Unwelcome House Guest

[Micro]

Found this just outside my front door.  It's about the 50th one I've found and killed this year.  I swear, I have no idea where they are coming from.   It is just about the most common spider around my house.  It's nuts.

[Big Phish]

man i hate spiders

[seyone]

I don't like spiders in general but really don't like them.

[Infidel.]

Awesome photos!  I always do my best to try to not kill spiders when I find them in and around the house, unless it is a black widow.  I kill those little suckers.

[Micro]

I just went out and sprayed again.  I just don't get it.  I will find one.  Kill it.  Clean the web.  Spray all around looking for others.  Within days, there's another one.   I find them around the inside of my garage door, my front porch and my back deck.  Usually when I find them, they are already half dead from the last spray.  

[CanalStalkin]

Black widows suck man. When I was in 8th grade I was bit on the leg by one (they said either black widow or brown recluse). I woke up and I had an oval shape on the entire length of my leg which was bright red and raised up about 1/8th of an inch, and was SUPER hot to the touch. That doctor visit sucked.

[FordNFishinLover]

EEK! i hate spiders with a passion!

Id be freakin out if we had them round here!

Btw, ive been told that if you put hedgeapples around your house, that it will keep away the spiders.

We did it about 5 years ago, (set like 10 around house), and i swear that i didnt see a spider until just this year! We are gunna get more this year and hopefully it will keep them away again.

So its worth a try! (and its free lol) we just found a bunch on ground near my grandmothers house.

[cart7t]

Black widows suck man. When I was in 8th grade I was bit on the leg by one (they said either black widow or brown recluse). I woke up and I had an oval shape on the entire length of my leg which was bright red and raised up about 1/8th of an inch, and was SUPER hot to the touch. That doctor visit sucked.

Probably not a Brown Recluse.  Those ******* have a flesh eating component in their venom much like many venomous creatures that will eat your flesh away over time.  I got bit by a recluse and wound up with an area the size of a half dollar of eaten up exposed flesh with a hole going into my leg.

I was lucky BTW,  I've seen some really bad cases where the site was so huge that plastic surgery and skin grafts were required to close the open wounds.  

[aceman387]

I'm not to far from Chicago and a woman i know was bitten on her big toe from a brown recluse spider and almost lost her foot she told me it destroyed all the tissue on her foot all she had was the tendons and they had to grow skin tissue in a dish and keep applying it was  6 months before she could go back to work. the doctor told her they could fall of trains and be anywhere. the doctor told her to shake out your shoes before putting them on. YIKES!

[RobbyZ5001]

Two things.

1) I hope Tin sees this and wets his bed tonight.

2) why don't you call an exterminator?

[bass or bass ?]

Here in Phoenix, we've gotten a population of Mediterranian Gecco lizards in recent years. They live in leaf litter and wood bark, and under wood trim on homes. The really nice thing about them is they eat black widow spiderlings. They love them. Gecco candy. I killed two black widows this summer. One in my utility trailer, and one in a wheelbarrow. Those were the first ones I've seen around my home in many years. I love those little lizards!!!

[Micro]

2) why don't you call an exterminator?

I don't ask for directions, I don't read directions, and I don't call no stinkin' exterminators. I gots a fly swatter and a can of raid. That's all I needs.

Seriously, though. It's not like my place is crawling with them. And an exterminator is not going to do anything I'm not doing. I mean, I spray behind siding, cracks, crevices, lawn, trees, eaves, under the house, attic, voids over the porch. The vast majority of the spiders I find are already dying. They are also almost always juvenile females like the one on the picture.  I've only found one or two adult females BWs in the years I've lived here.  I've never found any males.  

My next door neighbor has a barn next to my property and it's full of barn junk. I suspect there's a link. He's in Florida for a month or so so I may go over there and spray. It's the only thing I haven't done yet.

[bassmedic46]

I hate spiders as well.  Hope you get them all.

[RobbyZ5001]

This situation reminds me of Arachnophobia the movie.

[swilly78]

Here in Phoenix, we've gotten a population of Mediterranian Gecco lizards in recent years. They live in leaf litter and wood bark, and under wood trim on homes. The really nice thing about them is they eat black widow spiderlings. They love them. Gecco candy. I killed two black widows this summer. One in my utility trailer, and one in a wheelbarrow. Those were the first ones I've seen around my home in many years. I love those little lizards!!!

I grew up in Phoenix and remember well Blackwidows.  I also remember that glorious year, probely around 1990, when those wonderful little lizards made themselves at home.  It went from DAILY killing of spiders one year, to not seeing them at all the next, due to those little scaley buggers.  One thing you might try to do is purchase, in bulk, whatever naturally occuring predators you can.  Purhaps a colonly of fence lizards, or geckos, or their equivalent, living in and around your home would solve the problem for you.

[Glenn]

Actually, an exterminator can do a better job than you.  He has access to chemicals you don't, and is trained in their use.  Not only that, but exterminators know their insects!  

We've been using Terminex for years and haven't seen one bug, ant, wasp, or any other crawling thing in or around our house since we started using them.  Before then, I sprayed everything myself with limited success.

