[Jstrong]

So our A/C is out and I was gonna sleep on the couch tonight where the window unit is,and as I'm pluging up my phone I notice a pretty large spider behind the table beside the couch. I'm a pretty big guy,and not easily scared of small insects or snakes and such but I can see that this spider has large fangs and looks like it would hurt if It bit me so instead of poking at it like I would have in my childhood I scooped it up in a small Tupperware container planing to show everyone just because of the sheer size of it considering I found it inside the house. Anyways I show it to my not so baby sister anymore and her friend and she says it's good that it's not a brown recluse or anything,about that time her friend chimes in and says "yea but it's a black widow,y'all dont see that hourglass on the bottom of it". I then turn it over to see the plain as day red hourglass on the spider I had just been so excited to capture and show off. But anyways here's a picture.






That was after my sister banged the Tupperware up against the wall trying to kill it,but the dang spider was easily the size of a nickel with its legs spread out.

So my question is do I need to freak out? It doesn't really bother me,my seem to recall that black widows don't group like brown recuses do... And that there's probably no need to worry since I got this one. Should I spray or anything? And does anyone have any information on these spiders? I know there are a few members who are knowledgable on the subject.

 

[LikeABoss]

Very Cool...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus

 

[vincent]

I think I read here somewhere that Shihan is the resident entomologist, maybe shoot him a PM...

 

[texaswoodworker]

Beware, where there is one, there can be more. I have found as many as 3-4 within a single square foot before. I REALLY hate black widows.

 

[Txhillbilly]

Black Widow spiders will really mess up your day if one bites you.Like the Brown Recluse,they are very poisonous spiders.And they(Black Widow's) do live very close together,I kill dozens of them everyday around the gas/oil wells that we service.I have killed over 30 of them at just one location in 1 day,and most were within 2-4ft from each other.I've killed many that were the size of a quarter,they can get quite big.

I would definitely spray your house,it's cheaper than the pain and doctor bills from getting bit by one.

 

[texaswoodworker]

Black Widow spiders will really mess up your day if one bites you.Like the Brown Recluse,they are very poisonous spiders.And they(Black Widow's) do live very close together,I kill dozens of them everyday around the gas/oil wells that we service.I have killed over 30 of them at just one location in 1 day,and most were within 2-4ft from each other.I've killed many that were the size of a quarter,they can get quite big.

I would definitely spray your house,it's cheaper than the pain and doctor bills from getting bit by one.

Damn, that's a lot of spiders.


I looked into it a bit, and even know black widows can be found together, they do not live in a group. If there is an environment that they like, a lot will go to that environment. Spraying round areas that are similar to the place you found that one is a good idea.

 

[Jstrong]

Thanks for the replys, I think I dragged it in the house bringing some old sheets in from the storage room outsude earlier to put on the fold out couch. I didn't see a web where I found it and he looked like he was shook up,so I'm willing to bet thats what happened.

 

[dog2000tj]

I have been told that Black Widows can jump up to 6' in distance I once entered into a spec house to do a walk through before a closing .... I came across thousands+ of them just in the garage of the house. The ceiling and parts of a wall were a gestating mass of them

get your place sprayed

 

[Shihan]

They can grow to a foot in diameter and like to crawl in bed and spoon. They are known to kill a man just for snoring, so be sure to sleep with a breathe right strip on.

 

[Jstrong]

They can grow to a foot in diameter and like to crawl in bed and spoon. They are known to kill a man just for snoring, so be sure to sleep with a breathe right strip on.

Thanks! I'll be sure to take extra precautions,looks like the mossbergs sleeping on the couch with me. Good thing I had my tonsils taken out the year before last,i used to snore like a fright train... It's a wonder one of those dinner plate ones didn't get me.

Seriously though,if I rolled over and saw a spider a foot in diameter I wouldn't be able to say the last time I wet the bed I was 7,if I didn't have a heart attack first.

 

[vincent]

They can grow to a foot in diameter and like to crawl in bed and spoon. They are known to kill a man just for snoring, so be sure to sleep with a breathe right strip on.

Told ya he was an expert!

 

[naf84]

Kvkkdndpsnshsj I hate spiders

 

[KalashnikovBlood]

Kvkkdndpsnshsj I hate spiders

As do I man

 

[kytowboater]

Lots of black widows around here. Any spider is half dollar size to me. Hate the bastages.

 

[Shihan]

Seriously, I think you are safe. They tend to stay in dark places. Get the house treated if you are worried.

 

[Shihan]

Spiders are cool.

 

[Shihan]

I like to let them crawl on me.

 

[winds-of-change]

My oldest son has a pet tarantula. Versicolor. It's quite pretty.

 

[Vikingdad]

I found a big black widow and put it in a jar in the reloading shed to see how long it would live without food. Always wondered about that, seeing as how they typically live in dark secluded spaces that don't seem to me to have much in the way of food (this one had been well fed as it was inside one of my beehives, which might be another reason I wanted it to starve to death). Anyhow, I had a pint jar with a screened top I put her in and set it on a shelf. Somewhere along the line it had spun a nest and laid eggs, and several weeks later I had hundreds, if not thousands of little tiny black widow spiders exploding out of the jar (serves me right). I hosed down the area with brake cleaner and haven't seen another one since then, this being a couple of years ago.

Interesting fact is that the black widow spider, while it does not spin an organized web like weavers do, the silk is much, much stronger than most spider silk. I have heard of it being used as crosshairs in early scopes. I can immediately tell a black widow web by how strong the silk is.

 

[c3shooter]

Man up. Get a .22 and some shot loads. Stalk them and take 'em out. No quarter!