Did wolf spider lay eggs in man's toe causing it to swell? Experts wade in on gruesome claim

Experts have debunked a man's claim that a wolf spider laid eggs in his toe, causing it to swell. Colin Blake was on a cruise to France for his 35th wedding anniversary when his toe went purple overnight.

He contacted the ship's doctor and was told that the swelling was caused by a wolf spider, reported the BBC. However, according to an arachnologist, wolf spiders are incapable of laying their eggs inside humans.

The initial report was based on information given by Mr Blake to a hospital, which referred to a Peruvian wolf spider. Blake, from Cramlington, Northumberland, told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime he was bitten while he and his wife were having a meal outdoors in Marseille.

He reportedly said: “My wife thought it may be because I had new sandals and they were rubbing on my big toe and that was causing it to be red. One of the spider eggs hadn’t been flushed and must have hatched. They believe the spider was making its way out — eating its way out of my toe.” 

After his toe began to look infected, medical staff cut it open with a scalpel and a milk-like pus came out. He claimed spider eggs were seen in the liquid. Upon his return to the UK, Blake was treated at hospital and was given a course of antibiotics to reduce the swelling.

Despite his allegation, Dr Sara Goodacre from the University of Nottingham told the BBC: "I can't possibly see how it could be true at all because I know about their biology. (The egg sacs) take quite a while to spin. The spider venom is not necrotising, it is designed to paralyse a fruit fly."

She said that when a wolf spider lays its eggs, they are kept in a substance that looks like a ball of cotton, which some species carry on their backs. Dr Goodacre said there had been no reports suggesting the eggs could live in a "pus-infected wound". She added: "There is no European wolf spider that could really penetrate the skin."

The British Arachnological Society also called it "implausible".

Are wolf spiders harmful to humans?

According to pest control experts at Russellspest, the wolf spider will bite when feeling threatened, however, their venom is rather weak and not harmful to humans. The most you can expect to experience is usually no more than some redness and swelling, but nothing more serious than that has been reported.