what's this about black widows???

[Oerdin]

The winter is not very harsh here and it tends to be rather short so you still see even cold blood reptiles out and about. Just last Sunday I went for an early morning job around Lake Miramar and saw a rattler sunning himself on the blacktop. He was obviously very sluggish from the cold (it was about 7am) and he didn't even move so I just went around him. Frankly there just isn't much to worry about wrt snakes and spiders.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Winter? What's that?

Our seasons are summer, fall, spring, summer

inland it's death valley, summer, fall, death valley.

[Scott5280]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

The winter is not very harsh here and it tends to be rather short so you still see even cold blood reptiles out and about. Just last Sunday I went for an early morning job around Lake Miramar and saw a rattler sunning himself on the blacktop. He was obviously very sluggish from the cold (it was about 7am) and he didn't even move so I just went around him. Frankly there just isn't much to worry about wrt snakes and spiders.

The reason asked is people say to watch out for snakes in winter as well-
When I lived in Coastal OC..never saw rattler'sin Laguna Canyon trails or any other open space after Oct.--never saw a black widow spider ever there...We have both black widows and rattle snakes in abundance along Denver front range--only in winter--Someone told me they got a rattle snake bite in San Diego in Jan.. thought it seemed odd--that's all..

[Pug Life]

Originally Posted by marilynmonroe

I've read a few posts about black widows being really bad in san diego? How bad are we talking? Like how often do you see them and where and are they in your yards or come inside your houses? Have any parents ever worried about their children being bitten while playing outdoors.

We have some brown recluses here but they tend to stay in the woods and far away from humans - hence the name. And we have wolf spiders, but those are pretty tolerable.

We've had a black widow on our doorknob before, and we live downtown! That being said, that was the only one I ever saw...nothing like the scorpions in Phoenix!

[LoneStarJerry]

Originally Posted by leftydan6

nothing like the scorpions in Phoenix!

They exist to primarily in the rural areas of the county, but it's not impossible to find them anywhere around the county, just rare that you'd ever see one in a residential neighborhood in Solana Beach for example. Certainly you won't see them as much as you would in the desert though. Where I live in Escondido I see them from time to time, my neighbor was stung by one inside the house, but she was OK. I killed a very small baby one in my house a few years ago, the rest I've seen were outside. I live in a rural area though.

[westwind15]

Yes, they are year round. Winter here is very relative... we are just getting over a heat wave. Spent all day yesterday at the beach in the water.

Black widows love garages and sheds, wood piles, etc, and I find them at least once a month. They are not aggressive, but it gives me the creeps to run into them anyway. Rattle snakes, I rarely see here in La Mesa, but we had them in the yard pretty regularly when we lived in East El Cajon. We used to look out back and se them slithering across our redwood deck!

[Norwood_888]

Spiders have always been a problem for me both inside and outside the home here in San Diego County. I’m sure some are poisonous. This is one reason why no one in my household ever sleeps on the floor. Recently I had one scurry up my leg while watching TV. Foundation, door and window openings get spray regularly.

[Yldwind]

This is the first year I've seen Brown Widows in San Diego. They come in a variety of colors, their egg sacs are like the Black Widows except more oval is shape and they are spiny. There are also Red Widows. All three are venomous and can cause serious complications and even death if not treated especially to pets. Widows food supply is insects, insects are attracted to light, porch lights, patio lights etc. Widows have lungs and can hold they're breath until they are out of the area sprayed by bug repelent. If you use a repelent it needs to have residual effects to kill widows. Yldwind