What to spray to kill Black Widow (if it is one) ?
Maribel Tan-Vanderzijp
stairway in the 2nd floor of our house. it has white stripes in the
legs. My guess is that it is a black widow. I am not sure. Can somebody
suggest what to spray around the house to prevent them from coming in?
the dog is outside in the yard, and we have no kids yet. so the only
concern is that it should not discolor the carpet.
by the way, what is really a black widow, or other poisonous spider
like tarantula like?
Thanks for any suggestion or information.
bell
Bob Haar
|>I found a tiny black fury spider about the size of a dime close to the
|>stairway in the 2nd floor of our house. it has white stripes in the
|>legs. My guess is that it is a black widow. I am not sure.
Black Widows have a distinctive red hour-glass marking on
their abdomens.
|> Can somebody
|>suggest what to spray around the house to prevent them from coming in?
|>the dog is outside in the yard, and we have no kids yet. so the only
|>concern is that it should not discolor the carpet.
Even if it is a black widow, it is unlikely to cause you
any problems (unless you are a male black widow spider). They
are more likely help keep down the population of bothersome
insects. I would much rather have some spiders sharing the house
than to be spraying poisonous insecticides around.
|>
|>by the way, what is really a black widow, or other poisonous spider
|>like tarantula like?
|>
Your local library should have many books on spiders with
good photographs to help identification.
---
Robert Haar InterNet : rh...@gmr.com
Computer Science Dept., G.M. Research Laboratories
DISCLAIMER: Unless indicated otherwise, everything in this note is
personal opinion, not an official statement of General Motors Corp.
John C. Schultheiss
>I found a tiny black fury spider about the size of a dime close to the
>stairway in the 2nd floor of our house. it has white stripes in the
>legs. My guess is that it is a black widow. I am not sure. Can somebody
>suggest what to spray around the house to prevent them from coming in?
>the dog is outside in the yard, and we have no kids yet. so the only
>concern is that it should not discolor the carpet.
Well, I'm not a bug expert, but your guess is incorrect. Black widows are
black, but not furry. They're shiny and have hard shells. Also, no white
stripes, but a red pattern on the stomach (flip her over with a stick, or
something) that looks like an hourglass. As to what to spray, in your case
I wouldn't bother. Leave the spider alone -- she's probably eating bugs
you wouldn't want around anyway.
Another interesting thing about black widows is that they spin some of
the strongest webs around. They once (maybe still do, I don't know) used
this silk for the crosshairs in gunsights. Their webs are without regular
pattern, like cobwebs.
Unless you're overrun with these little buggers, I don't think I'd spray.
If you still want to, though, there are any number of products available at
the grocery store that will do the trick. Read the labels and follow the
directions.
-- John Schultheiss
System Janitor
YOW!
I submit that when you see your first black widow spider, you'll know it.
I turned over something out at our land Sunday, and there one was in
all its scary (to me) bulbous, shiny, red-hour-glassed beauty. I didn't
smash it to atoms per my first impulse, but I'll sure be careful reaching
under stuff from now on.
So - those of you who know - help separate the myth from the truth...
when one gets bitten, do you get sick? Dead before midnight? What happens?
-Mike
Andre' Hut
I wouldn't describe a black widow as "furry", nor do they have white
stripes. I don't think you are seeing black widows. A black widow
has long slender black legs, with a red hour-glass-like marking on it's
belly. No other spider has this hour-glass.
All spiders are poisonous, but their degree of toxicity varies. A
black widow bite will send an adult to the hospital, and can kill a
child. The tarantula bite is very painful, but not fatal. You can
buy tarantulas in pet stores.
Most spiders are basically harmless. If you find them in the house,
either try to put them outside, or suck them up with the vacuum cleaner.
I wouldn't spray insecticide in the house.
The vacuum cleaner trick works well with other bugs (like flys) as well,
and it doesn't leave the mess that swating them does.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
My opinions are solely my own, and do not necessarily reflect those
of my employer.
