Dr Alan Dickson, who holds a doctorate in entomology and has been in the UAE for more than 20 years, said redback spiders were "exceptionally common and always have been".
Redback spiders are "exceptionally common" in the UAE, an expert said, even as he asked people not to panic.
Dr Alan Dickson, who holds a doctorate in entomology and has been in the UAE for more than 20 years, said redback spiders were "exceptionally common and always have been".
He added that he was concerned, given recent publicity, that people could now "rush to the hospital with other insect bites thinking they've been bitten by a redback".
Dickson said he had not heard of one person being bitten by a redback spider.
He said it was not necessarily a good idea to put antivenom vials in hospitals.
"My concern is reactions to antivenom can be every bit as serious as venom itself. If in this current state, people think every insect bite is a redback bite and demand antivenom, that could have worse consequences."
Dickson suggested that residents should simply get used to the presence of redbacks.
"You can kill them, but you are only killing the ones that are there. Young spiderlings are blown in the wind. You can't get rid of those."
One expert at a pest control company said they have "battled" the spider in new developments in south Dubai. The expert, who declined to be named, said redbacks were a "very big problem in some properties two years ago. It is not a big problem now".
"When construction was going on in 2002 and 2003, we would receive 40-50 complaints a month on the spiders."
At present, he said his company receives between one to three calls about redbacks a month from people living in the Emirate Hills area. He said the company also received calls from Mirdiff "areas where most people have gardens".
The expert warned the problem was worst in the hot season. "They like outside areas, bushes, they prefer non-disturbed areas to create a nest." He emphasised he had never heard of anybody being bitten by the spider.
Another pest control expert said he did not receive many calls for the spider "but we find it during inspection". He declined to say whether he thought the spider was common or not.
Another pest control worker said he came across the red back only "about once a year."
The municipality meanwhile, said redback spiders have not bitten anybody in Dubai for at least 15 years.
It, however, confirmed that the deadly spiders have been sighted since the early 1990s.
Nasser Obaid, head of the municipality's pest control section, made the statement in a media release following Gulf News reports on the issue.
Obaid had earlier promised to issue a report. In the statement he said the municipality had not confirmed one case of a red back spider bite in 15 years. The municipality did confirm sightings of the deadly spider "in the early 1990s".
He did not say whether the section carried any anti-venom vials for the spider's bite.
Obaid said people should not "touch or disturb" their nests. Residents could use aerosol insect sprays on the spiders but "care should be exercised while treating overhead webs as poisoned spiders may drop down and bite".
Pest control companies could also be used, he said. Obaid asked people not to panic. "They bite only in defence if they are disturbed," he said.
Dark undisturbed areas are favoured
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