The 11-year-old boy was taken to a doctor’s surgery after being bitten on the foot on Tuesday morning, and an ambulance was immediately called.

An air ambulance was also despatched to airlift the boy for specialist treatment, but the helicopter was recalled after the boy showed no symptoms.

He was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital by road ambulance, and treated with antivenom in the emergency department before being allowed to go home.

However the incident has prompted a warning about the warmer months bringing a rise in the number of accidental encounters between humans and potentially deadly spiders.

Male funnel-web spiders are particularly on the move in summer as they search for a mate, while redback spiders also thrive in warm conditions.

The NSW Ambulance Service has recommended simple precautions to avoid a painful or possibly fatal spider bite, including:

• Do not poke at or aggravate a spider,

• Check all clothing and footwear, particularly if the items have been lying on the floor,

• Make a habit of checking in and around outdoor toilets and garden sheds before using them,

• Wear protective gloves when gardening or landscaping and check them also before putting them on,

• And sensible footwear is advised when in the garden and in the bush.

If the spider can be caught safely, dead or alive, it should be taken with the patient to assist with identification and treatment.

The Ambulance Service encourages everyone to learn first aid so they are better prepared if an emergency occurs.

However people should be aware that initial treatments for funnel-web and redback bites are different.

Any spider bite by a large, black spider should be assumed to be that of a funnel-web until proven otherwise.

Symptoms after a funnel-web bite can include local pain, mouth numbness, vomiting, abdominal pain, sweating and salivation.

In the event of a suspected funnel-web bite, apply a pressure bandage over the bite site and wrap the bandage up the limb.

The bandage should not cut off circulation; it should be about the same pressure that you would apply to a sprained ankle.

However a compression bandage is not advised in the event of a suspected redback bite as venom moves slowly and pressure worsens pain.

Instead place cold packs on the bite site.

Common early symptoms for redback bite are pain (which can become severe), sweating (always including local sweating at bite site), muscular weakness, nausea and vomiting.

Any spider bite requires the effected area to be immobilised to slow the spread of venom. Do not allow the patient to walk or move the limb.