OT - What do I do with black widow spider?

[LiveMusic]

I'm painting outside the house. She's (he?) a big one in the corner of the front door. Sure looks like a black widow. I haven't seen one in years but the shape sure looks like one. I got up to it and I see a red dot on the up side of very end of the spider. She hangs upside down all the time, so, I can't see if there's an hourglass underneath. I assume it's a black widow.

 

So, what to do? I don't like to kills things. Except wasps. They die. I don't even kill snakes.

 

But I have no idea what to do with a black widow. Even how to catch it. Swipe the web with a stick, I guess, and take her somewhere. If I take her anywhere around humans, that's not too cool. Might bite someone. I think they like houses but, hey, eons ago, they must've lived in trees or something, so, maybe just take her to the woods?

 

I can't find any images showing the upper shot of a black widow. They're all showing the underside. But it's a black widow, 99% sure.

 

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:wp4UhUWCD3AJ:www.chinomd.com/medcyc/pic/black%2520widow%2520spider.jpg

[Michelle ggurl]

I get a ton of 'em around here in late Spring.

 

Sorry, but I'd ice her.

 

The reason is because you DON'T want is to get bitten by this spider. Around here, I know what spider is a BW because it is distinct from every other spider I see around here: larger, truly black (not just black-brown), and the webs are very, very strong.

 

I know someone who was bit and got deathly ill. I wouldn't kill a snake, but I want as few BW nests as possible around me, so that's why I suggest eliminating it. If you feel uncomfortable with that and decide to capture and release it, be very, very careful.

[DC]

And here I thought you were talking about some Peavey speaker or something...

 

If you don't want to kill it, get a stick and a jar and capture the varment and release it well away from your home.

[ryst]

Originally posted by LiveMusic:

I'm painting outside the house. She's (he?) a big one in the corner of the front door. Sure looks like a black widow. I haven't seen one in years but the shape sure looks like one. I got up to it and I see a red dot on the up side of very end of the spider. She hangs upside down all the time, so, I can't see if there's an hourglass underneath. I assume it's a black widow.

 

So, what to do? I don't like to kills things. Except wasps. They die. I don't even kill snakes.

 

But I have no idea what to do with a black widow. Even how to catch it. Swipe the web with a stick, I guess, and take her somewhere. If I take her anywhere around humans, that's not too cool. Might bite someone. I think they like houses but, hey, eons ago, they must've lived in trees or something, so, maybe just take her to the woods?

 

I can't find any images showing the upper shot of a black widow. They're all showing the underside. But it's a black widow, 99% sure.

 

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:wp4UhUWCD3AJ:www.chinomd.com/medcyc/pic/black%2520widow%2520spider.jpg

I would feed it. Find some insects (maybe a wasp?) around the area or find out what they eat and put them on the black widow's web. It might be a cool thing to watch.

[LiveMusic]

Ryst, haha, I only wish I could steer every red wasp to this spider. God, I hate those things. They piss me off. I jump off the ladder and have damn near broken my neck a couple of times. There are lots of them with nests in the cracks of the boards.

 

Speaking of prey...

 

Yesterday, I was on another hike. A little coyote pup ran out of the woods and onto the levee I was walking down and he ran on down the levee because it was easy running. But I had been watching little birds give some giant hawks hell, bugging hell out of them. Suddenly, this bigass hawk swooped down and went after the little coyote. I decided to watch to see, if, yes, he is definitely going after the coyote. That didn't take long. Like three seconds. Just as he was making his strike, I shouted and the hawk veered off. I saved the coyote.

 

I guess it's possible I didn't save the pup, maybe the hawk figured he was too big. He looked to be about 8 to 10 weeks. But I'll take the credit. He was cute, like a little puppy.

 

Then, the hawk will go back to being a hawk and one of these redneck bastards around here will shoot him out of a tree. Man, they make me mad. Shoot, shoot, kill, kill. If it's alive, they want it dead. Makes 'em feel big, I guess. They shoot coyotes just for the hell of it. String 'em up on fences like trophies.

[RABid]

Squish it. Don't release it somewhere so that some one else my be the victim.

[steadyb]

Kill it.

 

I think, if you get bitten, you can only get the venom antidote once.

 

Don't accidentally use that "get out of jail free" card if you don't have to.

