Anyone know how to take care of these? ***SPIDER PICTURE ALERT***

[Henrietta23]

Flufnstuffs~FluffySilkies :

OMG - I so wish you had written spider in the title.


Melanie who will really have nightmares tonight.

I'd call the cops/marines/national guard any one who would kill it for me while I was in the next county calling an exterminator, kill it...

I'm with you Melanie!! Yikes!​

 

[Wooden_Pony]

Black Widow Spiders are extremely poisonous arachnids (not insects). Their venom is 15 times as poisonous as the venom of the rattlesnake.

These venomous spiders are found in warm and temperate climates all around the world. They live in dark places, in drain pipes, under logs and rocks, etc. in North America from Florida and California to southern Canada.

The female will sometimes eat the smaller male after mating. She will lay 300-400 eggs. The spiderlings (baby spiders) are not poisonous but they are cannibals, eating each other.

Diet: Black Widows eat flies, moths, crickets, small reptiles and other small animals. Their fangs inject venom and digestive juices into the prey. This kills the prey and also liquifies its flesh, letting the spider eat it easily.

Anatomy: Females (about 1 1/2 inches across) have a black body with a distinctive red hourglass shape on the underside of the abdomen. Males are smaller (about 3/4 inch across) with longer legs and red and yellow markings. The females are much more poisonous than the males. Black Widows have a two-part body, strong jaws, poisonous fangs, and a hard exoskeleton.

Webs: Black Widow Spiders use silk to make tangled-looking webs, usually near the ground in dark places. The tips of the spider's legs are oily; this oil keeps them from getting trapped in their own webs.

Edited To Add: the link I got the info off of. DD just did a science report on them after we found one in our wood pile. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/arachnids/spider/Blackwidowprintout.shtml

 

[arlee453]

Ummmm...are you for real? You've never seen a black widow before??

That is definately a posionous spider - one of the few that can actually cause damage to people.

AND they generally DO NOT build webs in exposed places. Hmmm...they most often prefer small enclosed areas. I find them building under the garbage cans where I store feed and in rotting logs and other little cubby holes.

Dang, I'm having Crocodile flashbacks....forgive my cynicism...

 

[roosters97]

KILL IT OR THEY MIGHT OVER POPULATE

 

[gardener]

15 times more poisonous than a rattlesnake, maybe yes. But the amount they can inject would be so small to only cause pain and maybe cramping in a healthy adult.

 

[ZooSD]

Sorry about no picture warning.

I have seen a black widow before, but not one this size or indoors so I was just a little confused when I caught it.

I'm glad I found it, it could have killed my beardie easily.

 

[rooster-red]

 

[Cara]

Be very very careful if you try to squish it. They ball up quickly and are hard to spot. I kill ours with flea/tick spray rather than getting too close. We have them all over the place here.

 

[quadcam79]

thats a female black widow...the appendex is much larger than a male, they are also much more poisonous than the male too. it's bite may not kill you but you'll probably wish you were dead. Dont mess with it, kill it before it lays eggs and you have more in the house. one shot, one kill

 

[krturpie]

Black widows and brown recluse get squished. Everybody else gets a free trip outside.

As much as I respect all life, I would lean toward this philosophy.

After all, if your local hospital doesn't carry anti-venom (which can have risks too) then the neurotoxin these ladies put out can put you in total, searing agony, sometimes for weeks, with every muscle in your body cramping into horrible knots... amongst other things.

Think of it as self defense, even if they generally don't kill.​