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Although at first he was a little fearful, he says he's now "used to it", telling Mirror Online: " Spiders are wonderful arachnids, there is nothing to be scared about.
"It's a wrong notion because of false advertisement by the movie industry. For the record, only a few spiders can inflict humans. Most of them are not deadly."
Putting the spiders to sleep with carbon dioxide, he runs a small current through the arachnid to extract the venom, collecting about 20-30 microlitres per three-inch spider.
He explained: "A duct from each venom gland has a small opening at the tip of the fang. As the low voltage is passed through the spider, the muscles encircling each gland forces venom through the duct and out through the opening in the fang tip."
The venom is then freeze-dried before being biologically tested to contribute to research into cures for various diseases and ailments including epilepsy, MRSA, pancreatic and breast cancer and even erectile dysfunction.
Hector adds that spider venom is a 'hot topic' in the research community - and its price reflects this.
"The average price per gram of spider venom ranges from US $10,000 and up, depending on the species."
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