More and more sightings

The city is now on spider alert

Conspicuously large at up to 19 millimetres: the Nosferatu spider is already well established in Vienna.(Bild: Christian Komposch/ÖKOTEAM)

The exotic Nosferatu spider is now spreading more and more in Vienna. The eight-legged creature has already been spotted here.

Almost ten percent of Austrians suffer from arachnophobia - in other words, they get anxious when they are near a spider. The news that the exotic Nosferatu spider is spreading more and more in the city probably does little to calm them down. This spider species originally comes from the Mediterranean region, but has spread northwards in recent decades, mainly due to climate change and global trade.

The body of the Nosferatus spider (Zoropsis spinimana) is brown to gray with a characteristic dark pattern on the back, reminiscent of a skull.(Bild: Dominik Moser)

Favorable living conditions
The spider species has also been found in Vienna since 2017. At that time, it was only detected in three districts, but now lives in all parts of the city. The reason: increasingly higher temperatures due to climate change and therefore favorable living conditions. According to Naturbeobachtung.at, there have already been 38 reports this year alone, 24 of which have been confirmed. The animal was spotted conspicuously often in the west of Vienna.

The Nosferatu spider can bite, but only if it feels threatened.(Bild: Christian Baumgartner)

Females reach a body length of up to 19 mm, males are usually somewhat smaller.(Bild: Christoph Zeilinger)

The species originally lives on rocks and tree trunks and can therefore "climb" well - which is why it likes to live in apartments or houses or near houses, on facades and terraces. In Simmering, it has also been discovered in the garden under a barbecue cover.

The Nosferatu spider has now been spotted in all districts. It seems to feel particularly at home in the west of the city.(Bild: naturbeobachtung.at)

On terraces and facades
What's special about the eight-legged creature? It specifically seeks out human dwellings and makes itself at home on terraces and facades. Especially now in the fall, the animal often seeks shelter from the cold in houses or apartments. But is the spider dangerous?

The "Nosferatu" spider can bite, but only if it feels threatened or squashed. "There are a few documented cases of bites, but their bite is almost harmless and corresponds to the symptoms of a gel sting," says Christoph Hörweg, Head of the 3rd Zoological Department of the Natural History Museum Vienna.