You feel a sudden surge of pain
in your foot.
You freeze in horror
as you look down
to see a jet-black creature
scurrying away.
It's a funnel-web spider,
also known as "the world's deadliest spider,"
and it just bit you.
There's no time to panic.
Keep watching
if you want to make it out alive.
Their funnel-shaped webs
make the perfect traps
for unsuspecting prey.
And their fangs are bigger
than the fangs of some snakes.
The funnel-web spider
is the deadliest spider in the world.
You can find it along the coast
of New South Wales, Australia.
Don’t let its size fool you.
Although its size ranges between
1.5 cm and 3.5 cm (.59 to 1.37 in) long,
this is an aggressive spider.
Its fangs are strong enough
to pierce through a fingernail
and its venom can kill a human being
within 15 minutes.
When traveling to places that are home
to the world's deadliest spider,
you should be clearly warned.
But imagine that crucial warning
gets lost in the way people say things.
And consequently,
you go outside without antivenom
or without knowing how to avoid
getting bitten
by a funnel-web spider.
And that would certainly kill you.
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But to survive the world's deadliest spider,
you'll need more than a vast vocabulary
and clever writing.
You will need to follow these steps.
A funnel-web spider’s venom
contains a neurotoxin
called delta-hexatoxin
which can kill humans
by attacking the nervous system.
It results in keeping nerves turned on
and firing over and over again.
Facial paresthesia,
which feels like having
pins and needles in your face,
is a symptom of this spider’s bite.
If you start to feel paresthesia,
there's no time to waste,
so call for help while you can still talk,
before your face begins to numb.
In severe cases,
the venom can cause muscles to spasm,
dangerously low blood pressure,
organ failure,
coma
and death.
There are over 35 species
of funnel-web spiders.
All of them are dangerous,
and you should treat them
with extreme caution.
However,
the Sydney funnel-web spider is the deadliest
because its venom spreads rather quickly.
So if you’ve been bitten,
clean the wound with soap and water,
grab some bandages
and apply pressure to the bite.
This will help to slow the venom's spread.
In Sydney, in 2014,
a six-year-old- girl was bitten
by a funnel-web spider.
Her mom took her to the doctor,
but once they got home,
the girl started to develop severe symptoms.
She began vomiting,
shaking uncontrollably
and her vision turned cloudy.
It turned out that a rare species
of the funnel-web spider
had bitten her,
so she needed three doses of antivenom
instead of the usual one or two doses.
The girl survived.
But if you catch the spider,
it can help doctors identify it
and use the right kind of antivenom.
You can catch it using a jar,
preferably one that is see-through.
The venom can cause an irregular heartbeat.
Staying calm and not moving around
can help slow these adverse effects.
Although 13 people have died
from funnel-web spider bites,
they happened before the antivenom
for the Sydney funnel-web spider
was developed in 1981.
In 2017,
in New South Wales, Australia,
a 10-year-old boy
needed 12 vials of antivenom,
the largest dose administered
in Australia's history,
after being bitten by a funnel-web spider
hiding in his shoe.
The boy recovered.
And the spider was caught and released
in a reptile park,
where it is now part of a program
making antivenom.
Don’t ever poke these spiders.
If you see one,
find a way to let it go outside
far from your home,
or call a specialist
to take care of it.
Don’t harm them,
and understand that
they aren't out to get you.
For the funnel-web spider,
killing humans is just
an unfortunate coincidence.
Their venom is only effective
on invertebrates and primates.
And since they feed on beetles,
cockroaches, small lizards and snails,
there's no evolutionary reason
for these spiders to attack you.
They're only defending themselves.
Well, you followed the steps
and survived this tiny
but hazardous critter.
But would you survive a bite
from something bigger?
What about a tarantula?