Another Flashlight Story!! Task Force Cree vs. Black Widow Spider

I got a nasty little surprise when I went home to my apartment at about 8:30pm tonight. See, when I'm coming up to the door after dark, out of habit I like to light up the door and surrounding awning and bushes. Partly this is to see the lock to get in, and partly to check for any bugs or other nasties that might be there, spiderwebs in the way, etc.

Well tonight that habit paid off. I was shining the T.F. light around the door when I noticed a big black spider in a little web above the corner of the door. At first glance, I thought "huh, that looks kind of like a Black Widow". But I didn't expect it to actually BE one, because in the 20+ years living in this city, I've never seen one before!

However, in response to my light shining on it, the spider backed up further into the corner, and as it moved I could see the tell-tale red blotch on the underside of the abdomen. I was a little freaked out now, and I was thinking something like "holy freaking ****, it's a BIG freaking BLACK WIDOW SPIDER outside MY DOOR.

Well, the only stuff I had inside was some Raid ant/roach spray, so while keeping the light on the spider (the bright light spot seemed to keep it huddled down), I VERY carefully opened the door and ducked by to get inside. I repeated the process coming out, then proceeded to go postal with the can of bug spray all over the spider itself as well as the surrounding area around the door.

After that I scanned all around the little front porch/awning area to see if any other similar nasty stuff was lurking. Then I watched the spider for a while to see whether the spray seemed to have worked or not. It was lying curled up, but I've seen them do that for a while and then crawl away later if whatever you sprayed them with didn't kill them. I'd used this spay before on ordinary house spiders, but with this thing who knew? I gave it another long blast, and left it lying in a puddle of spray. I hoped that if the poison didn't kill it, it would at least drown!


Well anyway, just thought I'd share. I'm still kinda freaked out by the experience, to be honest. I may have to sleep with the light on tonight!

I've read that a Black Widow bite won't be rapidly fatal in the manner of a rattlesnake or other snake bite; an adult might have a day or two before it actually kills (I think). I didn't want to find out in person!! Plus, there are lots of little kids around here, and their chances might not be so good if bitten by such a large Black Widow. I'm gonna contact the apartment management and have them spray the building.


So in conclusion, flashlights DO save lives!! Or at least, it prevented a lot of pain and suffering!!

In my line of work I've been bitten by 4 Black Widow females that I know of. That meaning ... one's that I have actually seen bite me on my arm, leg, etc ... Look for the red HOURGLASS. Not a red STREAK.

They aren't as bad as most people make them out to be. Nothing that a Zyrtec and an Ativan won't cure. Unless you are alergic to bee stings ... of course. If you are then I would keep an epi- pen handy.

The ones you have to worry about are the Brown Recluse spiders. They leave a nasty venom in you that usually results in you having to have plugs of your skin and tissue removed!

maybe you are just "lucky" luckyinkentucky, but i thought black widows and redbacks (as thier called in aussie when i used to stay there) bites cause extreme pain......or maybe it was the funnel web spider? regardless..

OP, get some Anti-Spider bugspray man! or maybe a 5000+lumens incan to burn'em with

Crenshaw

Crenshaw said:

maybe you are just "lucky" luckyinkentucky, but i thought black widows and redbacks (as thier called in aussie when i used to stay there) bites cause extreme pain......or maybe it was the funnel web spider? regardless..

OP, get some Anti-Spider bugspray man! or maybe a 5000+lumens incan to burn'em with

Crenshaw

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Agreed! A nice Incan would do wonders!...frikin spiders....:duck:

Mayo

I don't know where you are located, stresstest, but here in Vegas these things are just about as common as house flys

While I don't ENJOY getting bitten by them, they are pretty much less than lethal. Small children, the elderly, or those with allergies, etc etc like most other insects. It may be slightly worse than a scorpion sting, only because of possible fever, but personally, I choose the widow.

However, it is good you saw it first. I judisciously apply pressure with my right foot . It seems to have a very good effect. I ain't ragging on you or anything, just pointing it out.

Have a nice day
VegasF6

While I don't ENJOY getting bitten by them, they are pretty much less than lethal. Small children, the elderly, or those with allergies, etc etc like most other insects. It may be slightly worse than a scorpion sting, only because of possible fever, but personally, I choose the widow.

