Danni Virgo, a 45-year-old mother from New Romney, Kent, has been unable to use her garden for six years after discovering it is infested with false widow spiders, the UK's most venomous spider. Her ordeal began in 2020 when she was bitten after putting on pyjamas that had been hung on her washing line.
First bite and repeated attacks
Within seconds of putting on the freshly laundered pyjamas, Virgo felt a sharp pinch on her right thigh and saw a small spider crawl out of the bottom of her pyjama bottoms. A small red lump appeared on her leg, and the following day the mark turned black. The 10p-sized bite left a crater in her skin, and doctors confirmed it was caused by the venom of a false widow.
Although the wound healed without surgical intervention, Virgo was bitten twice more by a false widow just weeks later. She then discovered her garden was 'infested' with the arachnids. She tried peppermint spray on the fence, along with natural oils and anti-spider sprays, but nothing worked and the spiders won.
NHS figures show rise in spider bite admissions
NHS figures reveal there were 100 hospital admissions in 2025 linked to spider bites, up from 47 in 2015. This sharp rise is being attributed to the growing numbers of the noble false widow spider in the country.
Virgo, who still has a scar from the incident, is now warning others to steer clear of the venomous spiders, especially in light of rising spider-related hospitalisations in the UK.
Warnings and ongoing fear
Virgo said: "We have a washing line in my garden and they like to hide in the pegs. I'd hung my pyjamas out and brought them in and decided I'd put them on basically straight away. It must've crawled into my pyjamas bottoms. I sat down and felt the most almighty pinch. It was really painful."
She added: "I had a look at my right leg and straight away there was a red lump. Then I saw this spider crawling out of the bottom of my pyjama bottoms. It escalated really quickly. Within a day, it had turned black and had this massive head on it."
Virgo consulted her doctor, who confirmed she had been bitten by a false widow spider and the wound had become infected. She recovered with a course of antibiotics but was bitten twice more weeks later. She has since discovered around 100 false widows lurking in her garden, leaving her terrified to venture outside.
Virgo said: "The doctor knew straight away it was a false widow. It closed on its own but it has left a scar. A couple of weeks later, I was sat on the sofa and felt a tickling on the back of my neck. Then I felt a sharp pain and I was bitten twice on my back. I found out they come out at night so I went into my garden with a torch and my fence is full of them."
She continued: "We have an infestation. They're really easily recognised. There's around 100 in my garden. There's nests everywhere. We've tried peppermint spray on the fence, natural oils, spider sprays but there's just no way of getting on top of it."
Virgo now refuses to go into her garden or hang her washing outside, using a dryer indoors instead. She said: "I won't hang the washing outside now and my husband doesn't put my clothes out, we use a dryer indoors. I was already scared of spiders and that one incident was horrendous and then for it to happen again a few weeks later just cemented that fear."
She added: "It definitely left me traumatised. Now I won't go in my garden because there's that many. I would normally be out there, I would've painted the fences and pottered about but I just don't do that now. People need to be aware of these spiders. They're not that big so they're easily missed. It's not surprised me that bites have gone up. I live in fear now."