 

Black Widow Spider Bite Treatment

[theblue1]

I usually kill poisonous spiders and insects right off. I kind of mentally/spiritually 'apologize' (sort of like the native Americans 'thanking' the bison who provided their food to them). If I was in a position where I could put the thing safely away from humans -- and I'd developed the kind of grudging familiarity with it that you seem to have -- I might (carefully) walk it away things and let it start life in a new location. But I try to keep perspective on this stuff. It's not that I don't take 'small/simple' life forms seriously, but I do think more complex life forms deserver greater consideration for their greater complexity. That may be a form of complex-lifeform--chauvinism, I admit...

[Billster]

Yes, kill it.

 

It is too dangerous to try and fool with catching it. Don't be ridiculous, that thing is a lot more dangerous than a wasp.

[ryst]

I'm sorry, guys. But I respectfully disagree with killing it. Why? Only because I'm 28 going on 12. I miss learning about animals and insects and it always and still does fascinate me to see how they live. So again, I would find what it usually eats and try and make dinner for the spider one day. And watch whenever I have time. It's a lot more interesting than watching tv. If it isn't in anyones way i don't see a need to kill it. But that's just me.

[Lee Flier]

I hate to kill things too, and I love spiders. However... when it comes to black widows in my house, I kill them. I'm happy to share my home with other types of spiders, and insects which will not harm me. And if I spot poisonous snakes or spiders in the wild, I leave them alone. But black widows, brown recluses, roaches, pantry moths, anything that would harm me or my food supply in my own home... they're outta here. Every animal protects its own den and I'm no exception. I was reminded of this a few days ago when I was attacked by some VERY aggressive paper wasps when I accidentally disturbed their nest. These wasps pass by me every day in the course of their (and my) normal business and they've never shown any interest in harming me, nor I them. But now it's different. Sucks but that's the way it is.

[Lee Knight]

Kill

 

Kill

 

Kill

 

There's a spot in my garage where I can find a Black Widow every year. My wife paints her masterpieces right next to this area while my 8 year old hangs out playing.

 

Kill

 

Kill

 

Kill

[Tedster]

Originally posted by DC:

And here I thought you were talking about some Peavey speaker or something...

 

If you don't want to kill it, get a stick and a jar and capture the varment and release it well away from your home.

AAARRRRGGGHHH...

 

You beat me to it.

 

Hey! You can kill the spider by dropping a cabinet on it!

 

http://www.lindberg.de/catalog/images/images/bass/peavey115bxbw.jpg

 

SPLATTTT!!!!

[Tedster]

http://www.makethemaccountable.com/podvin/images/Festivus3ShaolinPriest.JPG

 

"Observe the spider. How carefully she weaves her web.

 

Then squash the sucker".

[Bejeeber]

Apologize to her as sincerely and deeply as possible, then ferociously kill her before she kills and eats her next poor unsuspecting husband.

[fantasticsound]

I'm with Lee. You kill it because it's too dangerous to keep around and too dangerous to put somewhere that another person might stumble into it.

 

If you can find someone who wants it in a zoo, great. Otherwise, squash it.

[LiveMusic]

BTW, I saw something else interesting lately. I don't know what these bugs are called. It's not a wasp. It's even bigger than a wasp. But I don't see a stinger. It's kind of primitive looking, more like a dragonfly. Seems like I remember when I was a kid reading that they eat spiders or wasps or something viscious.

 

Anyway, this dang thing buzzed around and (I suppose, on purpose) landed in a spider web. I didn't see the spider but the big bug just sat there awhile, then it flew off. Point being, it did not get tangled in the web and it appeared to purposely land on the web.

 

There's a bunch of lizards here. Chameleons. I blew 20 minutes last week watching one catch a fly. The fly kept buzzing around and would land pretty close to him. This went on over and over again. Finally, yep, the fly got too close. Meal. Maybe the lizard smelled bad to draw the fly close?

 

The cat caught a lizard. I saved the lizard but it had some intestines hanging out of its side. Then that sucker took a leap and ran right in the house in the open door. Ran under the courch. I figured he'd die. Nope, three days later, out he came. Healed. Put him outside. Maybe he'll get the spider.

[Bejeeber]

The cat caught a lizard.

Pretty amazing that that lizard healed. Didn't know that was possible.

 

If the kitty doesn't have a bell on its collar yet, that seems like a good way to me to cut down on the routine where you're having to try to save things that have their intestines hanging out.

[ryst]

Originally posted by LiveMusic:

BTW, I saw something else interesting lately. I don't know what these bugs are called. It's not a wasp. It's even bigger than a wasp. But I don't see a stinger. It's kind of primitive looking, more like a dragonfly. Seems like I remember when I was a kid reading that they eat spiders or wasps or something viscious.

