The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsDoes anyone know about black widow spiders?
I just noticed a spider in my house that looks like a BW but it's tiny. When I googled more about BWs, I read that the body of a mature spider is about half an inch long-- mine is much, much smaller but it does have a bit of red on it. It stays hidden during the day and comes out at night.
I don't want to kill it-- I just want to cordially escort it out of my house.
Anyone?
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)on how to get it out of the house?
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)I'd just like to put it outside, whatever it is. To have a professional come in would be $160, which I certainly don't have!
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)to get a large drinking glass or jar and while it is crawling on the floor put the glass or jar over it.
Once you trap it under the glass get some thin cardboard and slightly lift the edge of the glass or
jar and slip the cardboard under it (the cardboard should be thin enough so you don't have to lift
the glass or jar high enough that the spider can escape when you push the cardboard under it).
Now if the thin cardboard you used isn't very rigid you can use something rigid like corrugated
cardboard, rigid plastic a clipboard etc and slip that under the thin cardboard under the glass.
Then while holding the glass lift the rigid cardboard and carry the spider under glass outside.
Feel free to dress like it is 20 degrees below in winter clothing while doing this.
I found a youtube video that illustrates the basic procedure:
-
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)...but when I tried it on this little rascal, she shot behind my night-stand (her daytime hangout) before I knew it. So she's VERY fast on her (numerous) feet. My carpet is dark so she can pretty comfortably camouflage herself at night.
Perhaps she's a juvenile but I can't seem to find any substantive info on them.
Thanks
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)eppur_se_muova
(36,227 posts)Main article: Latrodectism
See also: Spider bite
Although the reputation of these spiders is notorious and their venom does affect humans, only mature females pose a serious threat to people; their cheliceraethe hollow, needle-like mouthparts that inject venomare, at approximately 1 mm., or .04 in., long enough to inject venom into humans, unlike those of the much smaller males. The actual amount injected, even by a mature female, is variable. When this small amount of venom travels throughout the body, it acts explosively on nerve endings, causing the very unpleasant symptoms of latrodectism. Deaths in healthy adults from Latrodectus bites are exceedingly rare, with no deaths despite two thousand bites yearly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_mactans#Toxicology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectism
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)I'd hate to compromise their lives in any way.
shanti
(21,670 posts)they're not that fast-moving.
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)This little guy (gal?) breaks the sound barrier when sensing someone/something nearby!!
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)Help meeeeee!
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)or moths.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Skittles
(152,964 posts)*JUST PLAIN OVERDUE FOR ONE*; yes INDEED
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)Dont worry, spiders
Kobayashi Issa (tr. Robert Hass, from The Essential Haiku)
Dont worry, spiders,
I keep house
casually.
(Not casting aspersions on your housekeeping - I try not to kill needlessly too.)
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)and failed miserably. They're not easy. Maybe with practice??
uriel1972
(4,261 posts)They have to grow up from something.
Generic Brad
(14,270 posts)That is all I know about them.
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)They're creepy in that 1) they're the most dangerous/poisonous spider in the country and 2) they hide when it's light and just come out when it's dark.
Grammy23
(5,807 posts)And it likes to hide out in shoes, gloves, or dark places. But I am no expert. Google black widow images and see if you can find a picture that helps you determine if it is a black widow.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)(what ever you do don't do an Internet search for brown recluse bite), they also
have a reputation for being more aggressive than black widows.
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)Yikes!! Ironic that he's a Scorpio...
Throd
(7,208 posts)PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)herding cats
(19,549 posts)They're black like their mother's when young unlike juvenile Black Widow spiders who are more of mottled brown color like the adult males.
They're bad news, too. They're actually more likely to infest your home and are the source of more bites to humans because of that. Their venom isn't as bad as a Black Widow (which BTW is 15 times more potent than a rattlesnake's venom!) but it's till bad enough to make you sick.
I am a catch and release person for most spiders, but if I were you I'd kill this one to be on the safe side. I kill all suspected Black Widow, Brown Widow and False Black Widow spiders near my home though. They're bad news and they reproduce like mad.
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)that it has that red dot on it and I don't believe the False Black Widow does.
Now I can't even find it! I haven't seen it for four days now and I don't know what happened.
Maybe it died? It certainly wasn't catching anything that I could see-- maybe it starved.
I read that BWs live from one to three years, BTW.
It is a creepy feeling going to bed at night knowing it's so close...
herding cats
(19,549 posts)Was it's legs much longer than the rest of the spider? Did you find a web? If so, what was it like?
Black Widow spiders don't roam about away from their web. It might have been a jumping spider of some sort. Some do have a small red dot on their backside.