Andre' Hut an...@slc.mentorg.com or utah-cs!caeco!andre
Mentor Graphics, Suite 300, 5295 South 300 West, Murray, Utah 84107
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Maribel Tan-Vanderzijp
>I found a tiny black fury spider about the size of a dime close to the
>stairway in the 2nd floor of our house. it has white stripes in the
>legs. My guess is that it is a black widow. I am not sure. Can somebody
Thanks to all those who replied. It is a relief to know that it is not
a black widow. Because I always see big black spider with white stripes
in the legs portrayed as very poisonous spider in the movie. So this one
scared me to death.
We usually don't kill the spider we see. At most, we just throw them out,
but this one gives me a false alarm, because it is black.
>suggest what to spray around the house to prevent them from coming in?
>the dog is outside in the yard, and we have no kids yet. so the only
>concern is that it should not discolor the carpet.
>by the way, what is really a black widow, or other poisonous spider
>like tarantula like?
Thanks for correcting me that tarantula is not poisonous to human being.
>Thanks for any suggestion or information.
Thanks again to all those who replied.
>bell
Jill Butterfield
>
>So - those of you who know - help separate the myth from the truth...
>when one gets bitten, do you get sick? Dead before midnight? What happens?
>
>-Mike
Well, I have a ton of black-widows -- found one in my kitchen this
weekend, and have them in the garage, and around the exterior of the
house near the water faucets. I haven't ever been bitten by one, but
my new pest control guy has been bitten several times (while crawling
under a house once he got bit by 3!). He says they sting, and hurt for
quite a long time (he still had marks from them), but they're not serious
unless you're allergic to them. Apparently it's something like bee stings --
some people can die from them, but most people don't really have a problem
with them. He said they don't hurt as bad a scorpion stings (one of my
other lovely house guests!! ;-)
I just hope I don't ever have to find out whether or not I'm allergic!
Jill
--
Jill Butterfield, Research Scientist EMAIL: jbut...@mal-s1.gatech.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology, GTRI Modeling and Analysis Lab
"Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place..."
-E.L. Konigsburg, _From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler_
Allen French
>
>In article 12...@infonode.ingr.com, t...@infonode.ingr.com (Maribel
>Tan-Vanderzijp ) writes:
>|>I found a tiny black fury spider about the size of a dime close to the
>|>stairway in the 2nd floor of our house. it has white stripes in the
>|>legs. My guess is that it is a black widow. I am not sure.
>
>Black Widows have a distinctive red hour-glass marking on
>their abdomens.
>
I thought this was only true of adult females. And besides, there
are other poisonous spiders, such as the Brown Recluse whose bite
is even worse. See below.
>|> Can somebody
>|>suggest what to spray around the house to prevent them from coming in?
>|>the dog is outside in the yard, and we have no kids yet. so the only
>|>concern is that it should not discolor the carpet.
>
>Even if it is a black widow, it is unlikely to cause you
>any problems (unless you are a male black widow spider). They
>are more likely help keep down the population of bothersome
>insects. I would much rather have some spiders sharing the house
>than to be spraying poisonous insecticides around.
>
Well, I like spiders, but I think for safety sake, it is best to
not to share your house, porch, or other frequented areas with
Black Widows, Brown Recluses, or other poisonous creatures. The
bite of the Brown Recluse can be even worse than the Black Widow.
I have seen pictures of the multi-colored, ulcerated wounds that result
and they can be quite serious--even deadly to some individuals. By the
way, sometimes the Brown Recluse can be identified by violin-shaped
markings on its back.
It is not that these spiders attack you, but if you inadvertantly stick
your foot in shoes left on the back porch, or like me, stick your hand
in some garden gloves without shaking them out first, you may force the
critter to defend itself, especially if it can't run away. Luckily,
it wasn't a Black Widow in my glove, but I did get a nasty sting from
something I never did see.
Allen
Brian Millham
> by the way, what is really a black widow, or other poisonous spider
> like tarantula like?
Black Widows have a red hourglass shape that is very easy to spot.
Tarantula's that are found in the US are NOT poisonous! (at least
not to humans.)
--
Brian Millham Kitty, Ferrah, Dr. Pepper, Fletch, and Buddy
AT&T Bell Labs ^ ^ ferrets ^, ^ cats ^
Denver, Co. Dragon's Lair, Kick Man, Sinistar, New World, High Speed
b...@druwa.att.com ^ laser disc ^ video ^ ^ pinball ^
mail account for Joe McCrate x2681
A black widow is a glossy black spider with a distinctive bright red
hourglass marking. They're quite beautiful.