 

Anyway, this dang thing buzzed around and (I suppose, on purpose) landed in a spider web. I didn't see the spider but the big bug just sat there awhile, then it flew off. Point being, it did not get tangled in the web and it appeared to purposely land on the web.

 

There's a bunch of lizards here. Chameleons. I blew 20 minutes last week watching one catch a fly. The fly kept buzzing around and would land pretty close to him. This went on over and over again. Finally, yep, the fly got too close. Meal. Maybe the lizard smelled bad to draw the fly close?

 

The cat caught a lizard. I saved the lizard but it had some intestines hanging out of its side. Then that sucker took a leap and ran right in the house in the open door. Ran under the courch. I figured he'd die. Nope, three days later, out he came. Healed. Put him outside. Maybe he'll get the spider.

Jesus Christ, Livemusic. It sound like you have got National Geographic right in your backyard. Maybe you should start selling tickets?

[Philip OKeefe]

Put me down on the side of killing it... especially if you have children or pets. Sorry, while I am a lover of nature, AND a responsible hunter (even though I have not been hunting in a few years), when it comes to something that could be a potential risk to health and safety for myself and my family, I don't take chances, and IMO, neither should you.

 

Look, if I was out in the woods and saw a black widow web and spider, I might watch it for a while, but I'd definitely leave it undisturbed... that's in the wild and nature in action. But in my home? Nope... she's gotta go. I've killed them around the house and studio, and I never felt the least bit of remorse about it.

 

To me, killing for the sake of killing just isn't kosher... but OTOH, IMO, there are justifiable reasons to kill things. One of those reasons, IMO, is when something poses a risk to my family.... and if that risk is presented by a bug, it's gone.

 

I'm allergic to bees and wasps. We have a lot of bees around the yard, and they're beneficial insects, and I leave them alone... but if one gets into the house or studio, it's a threat and it has to go. Ditto that for wasp nests near my entrance doors. Dryden Mitchell, from Alien Ant Farm, got stung right outside my front door once, because there was a wasp nest we hadn't previously noticed right next to the door frame, and closing the door ticked them off. Sorry, but bye bye wasps.

 

Again, I don't think killing should be done indiscriminately and without a reason, but hey, we're talking about a BUG here, not a bird or mammal... and a poisonous bug at that. I'd kill it, but if that bothers you, get a widemouthed jar and a wide flat stick and push her into the jar and take it a few miles out into the boonies and release it. I don't know if the spider would survive anyway (I remember reading that some spiders can only make enough silk for one complete web and then repairs on that, but I don't know if that's true or not), but if it makes YOU feel better to release it back into the wild, at least take it far away from where people would be likely to encounter it.

[mattzen]

i'm with everyone else. make the spider dead.

 

BTW, i love the google ads in this thread!

[WaterMan]

I would kill it too. Just found a bunch of black widows who took residence in my raised-bed vegetable garden.

 

But, you don't want to kill it, so capture it in a big glass jar and take it far away from development into the wilderness. Everyone wins.

[Philip OKeefe]

It sound like you have got National Geographic right in your backyard.

 

 

We do too, and I love it. The area we're in is multi-zoned, and people in the area have a lot of horses, a few cows, some sheep and goats, chickens, geese, all sorts of stuff. Lots of dogs and cats (many feral) in the area. I've got three of each myself. Yesterday, while surfing the net, I heard a slight "thunk" on the window behind me, and looked over to see a squirrel poking around. We have a opossum that comes by and raids the cat dishes at least several times a week... the cats watch him (her?) but generally leave it alone and it leaves them alone... but heaven help that poor critter if it gets near my dogs. We also see a lot of hawks and hear (and occasionally see) owls and bats at night. We also have lots of field mice... the cats left one on the studio doorstep for me as a "present" just a couple of days ago... watching them stalk, capture, play with and / or kill a mouse, gopher or bird is an interesting study of nature in action. Anyway, there are lots of interesting sounds around here at night... I was just thinking the other day about sticking a stereo pair outside and tracking some "night sounds"... I think it would be cool. And having a variety of anmials in the area is one of the benefits of living where I do. It's not as cool as when I used to live up in the mountains and we'd frequently see coyotes, deer, rabbits and even occasionally bears, but it still beats living in a "concrete zone" IMO.

