Funnel webs on the march

Feb. 12, 2015, 6 p.m.

He was on a mission to clean the gutters. Minutes later his wife was phoning triple-0.

How to catch a funnel web spider

It was a damp day last April, and Steve O'Neill described himself as "on a mission" to clean the gutters around his Balgowlah home.

"I had my hand reached up high, cleaning the leaves and I didn't have gloves on. I felt something bite one of fingers on my right hand," he said.

Immediately, Mr O'Neill pulled his hand from the gutter, and saw what looked like a spider fall to the ground. Alarmed and in immense pain, he ran inside and called his wife Natasha, who phoned triple-0.

Steve O'Neill was bitten by a spider reaching into his guttering. Photo: kwicks@smh.com.au

"I was panicking, my heart rate was up and I was thinking 'God what is going to happen next if this is a nasty bite what is going to happen to me,'" said Mr O'Neill.

With a suspected funnel-web spider bite, he was taken to Manly hospital by ambulance and was placed under observation and blood tests were taken.

According to NSW Ambulance, 2015 has already seen a spike in spider bites.

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Funnel webs on the march