Spider- Dont know what it was

[work-hard]

Ok, well there was this spider in my house and im very certain that it looked like a black widow so i researched it and it looked identical from the top (jet black and shniy) but i know that black widows have that red hourglass on the underside of them. Of course i never saw the underside of it because it was crawling up my wall and i was too scared to get too close. The body wasnt really round either like some spiders. I live in the south west of england, near the coast and the spiders actual body was about 5-10mm, roughly, im no good at measurments. Anyway can anyone help me in identifying it,as my brother chucked it outside, and im scared its going to come back. Or can anyone suggest another type of spider it could have been. pictures will be useful cus then i could identify it properly.

Thanks

[Blackbrook Eye]

Hi and welcome, Work Hard, if its spider pictures you want I suggest that you look in the invertibrates section of the picture Gallery, In my opinion the photography on this site is as good as it gets.

[Venger]

Hi Work-hard,
Spiders don't hunt people so you can relax
The UK has no native spider that can deliver a fatal bite (barring an allergic reaction), the ones that can bite - their venom is no worse than a bee sting (apperently)
Go here and check out the Theridiidae spp :
UK spiders

[work-hard]

But can you get black widows? I mean the shape of the spider was exact to the black widow, and it was shiny, jet black, no markings whatsoever, like i said, i didnt get a chance to see if it had a red marking, can u suggest anything?

[Venger]

It's not warm enough to get black widows in the UK.
It could be an escapee though I doubt it.
Family Theridiidae is the same family the black widow belongs too,
Check out species Steatoda they are easily mistaken for black widows (in fact they are commonly called false black widows)
If it really, really bothers you then use the following advice:

Don't panic! Catch it, preferably without killing it. If you are arachnophobic or not too keen on doing this then get a friend or neighbour to help. Put it in suitable container and telephone your local council's Environmental Health department or natural history museum. Very few museums will be equipped to deal with this but should be able to advise you.

[work-hard]

No its body was alot less round, legs with a tuny bit thicker and more spread out....

[work-hard]

http://www.utopiasilver.com/images/t...p_image004.jpg

Like that, but the body may have been less round, and it was completely shny black, no markings whatsoever

Im puzzled

[Hondachick]

I too have just put a spider out of my bathroom window not half an hour ago that sounds exactly like the one you have seen, it was crawling in my sink. It was shiny jet black including legs with no markings on the upper abdomen (didn't look underneath) with the body about the size of a fingernail. I never even imagined a black widow but thought it a bit strange because I have never seen a spider like this one before. I looked on the internet and immediately came across the Black Widow which I would swear was it. With no markings on the top I don't think it was a false widow. If it is a Black Widow what will happen to it, will it live and set up camp in our garden or will the frost get it.

[Venger]

Please trust me on this, it's not a black widow.
It's just not warm enough for them to survive, and the chances of 2 escapees is very, very remote.
Unless you can get me a photo, then I'm guessing.

[Ivan]

I have replied on a thread regarding this type of spider yesterday evening - just wondering if it was THIS was the one - if so, as i commented yesterday, could it be Crustulina Guttata?