[aceman387]

i wonder if your neighbor would let you light off some bug foggers in his barn or maybe light some off in your house too. nothing like flipping on the bathroom light  at 3 am to take a leak and seeing a big spider on the wall next to the light switch.talk about shorting your life span.  

[looking4structure]

The only good spider is a dead spider.

[flechero]

You can buy "pro" grade chemicals in most (or all) states.  Buy something that leaves a residual- your raid evaporates and doesn't continue to kill very long.  Wettable powders seem to last the longest.  

http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/category.aspx?iid=216

I use the Demon (I buy it at the feed store) the link above this says the cyper is the same chemical but cheaper.  

[slider head]

Man, I do not like spiders! Especially poisonous ones!

I live in a neighborhood but it is kind of out in the country. Every fall I fight the stink bug war. Thousands every fall descend upon my house. I had to screen in underneath my screened in porch. Used ten tubes of caulk. They can crawl through the smallest crack or opening. You cannot open a window, leave the garage door open. You have to be quick in/out doors. Just got back from vacation. Everything was closed tight for a week. Still had dozens in the house. Saturday I emptied a 16 gallon shop vac that was full of stink bugs. I have to shop vac 20-30 minutes a day. The cover has been on my boat for 7 days now....I can't wait to see how many hundreds are in there! Came in from yard work the other night. The wife had fixed dinner. I sat down and was talking to my son. Yup, you probably guessed it and I can tell you they taste as bad as they smell. I have become slightly crazy over this war with them. I have fought the good fight but alas I have been defeated by the stink bug. Time to call the exterminator.

If I had to choose though I would take stink bugs over poisonous spiders. I hope you can rid yourself of them.

Ant Bea call the man!

[Redlinerobert]

actually an exterminator can help.  I use to have a big spider problem, it drove Gidget nuts.  :-?

She called an exterminator, and now - minimal to no spiders or bugs.

[christopherjake]

I see them, I smash them.  Black widows are the worst!  

[Hammer 4]

Wow, what a bunch of HATERZ..  I don't kill any spiders Unless they are in direct conflict with someone in the family. I have 2 good sized blackwidows that have webs outside, I never bother them, nor any other spider..they have a job to do. I use to have reptiles and spiders as a kid, and have no fear of them. Although my mom got bitten by a black widow years ago, was no big deal, the doctor fixed her up in no time.

The onlt time I'd kill spiders, was if there was a ton of em..and created a problem for humans. Plus they make great fish bait..lol

[Sfritr]

Actually, judging by the picture that is NOT a Black Widow.   I believe the technical name for that spider is the (forgive me for the spelling)

Mallus Scragallus.  It is a copy cat spider.  They are not poisonous but are colored to look like a black widow.  if you will notice on the abdomen the reddish area is not an hourglass shape which is exclusive to black widows.  Many insects, snakes, moths etc have copycat markings to make them seem like their poisonous relatives.  It is a defense mechanism.  

You can still smash them if the give you the creeps though

[swilly78]

When I first saw the picture, I immidiately thought of the Aussie Black widow, with all the fruit and veggies coming from overseas, sometimes bad stuff gets here too.

edit: As I look again, it really is a creepy resemblence. The aussie variety is supposed to be more dangerous. Im no expert, so dont take my word, but I would definately call an exterminator, the terminator, the Marines, whatever it takes to kill those horrible looking things.

one more edit:Photograph by Mr Peter Farkas, Clinical Photography, Royal Darwin Hospital

The redback spider is a member of the widow spider genus Latrodectus. Widow spiders occur in most parts of the world, and include other important species such as the North American black widow spider (L. mactans), the European widow spider (L. tredecimguttatus) and the widely distributed brown widow spider (L. geometricus). All of the widow spiders are small- to medium-sized, with a globular abdomen, relatively small cephalothorax and long thin legs. The majority have a uniformly black dorsal surface, unlike the redback spider, which has the bright patterning as shown, giving rise to its name. On the ventral surface of the abdomen is an 'hourglass' shaped red area which is characteristic of widow spiders around the world. The male spiders are much smaller than the females and are unlikely to be medically significant, because of the size of their fangs.

The mature female spiders make untidy webs in quiet dark areas: under houses, at the back of garages, under the edges of pot plants, in wood piles, outdoor toilets and under outdoor furniture. The are most commonly found in the warmer months of the year. The widow spiders have unique mating practices where the female eats the male after mating, giving rise to the common name of the genus.

Like other spiders widow spiders produce venom. The venoms of different widow spiders are similar and all contain  -latrotoxins that appear to be the active toxins in human envenoming. These are large proteins that cause massive release of neurotransmitters, resulting in autonomic and less commonly neuromuscular effects.

Latrodectus species are the most medically significant group of spiders worldwide. Most Latrodectus bites occur when the spider is disturbed in human-made objects, such as shoes, clothes, outdoor furniture, building materials and sheds. The clinical effects of widow spider bite are referred to as latrodectism, and are characterized by severe pain that can occur at the bite site or radiate from the extremities. There may be pain in the abdomen, back and chest. Systemic effects are less common, but include nausea, vomiting, malaise, lethargy, hypertension, local and regional diaphoresis, weakness and muscle cramps. Many other effects have occasionally been reported, such as priapism, patchy paralysis and rhabdomyolysis.