Your small furry spider is no black widow. Don't worry about it.
Kathy_Moser
> and it doesn't leave the mess that swating them does.
This works great for lot of stuff - in our case wasps on a high cathedral
ceiling. No muss, no fuss, no poison, and you don't even have to get close.
Kathy Moser
Hewlett-Packard, Network Printer Division
Boise, ID
Neal Bauer
>> stairway in the 2nd floor of our house. it has white stripes in the
>> legs. My guess is that it is a black widow. I am not sure.
Black widows aren't furry and they don't have white stripes. They are
jet black. Females have a red hour glass on the underside of their abdomens.
A dictionary probably would have a picture of one. (They are strikingly
handsome spiders.)
> Even if it is a black widow, it is unlikely to cause you
> any problems (unless you are a male black widow spider). They
> are more likely help keep down the population of bothersome
> insects. I would much rather have some spiders sharing the house
> than to be spraying poisonous insecticides around.
While I certainly agree that they do their share of keeping insect population
down, they are somewhat dangerous and I really don't want them in my basement.
I keep lots of boxes of books and other stuff in the basement and frequently
rumidge through the junk. It would be very easy to unintentionally molest
a widow that made her web in or next to one of these boxes. I'd be especially
concerned with children and small pets. I usually relocate the widows that
I find rather than spraying...
>>by the way, what is really a black widow, or other poisonous spider
>>like tarantula like?
>>
Some tarantulas make wonderful pets (but some are rather aggressive and
make less than wonderful pets). Someone earlier had a cricket infestation.
Tarantulas LOVE crickets. A few tarantulas would make short work of
keeping the cricket population down. :)
Tonya Flynn
>
> [stuff deleted]
> Most spiders are basically harmless. If you find them in the house,
> either try to put them outside, or suck them up with the vacuum cleaner.
> I wouldn't spray insecticide in the house.
>
> The vacuum cleaner trick works well with other bugs (like flys) as well,
> and it doesn't leave the mess that swating them does.
>
> Mentor Graphics, Suite 300, 5295 South 300 West, Murray, Utah 84107
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes--I prefer the vacuum clearner route myself. Just remember to empty
the bag soon after vacuuming. If you don't, you may find yourself
inundated by the 'children' of the vacuumed pest.
|
Tonya (I'd rather be Sailing) Flynn /|\ 6901 W. Sunrise Blvd.
(305/797-2446) / | \ Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33313
"Let's just punch through that ---------- UUCP: uunet!gould!tflynn
sand bar"--Crew of Natty Dread ------ INTERNET: tfl...@encore.com
ter...@sail.labs.tek.com
>in article <1992Apr21.1...@infonode.ingr.com>, t...@infonode.ingr.com (Maribel Tan-Vanderzijp ) says:
>
>> by the way, what is really a black widow, or other poisonous spider
>> like tarantula like?
>
>Black Widows have a red hourglass shape that is very easy to spot.
>Tarantula's that are found in the US are NOT poisonous! (at least
>not to humans.)
BZZZTTTT!!!! Thank you for playing, and Don Pardo does have some LOVELY
parting gifts for you...
Tarantulas ARE poisonous to humans, but fortunatley (for us humans,
anyways...) they are about as poisonous as a bee sting.
So, unless you are allergic to their bite, you just don't have to worry
TOO much about `em....
Jeff Jonas
Well, I'm talking about the little spiders, not the big ones.
I figure that if the spiders aren't dead and are hanging around
then they're finding something to eat
and letting the tiny bugs go wild is less pleasant than having the spiders.
Does this mean I let them spin webs all over the place?
No way! The spiders are allowed to stay wherever I can't reach to clean
(in the radiators, behind the large furniture, etc.)
Andre' Hut posted:
>Most spiders are basically harmless. If you find them in the house,
>either try to put them outside, or suck them up with the vacuum cleaner.
>I wouldn't spray insecticide in the house.
>
>The vacuum cleaner trick works well with other bugs (like flys) as well,
>and it doesn't leave the mess that swating them does.
