Australians are being warned that squashing a spider not only leaves an unsightly mess, it could also be hazardous to people's health.
In what many animal-lovers will surely see as a case of poetic justice, doctors are warning that if the contents of a splattered spider's stomach come into contact with sensitive parts of the human anatomy they will cause severe pain and swelling. That is because some Australian species' intestines contain powerful enzymes that destroy human tissue.
One man was reported to have sustained pain and swelling around his eyes when he smashed a huntsman spider with a hammer and the remains of the animal squirted into his face.
In another case, a fragment of a widow spider landed in a woman's eye after she swatted it, leading to redness and acute pain.
Writing in the Medical Journal of Australia, Geoffery Isbister, of Mater Hospital in Newcastle, New South Wales, reported two cases of people using their bare hands to squash daddy long legs and then wiping their eyes.
Both had to be treated in hospital for swelling, itchiness and blurred vision.
Daddy long legs spiders are not normally considered dangerous because their lanky frames and tiny bodies mean it is anatomically difficult for them to bite a human.