SOS..Black Widow Spider (North: townhouse, living in, shop)

[klysik]

I'd post my picture but I cant figure out how! I am pretty sure I saw a Black Widow Spider tonight and am freaking out! Are there any other spiders that are similar?

[MINIcoopKJG]

Originally Posted by klysik

I'd post my picture but I cant figure out how! I am pretty sure I saw a Black Widow Spider tonight and am freaking out! Are there any other spiders that are similar?

The black widows are fine. They won't bother you if you don't bother them. Once you get to know their webs, you will notice them more. We have some that live in the holes in the bricks on our townhouse. I usually don't kill them unless they are somewhere I don't want them. We had one living in our trash container for about a month.

I have seen one brown widow. It was brown with striped legs and an orange hourglass on its belly. That one I did kill. I have also seen the orb weavers at night. They build a web at night and it is gone by the morning. Those are harmless.

[southbel]

Black widows are common for the area. That much I can tell you.

[ObserverNY]

Did it look like this?

[klysik]

It looked like that except the legs were black and red (alternated on the legs) and there wasn't an hourglass..more like circles down the back. Big round bulgy eyes..I think I narrowed it down to a Northern Black Widow. Just the thought and I wanna pass out!

[MINIcoopKJG]

Originally Posted by klysik

It looked like that except the legs were black and red (alternated on the legs) and there wasn't an hourglass..more like circles down the back. Big round bulgy eyes..I think I narrowed it down to a Northern Black Widow. Just the thought and I wanna pass out!

Now I have to go look for those! I just think that widows are really cool to look at. When I first moved here I was freaked out by the thought of black widows. Once I realized that they really want nothing to do with humans, I started to like them. I think they eat palmetto bugs too. My reasoning for this is because there is a black widow that lives where the water drains on the side of the road, and that is where palmetto bugs hang out.

In all honesty, I really wouldn't worry about them. I have talked to people that have lived here their whole lives and have never seen a black widow, or any widow spider. I think that is because they hide from us most of the time.

[OleTomCat]

I have them all around my pool they eat a ton of mosquitoes...

[klysik]

I just read that the black widow spider is 15 times more venomous than a rattlesnake!!!
I wish I could be as calm as you all are towards them!

[scuba steve]

Kill it with fire! They're the greatest reason to keep your garage clean. It's a car habitat - not a place for junk and black widows to live.

[klysik]

Originally Posted by scuba steve

Kill it with fire! They're the greatest reason to keep your garage clean. It's a car habitat - not a place for junk and black widows to live.

That's the funny thing..my husband just cleaned it..bet it forced it out of hiding. I'll be torch shopping today!