I quite agree. Insects/spiders/other creepy crawly things
that I refuse to share my apartment with are relocated out the
door if possible. I found that using the car nozzle on the shop vac
is the most effective way to snatch flying insects from the air,
suck down spiders and their webs.
I use the long tubes, so no need to climb on chairs,
risk smearing the walls, or other dangers of using a fly swatter.
The shop vac "eats" nearly anything, so I'll use the high-tech
approach and hey - no chemicals or after effects!
- Jeffrey Jonas
je...@synsys.uucp
Gary Heston
[ re: black widows ]
> So - those of you who know - help separate the myth from the truth...
> when one gets bitten, do you get sick? Dead before midnight? What happens?
Depends upon the size of the spider, the size of the victim, the
victims' health, and how solidly it sinks in the fangs. It can
be fatal, but isn't in most cases. A bite from any poisonous
spider should receive medical treatment promptly. If not sure
about the spiders' type, try to capture it and bring it or its'
remains with you.
A few years ago, while working around my hazelnut clump, I got
bit by something very small and unidentifiable (what was left
after I slapped it was about the size of a pencil point) around
the top of my breastbone. It felt like a burn from a hot grease
spatter; very sudden and painful. It faded after a few minutes,
so I didn't worry about it. I ended up with a patch of skin
about 1/2" by 1-1/2 dying and peeling off. (Apparently I'd smeared
the rest of it's poison around when I got it.) My conclusions
were a) it was probably a brown recluse, since skin (and flesh,
in serious bites) dying is characteristic of their bites, and
b) I was extremely lucky. Next time, I'll exercise the company
health plan and have it checked by a doctor.
I would not want to share living space with any poisonous spiders
or other insects. Too much chance of an accident. Non-poisonous
ones do an excellent job of insect control.
Gary Heston, at home....
ga...@cdthq.uucp
Bob Hale
I worked with a fellow who was bitten by a black widow spider when he
was a child. It made him very sick, to the point where he had to be
hospitalized for a couple of days. Without medical attention he would
probably have died.
It isn't worth taking a chance; if the spider might be a black widow
you should either avoid it or kill it.
BTW, a black widow's web has a characteristic shape; it is like a smooth
funnel, somewhat similar to the shape of a tornado.
Bob Hale ...!ucsd!btree!hale
...!btree!ha...@ucsd.edu ...!ucsd!btree!ha...@uunet.uu.net
Andre' Hut
The black widows that haunt the back of my house do not make such webs. Their
webs are very disorganized, they are a tangle of strands going every which way.
I know these are black widows by their distinctive red hour glass. Are there
different species of black widows? Perhaps mine never learned proper black widow
behavior. Maybe there are different webs for different purposes? Perhaps we
need a spider newsgroup?
I kill them when I see them, and I use diazinone (not sure of the correct spelling)
in the area's where they appear, but I have not been successful in completely
ridding my yard of them.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------
My opinions are solely my own, and do not necessarily reflect those
of my employer.
Andre' Hut an...@slc.mentorg.com or utah-cs!caeco!andre
Jennifer Dietz
>
>by the way, what is really a black widow, or other poisonous spider
>like tarantula like?
>
>Thanks for any suggestion or information.
>
>bell
>
spiders aren't actually as bad as what most people have been led to
believe. I, too, would have termed them dangerous and unwanted awhile back.
Then I moved to Texas where they are more common. Yes, they have poison.
But in most cases, you just get some swelling and pain.
My husband was bitten by someone's pet as a teen and no ill effects. It's
actually pretty weird that he was bitten, but the spider attacked his
wrist watch (maybe it saw a threatening male in the reflection on the
dial? ;) )
The thing is, that tarantulas are actually pretty shy. The
ones you tend to see are the adult males looking for a mate in the spring.
They take 10 YEARS to reach this point and then die shortly after...
In the meantime, they've been doing us a favor by getting rid of some of the
less favorable insects!
-- Jennifer Dietz
jdi...@natinst.com
public has been
Nathan F. Janette
Dietz) writes:
> Please don't lump tarantulas in with "other poisonous spiders." These
> spiders aren't actually as bad as what most people have been led to
> believe. I, too, would have termed them dangerous and unwanted awhile back.