[Dak Lander]

If you don't want to kill it, put it in your car. It'll build a web under the seat or dash somewhere & bite your ass when you least expect it.

[D. Gauss]

<

 

got a wife? it makes a great gift. unless of course you were actually referring to your wife...

 

-d. gauss

[KB Gunn]

Kill the bitch!!

 

Here is how you justify it. After she has sex with a male BW, she eats it alive. She deserves to die. Don't feel bad about steppin' on her and flattening her on the sidewalk. Do it quick before you have half a million little baby BW's released on your property.

[antimatter]

I'd extract the venom and mix it with Tequila, put on some classic Pink Floyd and kick it.

 

Or, let it bite me just so I could brag to everybody. Maybe on my tongue and get a pic to use as an avatar.

 

Geez, so many possibilities here.

[Anifa]

Wasps are known predators of spiders; so are preying mantis and scorpions.

 

SOURCE

Spiders commonly seen at the mercy of a wasp are the rain spiders, Palystes and baboon spiders, Theraphosidae.

 

Females of various wasp species locate their prey and sting them. This paralyses the prey but does not kill them. The paralysed prey is then carried or dragged to the nest that in some cases is prepared before prey capture. This often involves enormous effort. The prey is then stored in the nest and once the nest is sufficiently stocked, the wasp lays her eggs. The eggs hatch and the larvae then have live food on which to feed. The prey lasts as long as required for the wasp larva to mature and dies by the time the wasp larva pupates.

 

While this article lists specific species of spiders as the more common varieties; most spiders are subjected to becoming the prey of wasps. I used to stay the summers with my uncle on his farm of 200 acres down in the boonedocks of southern Missouri. Spiders didn't stand a chance whenever their web was discovered by wasps. We watched a small swarm of wasps (maybe 3 or 4 wasps) attack a spider one time. A couple of the wasps would just slam into the web beating holes into it, while the others took to stinging the spider repeatedly. My mother made us come inside when she learned what was going on; we didn't get to see the final outcome.

 

 

 

Duke,

 

The other bug you witnessed landing on the web, was it possibly a preying mantis???

 

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/InfoNed/Mantis_religiosa_D1253.jpg

 

Another killer of spiders is the grand daddy long legs; their venum is the most deadly of all spiders. They are not a threat to humans because their mouth is not large enough to penetrate the human flesh.

 

Here is a copy of the back side of a widow...

 

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/images/4237n013.jpg

 

I wouldn't try to capture the spider with a stick and jar, if that's what you decide to do. Black widows can jump extreme distances and they can have you bit before you can determine which direction they jumped. They are one of the most deadly spiders in the USA, and maybe in all of the rest of the world as well. My father's baby brother was killed when a black widow spider entered into his crib and bit him.

 

If you have a visible nest, you more than likely have more concealed in more discreet areas. It's nice to play the hero, but sometimes, as DAK put it... the enemy will come back to bite you in the a$$. Black widows are not loyal to those saving their lives.

 

Some major Zoos will take spiders, while other Science City Exhibition Centers will take spiders in for exhibit. If you decide to do that... use extreme caution and wear protective outer wear in the event the spider jumps onto you. Don't try doing it in a tank top and shorts with bare arms and legs.

[Anifa]

Here's another good link about wasps vs. spiders.

 

Spider Predators

 

These guys are the blue wasps commonly refered to as mud daubers in the Midwest.

[Philip OKeefe]

Ani, not to be argumentative but...

 

A black widow can be easily recognized by it's web as well as the red hourglass; their webs are among the most beautiful works of art among ALL creatures of nature.

 

While I agree that you can frequently identify a web as possibly belonging to a black widow spider (from the strands, which tend to be thicker, and the tensile strength, which tends to be stronger than most other spider webs), calling the web of a black widow "beautiful works of art" would be quite a stretch. Compared to other spiders some of which DO spin lovely, geometrically beautiful webs, black widow webs are almost always a chaotic mess. I've seen literally hundreds of them over the years, and not a one of them had any real beauty. Here's a typical example:

 

http://animals.timduru.org/dirlist/spider/BlackWidowSpider-Mom_n_spiderlings_on_web.JPG

 

Secondly, I have never - not once - seen a black widow spider "jump". I don't know for certain that they can not do so, but a quick Google search didn't suggest that they are known for this sort of activity, and I have never seen one do so personally - even when I "disturbed" it with a stick or other object to move it to a place where I could squish it.