Anyone know about Black Widow spiders?

We've seen them around rock piles, etc. but not near the house. Last week we found one on the front porch. Our neighbors found one on their glass top patio table. Their daughter knocked one off her leg as she was on the riding mower. What's up with this? Should I be checking under the covers before climbing into bed at night?

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spiders ---
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bugs---
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Are you sure they are black widow's? They ususally stay out of sight, under brush and around their webs.

X

X is right. the only thing i know really well about them is that they can (not always) but can make you really sick. i was bitten in the ankle while gardening. within a couple of hours i was in such intense pain from ankle to hip that i passed out. i hallucinated (more than usual lol), had high fever, sweats, chills and threw up. that lasted about 24 hrs. the pain stayed for several weeks though not that intense and i had to walk with a cane. whoa baby, i hope i never go through that again! i'm more careful now and usually wear ankle socks and always wear gloves, well, ok, almost always.

I know! I know! That's what has me concerned. These are defintely Black Widow's. Very distinct red mark. I'm worried that if they are showing themselves this often we may have a major infestation. Haven't done much research yet. Maybe it's mating season or something?????
Debra

have you recently disturbed something on your property, say like a woodpile or brushpile?

Tracks! You really were sick. Did you recover 100%? I sure hope so.

We did lay a lot of sod in the past month. Hauled off the wooden pallets it was delivered on. Also had a truckload of compost delivered. The one on our porch appeared one week after the first load of sod was laid. Hmmmmm. But that wouldn't explain our neighbor's sightings. They live about 1/2 mile away.

I do have another theory. The Black Widow was not moving, but was not completely dead. Just lying there on the front porch rug - same place we often find live but paralized spiders dropped by the dirt dobbers that build nests under the entryway. They stash paralized spiders in their mud nests to feed the babies when they hatch. Those have all been the same kind of spider though - yellow in color, not a Black Widow. But again, that wouldn't explain the one on our neighbor's leg.....

yes, thanks, i recovered and lived to tell the tale. lol

the mud-daubers do that here too, so that probably explains your sitings, coupled with the sod, compost, pallets, etc.

as far as the neighbor goes, we can't say for sure. they are in your area, so i guess you're bound to see one once in a while.

Ok, this is about to really creep me out. Researching Black Widows, I found a site that was describing their young.

"Newly hatched spiderlings are predominately white or yellowish-white, gradually acquiring more black and varying amounts of red and white with each molt. Juveniles of both sexes resemble the male and are harmless to humans."

Surely all those yellow spiders in the daubers nests aren't baby Black Widows........they're all over our front and back porch! I'm developing a serious case of arachnaphobia!!!!!!!

sometimes i think it's better not to know. lol

OK, TRACK, we will keep you like a mushroom, heheheh, LOL.

Best;
bluelytes

When we first moved here it was new construction and we had a lot of black widow spiders. They lived where the foundation meets the siding. If you notice strong silky stringy webs, it si probably a black widow spider web.
regular bug killer will not kill spiders bacause they are arachnids, with a different sort of nervous system.
Find some Spider poison spray especially for spiders.
When I first found a lot of them I asked my grown nephew who lives in Florida how to kill them. I figured he would know since he probably would have them down there. He said a good two by four. Smart alec! But I guess smashing them when you see them isn't all that bad of an idea.
I don't see them around anymore, they probably came in with the wood and other lumber products used to build the house.
Too bad they are poisonous as they are definitely beautiful black creatures. LOL
They can have other markings in red other than an hour glass also.

Do I know about black widows or what!!! I have 3 greenhouses and about 8 yrs ago we started to notice them in there and the girls that worked for me freaked ( as they should have!) so I call a bug specialist at NCSU to find out about them. He said that unless you were allegeric to beestings and have to carry that medicine around with you-a bite from a black widow isn't going to be dangerous. I actually got bit from one that was on/in a propane gas tank near the house and while it hurt like a bee sting and you could see the little bite marks, it wasn't that big a deal. It itched like crazy for a few days.

In all these years no one in the grhouses has ever gotten bit-the spidow is pretty shy-they usually come out at night to inspect their webs and during the day they hide. You can tell their webs because the webs are extremely disorganized and when you run your finger thru them-they are strong and give a lot of resistence. They are never in the web so you can test it that way without fear of getting bit. We like to go on hunts for them when we see a web- we just turn over the boards near the web and there they are!! They are so easy to kill-they just sit there, but you have to get them the first time because if you miss, they will try to run. They really aren't that big a deal-unless you are allergic to bee stings. The brown recluse is the spider to fear-the skin rots around the bite and you are left with this big hole and really sick.

Windy, I like the 2x4 idea!

Tigerlily, the reactions described by Trackinsand above sound like what my research described. Everything I've read says to get to the ER asap as you will become extremely sick. You must have been very lucky! I don't care to find out firsthand!

Will have to admit - reading/writing about Black Widows, Brown Recluse, Copperheads, and Moccasins on these forums has me kinda freaked. We have them all ! Maybe I should stick to the subject of flowers....

