White Tail Spider Bite Support Page

This site facilitates gathering information about the Australian White Tail spider, symptoms and effects of its bite.

If you have been bitten by this spider, you can register in our support forum where you can meet your fellow spider bite victims.
White Tail spider
(Lampona cylindrata)
The White tail spider can be found in most areas of Australia and New Zealand. It prefers warm, dry areas and is often found within urban dwellings near the top of walls or within warm piles of clothes. In the bush, it may be found under peeling eucalypt bark and dry logs, or amongst foliage. They actively hunt other spiders for food and do not build webs.

The bite is highly toxic to humans — although not directly lethal — and may also carry with it a micro-organism which causes slow-healing ulcerating sores or necrotising arachnidism (death of skin tissue following the bite.)

These spiders are easily identified by their cylindrical body shape and the presence of a white or grey spot at the end of the abdomen.

Its Bite

Redness and blisters are common following a White Tail spider bite, and fortunately, most cases do not develop ongoing ulcerations. There are a small number of cases where the bite has been associated with causing necrosis of the skin which in turn may be caused my the micro-organism carried on its fangs.

There exists no test to confirm whether or not a bite has been caused by this spider, nor are there any antidotes to its venom. There have been three deaths related to its bite and one suicide.


Skin Necrotising caused by the bite. (February 1998 to June 1998.)
The final photo shows the necessary skin graft.

It is very dangerous to wait for any blisters to heal without immediately seeing a doctor, as gangrene can be a threat if the bite goes untreated.

Mrs. D's Testimonial. Click here for a downloadable version.

Mrs. D was bitten in Auckland by what we think is a white-tail spider on September 5, 2002.
The immediate skin reaction was only a mild itch, which she thought nothing of.

The serious outbreak began on Friday, 13 September and these are the pictures of how it developed.

She started taking antibiotics on the 15th of September.

I photographed this adult white-tail spider feeding on a wolf spider on the wall next to the spot where Dennie was bitten, a few days after. Before that we caught two small white-tails inside the house.

12 October. Ending antibiotics course. Discoloration still very visible. Numbness in the skin. The doctor tells us it can last over a year.

Acupuncture treatment (28 October for 3 successive days)

Two Months later on 25 December

Spider Bite Victims on Auckland's North Shore Can Contact:

Acupuncturist: Cecilia Kim
Phone: 9 486 0059
Email: ambrosiuskim@hanmail.net
Address: 17 The Terrace, Takapuna