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)Last edited Fri Aug 7, 2015, 12:17 AM - Edit history (1)
...but I believe it wasn't hairy. But it wasn't shiny black (that BWs are) either. It seemed more like a dark brown. Its web is just outside the corner of my night stand and she goes into the back of my night stand when she's startled-- or when it's daylight.
The web I can't actually see but when she's hanging out on it, she looks as though she's suspended in air.
It is not your typical web in that it seems very disorganized (as are BWs' webs).
I ought to call the university and find an expert, because exterminators, of course, just want to come over
and start spraying poison everywhere.
Thanks, everyone, for your feedback!!
roody
(10,849 posts)ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)It would sense my approach and zip behind my night stand before I could get near enough.
There are some "humane bug vacuums" I see on the internet, but they're rather expensive
and reviews are mixed. It's always a gamble buying online.
Needless to say, I don't like fast spiders. Give me a Daddy Long Legs any day!
irisblue
(32,828 posts)outside, no, in my bedroom,..WHAP to the 10th power.
Fla Dem
(23,347 posts)If they reproduce, you will have many more to deal with. I generally do not like to kill any creature, but spiders are an exception.
a la izquierda
(11,784 posts)I'm not sure if this is true, and I don't want to google it because I can't even LOOK at pictures, let alone the real thing, but apparently babies are more poisonous because they can't control their venom.
I don't like spiders. I used to have very bad arachnophobia. It was somewhat cured by nighttime mountain biking, because when you wear a helmet light, you realize spiders are EVERYWHERE. You then realize they want nothing do you with you. You also learn how not to crash, because they're all over the ground.
When I lived in Oklahoma, gigantic orb weaver spiders made beautiful webs in the trees at night. I gradually got better with spiders. But a brown recluse killed my beloved 15 year old dog that I'd had more than half my life, so I do NOT mess with poisonous spiders in the house. Luckily, they're not super common here in West Virginia. We do get an occasional poisonous spider from time to time, but mostly wolf spiders, which are aggressive, but harmless.
Spiders just get deposited outside, unless they're questionable. Then, it's spidey heaven for them, unfortunately. I have a 5 pound chihuahua and two bigger dogs, and I'm no longer taking chances.
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)That's really sad that you lost your dog to a spider. It's never happened to me but I can definitely sympathize. Thank you for the other information-- I didn't realize that babies had stronger venom. As it is, I'm staggered that something so relatively small can pack such a deadly punch.
I also didn't realize that spiders are all over at night (particularly in the summer, I'm assuming). I think they stay fairly stationary during the day but after sunset... look out! How many times I've walked in my garden first thing in the morning to discover half the plants are draped with webs. I try to avoid destroying them but it's not always easy.
As for my situation, I haven't seen the spider for about five nights now-- I wonder what happened. I might have inadvertently scared it off but now I don't know WHERE it is. If it's dead, OK, but if it merely relocated... that's scary because it would be anywhere.
Usually all I ever have at home are the Daddy Long Legs-- nice, benign spiders. I always put them outdoors.
Thanks again
irisblue
(32,828 posts)they get a glass jar, cardboard and an all expenses paid long long vacation trip to the flowerbed on the fabulous north side of my backyard.
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)I think they're rather charming, really-- mainly because they're benign and benevolent!!
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)Do NOT read post #30-- it has a huge photo of a BW and I wanted to spare you that!!
a la izquierda
(11,784 posts)ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)struggle4progress
(118,032 posts)It was hard to mistake them: they were glossy black with an obvious bright red hourglass on the underbelly
We could easily have bug-sprayed them into oblivion, but we were mostly anti-toxic-chemical live-and-let-live hippies so we let them be
I'd pay attention to them when I was sitting on the crapper, if a dozen of them were hanging out in their somewhat erratic webs under the sink a few inches from my knees -- and I'd pay a lot more attention if I had to work on a bathroom pipe under those circumstances -- but they really weren't aggressive, and as I never bothered them they never took much interested in me either
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)That photo is frightening!! And so is your tale-- I am amazed that you were in the midst of an infestation and glad you weren't bitten and that you didn't resort to mass murder of the widows. But that's still one hair-raising tale, even if they weren't aggressive.
After reading all the responses to this thread, I have concluded that what I have (had?) is a BW, albeit a small one. Your mention of "erratic webs" really cinches it. Now all I need to do is find out where in my house she moved!!
roody
(10,849 posts)My yard and under house has plenty of them. I kill them if I can. They like dark places. Nooks and crannies.
and garages and wood piles, especially messy ones. here in Sac, we have loads of them.
U4ikLefty
(4,012 posts)that is all