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I don't mind snakes, happen to like them and see them as very useful. Unfortunately, I am phobic about spiders. Can't even look at a photo of them without getting freaked out.
Irrational, I know, but that is what a phobia is, irrational reaction to something, whether it feathers, dogs or other.
So, poisonous spiders in Colorado? Especially around Montrose, Canon City, Florence, Penrose? Those are the towns I am checking up on right now.
Here, we have black widows, brown recluse and wolf that are poisonous. In snakes we have copperheads and cottonmouths (water moccasins), no warning, just striking out. Give me rattlers any day, at least they will let you know that you are too close.
The only venomous spider in Colorado is the Black Widow. Brown Recluse are next door in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, but they're not found natively here.
Last edited by bluescreen73; 07-28-2015 at 08:31 AM..
That's good the brown recluse is not here...but that isn't what I heard at all...
in fact about 2-3 months ago there was a mention of them on our local news.
Janna, I'm not buying a certain salsa again because on the back is a tomato and
the stem on it spreads over the top of the tomato like a giant spider!
That's all my mind sees ...a giant spider!
I do well here because I use Home Defense twice a year and place sticky boxes where they could be...had a nest behind my headboard once....the babies would come out...
didn't know it was there!
After 6 years I still have a 'lump' at C7 from one bite. (lower neck)
We've found all three in our home, another reason to want out of here. I swear that as soon as one sees me it heads for me. It is irrational, but at that moment I believe that it is after me and wants to kill me.
Came from an incident when I was around 8 or 9 and I still haven't gotten over it. At least I can now kill one if it isn't too big. Then I sit and shake for hours. Since the crickets have moved in we see less spiders.
Wonder if I can bring some crickets with me when we move
Since the crickets have moved in we see less spiders.
Wonder if I can bring some crickets with me when we move
If you wanna keep spiders out of your house do the exact opposite. Remove sources of food and water and eliminate clutter. Black Widows typically prefer to stay outside. They're most commonly found in and around garages and outbuildings with their nests low to the ground.
We have wolf spiders here but they are not venomous.
We've found all three in our home, another reason to want out of here. I swear that as soon as one sees me it heads for me. It is irrational, but at that moment I believe that it is after me and wants to kill me.
Came from an incident when I was around 8 or 9 and I still haven't gotten over it. At least I can now kill one if it isn't too big. Then I sit and shake for hours. Since the crickets have moved in we see less spiders.
Wonder if I can bring some crickets with me when we move
I have only ever seen one or two widows in my entire life, and have never seen a brown recluse.
The females are the ones to avoid, and they spend most of their time in their web and rarely, if ever, bit outside the web. So, if you see a female in her web, just leave her alone and walk away.
All I know is that as soon as the crickets came in the spider population dropped. To me, they keep the spiders away. Wolf spiders are supposed to have very nasty side effects, I can't stand to look at the photos to read up on them. I tried, I really did to learn about them but as soon as I saw the pictures, I couldn't.
I am going to go and have a nervous breakdown now, excuse me.
(half way joking, stupid, irrational, idiotic, but I'm shaking, I need a hug from my dogs)
Black widows (Western Widow Spider) are common here, they like dark undisturbed sites so you need to be cautious if you have a wood pile or sprinkler boxes, look before reaching in. They also can be found in window wells or dark corners of the garage and occasionally in undisturbed areas inside the home. Brown recluse spiders are not native to Colorado but there have been documented cases of them, most recently in Pueblo and Prowers counties but they are rare here. I see black widows several times a year but have never seen a recluse.
As far as venomous snakes we do have the Western or Prairie Rattlesnake and the desert massasagua. The western rattle snake is found throughout the state, but the massasauga usually only in the southeastern prairie. One of the counties with the highest concentrations of rattlesnakes is Fremont County so if you are looking to move to the Canon City area and have dogs I would highly recommend getting the rattlesnake vaccine for them.
Although not poisonous and actually very fascinating, since spiders freak you out I should warn you that there are tarantulas here. Although they can bite they are quite shy and docile so unless you provoke them bites are rare. You see them mostly in late summer/early fall when the males migrate to find a mate.
Habitat is mainly throughout counties bordering the Arkansas valley (Pueblo, Fremont, Prowers) with two smaller species found in southwestern Colorado (Montezuma, Montrose, San Miguel, Mesa and Delores counties). Again not a dangerous spider but they are quite large so if you have a spider phobia they can give you the willys.
Last edited by StarrySkiesAbove; 07-28-2015 at 11:53 AM..
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