Debra

I'll believe that there might be some people out there who wouldn't have a severe reaction to a widow bite, and I could see that maybe people who are allergic to bee stings might tend to be more sensitive to things like this in general, but allergies are a reaction to a specific irritant/chemical, so unless bees and widows are releasing exactly the same chemical (which they're not) then I don't think it's true that the only people who will be bothered are the ones allergic to bee stings.

Just going through some of the "foes" threads, looking for info on milkweed beetles, and ran across this one. Having a lot of black widow spiders here in Tucson, I've always been told that the first thing to do, is to take an antihistimine, like Benedryl, and contact a doctor. My husband was biten by a BW and only experienced some soreness around the bite, but I am sure that there are some people that could have very very bad reactions.

You're right PiggyPoo, some have very serious reactions. See Tracksinsand's post above.

Debra

I suggest calling Terminex or some other exterminator. Black widows are nothing to mess with. I'm thinking of calling an exterminator for my spider problem. I've seen more spiders this past week than I did in five years of living in a condo. I'm EXTREMELY arachnophobic. I also have five cats, and I'm afraid one of the cats will get bit. They think they're mobile cat toys, not deadly pests.

I've been sleeping with the lights on and jumping at every little thing. And since it's close to Fourth of July, that means a lot of big, adrenalin spiking bangs outside from the illegal fireworks.

WH, I know what you mean. We have the house treated 4x year and don't have any problems in the house. Unfortunately, the exterminator can't control the dirt daubers bringing BW's from other locations. They just don't seem to listen!

Debra

Can you move the nest site after the babies fledge?

Scary stuff. I can deal with almost any snake, but spiders terrify me. Is there a university entomology dept nearby you might consult?

Me, I'm actually okay with snakes. I'd much prefer garter snakes to spiders. I used to know some people who kept snakes and lizards, among other things, and when I went over there I never knew if I was going to be handed a snake, a lizard, a rat, a gerbil, or a kitten!

But no bugs. They didn't keep bugs, except some crickets to feed the herptiles.

Actually, when I was married we lived with them for a short while when we were looking for our own place. They had Chicago cockroaches, courtesy of the previous tenant, and they creep me out. Not as much as spiders, but I still hate them.

Zeppy,

Once the baby daubers are gone - so are the spiders. They have been eaten! Just creeps me out.....

Debra

Many years ago we lived in central Washington state where it is very hot and dry. There was a black widow nest under our apartment. My husband put one in a jar and put in some straight 2-4-D. It knocked it out but after a few hours it started moving and was fine.

I would water in the grass along the house which was stucco and they would all run up the side of the house. They do not like water. There would be many of them running up the house.

There was one living up under the bathroom sink. One night I went into the bathroom and felt a web against my leg. I reached around and turned on the light and there it was in it's web stretched across the door.

My daughter was born there and we found one in the bassinet when we brought her home from the hospital.

I would definitly consider them dangerous.

Jnette,

That's just creepy. I'd have a nervous breakdown if they were in the house like that. Couldn't get in the bed, put my foot in a shoe, pull linens from a shelf, etc. without searching for a spider first. Can't imagine finding one in my baby's crib. The Terminex man would have to become my new best friend!

Debra

We grew up with them -- not in any great numbers, though -- and it was always a habit for us to shake out our boots before putting them on. I haven't seen one in years, but my small children always shake out their boots. :) Can't hurt, right?

That's right, Zeppy. You never know what might be lurking in there. Any one who's experienced at camping or living in the country learns to check their boots and sleeping bag before entering!

Debra

My brother literally scared me out of Brownies when I was a kid by his stories of spiders lying in wait in the woods for helpless young girls.

My ultrasonic gizzies appear to be working. I haven't seen a bug since I turned them on last Monday. But my spider traps arrive tomorrow. I'll put them down, too.

Okay, maybe I spoke too soon. I found one of my cats tonight playing with a black and yellow spider bigger than her paw.

Sleeping with the light on again tonight!

WH,

That large black and yellow spider must have been a garden spider. You know - the ones that make the zig zag webs. That's Charlotte from Charlotte's Web! Just keep telling yourself.........that's Charlotte from Charlotte's web.......that's Charlotte from Charlotte's web.......that's Charlotte from Charlotte's web.......

Debra

Quite honestly, Charlotte's Web creeped me out. My spider traps came today, so I braved the basement and put a couple down there. The basement spiders seem oblivious to the fact that there are pest repellers going off upstairs.

It's a shame, too. My basement's semi-finished, and it would just take a little remodeling to make it liveable, and I'd add 50% more living area to my house. It has electricity and I think even a phone jack. There was obviously a shop down there once.

But I gotta get rid of the bugs first.

At least I'm fairly convinced that I don't have Hobo or Brown Recluse.

What's hobo?

Hobo spiders are in the Pacific Northwest and spreading eastward. They're as poisonous as the Brown Recluse.

http://www.hobospider.com/info/

This site has spider pictures, so beware if you're arachnophobic.

EWWWWWWW! That's one ugly spider. Hope it never makes it this far east.