Black Widow Spiders

OMG...now I have to move...

 

I have no idea. Do you know for sure it's a Brown Recluse?

 

Well, then that means I shouldn't drive the car for the next five years or just use a blow torch inside the car to heat it up past 110 degrees :rolleyes3:

 

First - the BR is named "recluse" for a good reason. It hides itself away and really does NOT like to be seen. Unless you back it into a corner and wave your fingers in front of it, you'll be fine. Like any other spider of it goes without catching anything, it'll move.

I'll tell you the same thing I told my Scouts; do NOT leave your shoes, gloves or any other clothing in the garage or outside. Get a shop vac and clean out the corners of your garage regularly. You'll be fine.

And, as always, be happy we're not living in Australia where 95% of the wild life not only can kill you, it really, truly WANTS you dead. Hello Mr. Funnel spider.

 

Funnel Spider?! I think I found one here. One leg was sticking up and I thought it was dead. When I picked it up by the leg it wrapped it's whole body around my finger and bit. It felt like a piercing hot needle going through my finger and hand. When I tried to shake him off it took several tries. It all happened in seconds but the swelling and pain and flu symptons lasted around four days. Are you sure they're only found in Australia?

 

Here ya go: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002844.htm

I don't know what it was that bit you, but it more than likely wasn't a funnel spider.

 

Geesh, that's quite a list of symptoms! The spider I speak of had a long triangular body and on it's back was a white rectangular band surrounded by a darker band. I still see them around the patio from time to time, especially mid-summer and they weave a very loopy looking web similar to a funnel. Thanks napper!

 

I guess we all are paying a price for living in a Nature Preserve area....right? The HOA might as well include a free Hazmat suit with the welcome kit to all HOA members who move here HEHEH....

 

I don't think that has anything to do with it. If the spiders are here, they are everywhere there are trees. The place where my friend got bit was in Sterling, and that definately wasn't a nature preserve. Although the houses there were surrounded by trees.

 

Heck, even the trees will kill you in AU.

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Dendrocnide_moroides

 

I don't think they are common, but the Brown Recluse is here. My father was bitten by one about 10 years ago or so. He kept a pair of pants in the garage. I don't have to tell you what happened, but he now has a giant scar on his calf. To this day I check my shoes and gloves that I keep in the garage before putting them on.

 

@KTdid - Funnels are NOT here in the US. I hope. They look like mini tarantulas and their bite is, well, almost always fatal. Sounds like you got yourself an Orb Spider and you have a slight allergy to spider venom.

http://www.bigeastern.com/eotp/ep_argio.htm

 

I agree that the BR may be in this area. However, there has yet to be ONE documented, proven capture in this area. Heck, the 1st documented BR in WV was only in Decemeber of last year.

Many doctors will say it is a BR that caused the damage but they are mostly assuming since there has been no physical proof in VA. There are other spiders that cause similar damage as the BR (e.g. hobo spider, predominantly in the northwest).

 

So the Hobo Spider is in the NW...what other kind of spider around here does that kind of damage? Just curious.

 

Caught the largest black widow I've ever seen today. I was able to catch it in a clear jar and brought it inside the house to show the kids. What fun! I found it hiding behind a bag of mulch I had propped up next to my house. It was jet black with a red spot on it's back. Once I captured it I could see the characteristic red 'hour glass' on her belly. I didn't know they got that big...easily the size of a silver dollar.