A venemous spider is spreading in London including into the gardens of Buckingham Palace.
As the false widow population “explodes”, hospitalisations from spider bites have doubled in England.
Academics have linked the rise to the increase in the noble false widow spider, a species described as “the most dangerous spider breeding in Britain” in a 2020 paper by Oxford University ecologist Clive Hambler.
The species, which is known to bite, originates from Madeira and the Canary Islands and was first reported in southern England in 1879 but is now spreading fast amid warmer summers.
Mr Hambler, who is a lecturer in biological and human sciences at Hertford College, said “the days when you could just treat spiders as benign in Britain are over”.
“I think if you were going back 50 years, then there would have been hardly any consequences from spider bites in Britain,” he said.
“The incidents of severe bites from spiders in Britain will have increased, as this species (false widows) became hugely more abundant in Britain, particularly in the south.”
There were 43 hospital admissions due to spider bites in 2021 and the figure increased to 95 the following year, NHS figures show, rising to 100 in 2025.
Mr Hambler said that people are coming into contact with false widow spiders much more often than they realise, adding that he has seen the species in the gardens of Buckingham Palace.
He explained that the venom in the bites can cause pain and itching but the more serious toxic effects are due to the bacteria carried by the spider – which he said can potentially lead to “amputation, sepsis and death”.
The academic said the species is “much more willing to bite than many people are willing to admit” and that he suspects that many people per day are being bitten.
Mr Hambler said the public should be more aware of the risks that false widows pose without being alarmed.
He said: “I think spiders are wonderful things and they’re very important in ecosystems, but you now need to treat spiders in Britain as you might in many other parts of the world – as something to be very respectful of.
“I mean it’s a balance because people will say ‘oh you’ll cause arachnophobia’, but I don’t think many people are going to die of arachnophobia in Britain but they will die from this thing.”
Mr Hambler said there are a number of reasons why the hospital admissions might have increased in the last 10 years, including the fact that medics are becoming more alert to the fact of spider bites and there are more people in Britain.
The figures reveal that of the 100 admissions in 2025, 73 of these were through the A&E department. This compares to 38 of the 47 cases in 2015.
Local authorities in London are warning local residents about the risks from false widows.
“Several spiders in the genus Steatoda are mistaken for the rather deadly Black Widow Spider,” says Redbridge council.
“These lookalikes are often grouped together as False Widow Spiders (Steatoda nobi!is).
“It was generally only found in the South West but recent mild winters have seen an increase in numbers in London and Kent.
“While these spiders are venomous and their bites can be painful, they're no more dangerous than a wasp sting and the spiders are non- aggressive.”
Nine schools in Newham, east London, were closed because of infestations of false widow spiders in 2018.
The danger from spiders was highlighted just days ago when Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen was treated by doctors after a venomous spider bit her onstage while opening for AC/DC in Mexico City.
Dr Michel Dugon, a zoologist specialising in the evolution and development of venom systems at the University of Galway, said the UK figures are “interesting” but “not surprising”.
He added that the “most obvious” factor that might have caused the rise is the “explosion in the population of noble false widow”.
“We know that those species indeed can actually bite, that they do have a preference to live in and around houses rather than in natural habitats, at least in the UK and Ireland,” he said.
Dr Dugon said that with increased media coverage on false widows and spider bites over the last few years, some people might have come forward believing they have been bitten by the species when it may have been something else.
“Essentially, when you do not see the spider really bite or capture the spider and you say that you haven’t felt any pain – then it’s most likely not a spider,” he added.
“Because a bite by the noble false widow will actually wake you up. The pain is equivalent to a wasp sting or even more than that.”
He said that spiders are “not aggressive animals” and “don’t particularly try to bite”, adding that 100 cases in England is relatively minor.
