‘Learn how to safely catch funnel-webs’: Sydneysiders tasked with hunt for venom as spiders’ breeding season begins

Baby spiders collected from egg sacs via Australian Reptile Park's yearly callout are vital to creating lifesaving antivenom

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Hunting for potentially deadly, silky spider burrows in the back yard may not be on every Sydneysiders' bucket list.

But that's the request of the Australian Reptile Park (ARP) as breeding season begins for funnel-webs, encouraging residents to search shoes, piles of laundry, pools and garden debris for spiders and their egg sacs.