
"I won't hang the washing outside now, and my husband doesn't put my clothes out. We use a dryer indoors," she said.
"People need to be aware of these spiders," Virgo added. "They're not that big, so they're easily missed. It's not surprised me that bites have gone up. I live in fear now."
Where can I learn more?
In the U.S., another spider is spreading and becoming a concern.
• In South Carolina, officials are confronting an unusually resilient Joro spider infestation.
• Across the U.S., the massive and peculiar Joro spider is spreading into new territory.
• In Maryland forests, experts said the population is growing rapidly as invasive Joro sightings increase.
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