> Then I moved to Texas where they are more common. Yes, they have poison.
> But in most cases, you just get some swelling and pain.
Their hairs can also cause some folks skin irritation.
--
Nathan Janette "I'm a NeXTstep man,
Dept MB&B, Yale Univ I'm a NeXTcube guy"
New Haven, CT
nat...@laplace.biology.yale.edu (NeXT)
David Doshay
|> hub...@hubcap.clemson.edu (System Janitor) writes:
|> [ re: black widows ]
|> I would not want to share living space with any poisonous spiders
|> or other insects. Too much chance of an accident. Non-poisonous
|> ones do an excellent job of insect control.
|>
I have lived for long periods of time with Black widow spiders in my room, but
that was before I got married and had a child. At this point I reluctantly kill
them.
One very effective spray that I have not seen mentioned is WD-40, the lubricant.
It kills Black widows, and is not a poison, just an oil.
On the other hand, as many have posted, very few spiders near houses are
poisonous. The bite of a Black Widow can kill a very young child, under 3 or
so, but just bothers an adult (lots). The Brown Recluse mentioned in the above
posting is almost never seen before it bites, but it is a very serious poison.
You should look up pictures of spiders before you just go kill them all, because
they eat LOTS of those other bugs.
David dos...@ursa.arc.nasa.gov
David Doshay
|>
|> BTW, a black widow's web has a characteristic shape; it is like a smooth
|> funnel, somewhat similar to the shape of a tornado.
|>
Not any Black widow web I have ever seen, and I have seen plenty. They tend
to be in corners, the widow sits near an edge, and the web is irregular and
almost random. Very often you can see a 1/4 to 1/2 inch ball of webbing
that is the egg sac.
The easiest way to identify the black widow is to look at the spider. They are
very black, shiny with no hair, and have a small head and bulbous rear. You
often will not see the red hour-glass because it is on the underside of the
bulbous rear end.
David dos...@ursa.arc.nasa.gov
Robert J. Drabek
-> (on Black Widow webs) they tend
-> to be in corners, the widow sits near an edge, and the web is irregular and
-> almost random. Very often you can see a 1/4 to 1/2 inch ball of webbing
-> that is the egg sac.
->
-> The easiest way to identify the black widow is to look at the spider. They are
-> very black, shiny with no hair, and have a small head and bulbous rear. You
-> often will not see the red hour-glass because it is on the underside of the
-> bulbous rear end.
->
-> David dos...@ursa.arc.nasa.gov
The black widow web also makes a very characteristic tearing sound as you
pull on it to clean it out.
--
Robert J. Drabek rob...@cs.arizona.edu
Department of Computer Science uunet!arizona!robert
The University of Arizona 602 621 4326
Tucson, AZ 85721
Andre' Hut
>In article <NLoPJB...@cdthq.UUCP>, ga...@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston) writes:
>|> hub...@hubcap.clemson.edu (System Janitor) writes:
>|> > [ re: black widows ]
>|> .... stuff deleted ....
>|> I would not want to share living space with any poisonous spiders
>|> or other insects. Too much chance of an accident. Non-poisonous
>|> ones do an excellent job of insect control.
>|>
>I have lived for long periods of time with Black widow spiders in my room, but
>that was before I got married and had a child. At this point I reluctantly kill
>them.
>One very effective spray that I have not seen mentioned is WD-40, the lubricant.
>It kills Black widows, and is not a poison, just an oil.
Hate to nit-pick, but WD-40 is not a lubricant. It is a rust-remover and a cleaner.
Is using WD-40 as an insecticide cost effective?
>On the other hand, as many have posted, very few spiders near houses are
>poisonous. The bite of a Black Widow can kill a very young child, under 3 or
>so, but just bothers an adult (lots). The Brown Recluse mentioned in the above
>posting is almost never seen before it bites, but it is a very serious poison.
>You should look up pictures of spiders before you just go kill them all, because
>they eat LOTS of those other bugs.
Having small dogs and a baby, I don't want black widows anywhere near my home, much
less in it. I wouldn't care to be bit myself either. However, I leave most of the
spiders I see outside alone. They do eat other bugs.