Posted on 08/31/2010 11:16:54 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The 28 year-old suffered severe burns after attacking the arachnid with an aerosol can at his home in Clacton in Essex.
The man was summoned by his wife to deal with a spider she had seen scuttling behind the lavatory on Bank Holiday Monday. Not being able to reach it, the man decided to kill it by spraying it with the can.
However he was unable to see whether it was dead because the bulb in the bathroom light had blown. At this point he turned to a cigarette lighter to illuminate the room, but in the process ignited the gas fumes and caused an explosion.
The blast was so strong it blew the man off his feet and lifted the loft door off its hinges.
He suffered flash burns to his head, legs and torso and was rushed by ambulance to hospital after dousing himself in cold water.
A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: "It appears the wife had spotted the creepy crawly in the bathroom and asked her husband to capture it.
"He sprayed it first with an aerosol where it was lurking behind the toilet bowl and when that didn't appear to work, he lit up his lighter to spread some light on the situation as the bathroom bulb had blown.
"There was an almighty explosion which blew the man back into his hallway and lifted the hatch on the loft.
"He did exactly the right thing by jumping into the shower and cooling his burns with cold water while his wife raised the alarm."
Firefighters administered emergency first aid at the scene while waiting for ambulance teams to arrive.
A spokesman added: "We're not entirely sure whether the spider got away or not but there was no sign of it at the scene."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Does the spider live?
Are you kidding me? Hairspray? We used a can of hairspray to accidentally set desert brush on fire trying to use the flamethrower effect to kill desert critters. Fortunately, the brush was isolated, separated from other brush clumps by dry desert.
You could wipe an entire gang of Taliban thugs using hairspray and a Bic.
What frickin' gas fumes? Something tells me they left part of the story out, typical of today's reporting.
Non-dairy creamer can also make for some interesting fireworks if you get a cloud of it suspended in the air and touch off an open flame.
I like it....
Right now I’m going out to my front yard to spin a giant web to catch some liberals.....
RE: comment #43. Several FReepers have mentioned that spray cans use butane as a propellant now, that would explain the gas remark.
And he coudda been a Darwin contender....
“What was he spraying that caused an explosion like that?”
.
Many aerosol cans now use propane or butane as a propellant, since freon has been outlawed.
> “Does the spider live?”
.
Ahh, compassion for natures little critters...
Unless the spiders are poisonous....
Ah but that smacks of common sense and understanding nature.
I believe that ALL spiders are venomous, just some more so than others.
I do exactly the same thing and have noticed, like you, they learn where to not build their webs.
Great. Now spiders everywhere will start carrying lighters.
It is nothing like that. If a spider has venom, then ergo, it is venomous.
This is what happens when people use alternative weapons in other countries.
All a person needs is a 12 gauge loaded with rice to kill spiders. Or cornflakes.
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