I’m glad that people here are treating this story with skepticism. I sent it to an arachnologist friend after seeing it on Twitter. He says they may well have been a harmless species. Identifying from photographs is unreliable, and pest control companies are notorious for mis-identifying, either because they really are ignorant or else want to make more money off the customer. Some are ethical, but others leave a lot to be desired. Notice the word “might.”
The vast majority of spiders are harmless to humans, and many are beneficial. Most things that people(and doctors) assume are spider bites aren’t and it usually turns out that the individual didnt see what bit them.
The Spider Myths Site
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spider myth/
Sorry, that link doesn’t seem to work, and to add insult. To injury, I accidentally posted it twice.
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/