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+1 I've been bitten by a recluse (got the hole to prove it) and a widow (arm swelled up pretty bad for a few days, feverish, etc...)

Given a choice, I'll take the widow any day. More pain involved, technically (surgeries from recluses usually take anisthetic, numbs the pain of a doctor digging a hole in your epidermal layers with a scalpel) but the cost of a ER visit for the widow was like $50 OOP, while the 3 day stay and 2 surgeries cost me over $5k for the recluse.

Stress_Test,

I've been doing something very similar to what you've been doing for over a year now; at my house, I get both black and brown widows - and they love to nest just about everywhere. I have to use a flashlight to check the front gate before opening, as well as to check inside the mailbox before reaching in. One day last summer, I reached into the mailbox to get the mail; when I did, I felt webbing. I pulled my hand out, and looked inside to find a large female brown widow with egg sac had taken up residence. I thought at first it was an "albino" black widow (it's abdomen was a light brown color [almost white] with the red "hourglass" marking underneath), but it's egg sac had "spikes" (black widow nests don't have spikes). I checked the internet, and learned about brown widows (not to be confused with the brown recluse spider) - they're more poisonous then the black widow, but even less aggressive. I didn't even know a brown widow spider even existed. All I know is whatever I spray won't keep these things away for very long (I wonder if napalm will work), so I have to be very careful when outside.

Not too long ago, I was cutting an access hole in a house I was working on and when I flipped the cutout over, just an inch or two from my hand, a big ole black widow! (you'd think the saw noise and prying I did would have shooed it away, not!). The hammer came in handy!

Now I like spiders, I think their useful and cool looking and usually just take them out doors but not widows and recluses in the house! I was freaked for awhile...

Mike 208 said:

...All I know is whatever I spray won't keep these things away for very long (I wonder if napalm will work), so I have to be very careful when outside.

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One insect repellent that often works and is cheap, quick & EASY to try is using anti-static Dryer Sheets! The things you can throw in a clothes dryer to stop the dredded static-cling. I learned about this while mountain biking. At certain times of year you get swarmed with knat-like bugs as soon as you stop. You can raise your hand over your head and the knats will swarm around your hand and not your head, but that gets to be a bother after a while. I saw my friend tuck a dryer sheet into one of the vents of his helmet - and no knats!

I have since used them at home outside in a few places that used to get lots of spiders and wasps. It really cuts down on their presence. There is something in the sheets that the bugs don't like to be near. I put it up somewhere where it doesn't get wet from the rain, and it lasts for months. [For mtn. biking they get wet from your helmet so I replace those more often]. I usually use thumb tacks or staples to put it up on the house or toolshed, duct tape or hot glue would probably work too.

I'm a fanatic about using solar & wind power to dry my clothes [ie. clotheslines] and so our rarely-used clothes dryer is 30 years old [came with the house], so when I buy dryer sheets my wife always laughs and gives me s#)+.

VegasF6 said:

I don't know where you are located, stresstest, but here in Vegas these things are just about as common as house flys

While I don't ENJOY getting bitten by them, they are pretty much less than lethal. Small children, the elderly, or those with allergies, etc etc like most other insects. It may be slightly worse than a scorpion sting, only because of possible fever, but personally, I choose the widow.

However, it is good you saw it first. I judisciously apply pressure with my right foot . It seems to have a very good effect. I ain't ragging on you or anything, just pointing it out.

Have a nice day
VegasF6

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Haha, well the right foot technique wouldn't have worked so well because even after it fell down, it was in the in the corner of the recessed brick around the doorway; my boot toe wouldn't have fit in there too well. And in any case I wasn't thinking very rationally at that point!!

Hey thanks for the dryer sheet tip, LED_thrift, I'll have to try that if I continue to have problems. I called the apartment management today, and they said they'd have someone come by Thursday to spray.

Oh, and I live in the south east part of the country, which apparently is a place that has Black Widows in abundance, but again being in the city I've never seen one before!

One thing - before I left for work this morning, the spider was still lying curled up on the door step. I was able to take a closer look and I can confirm that it definitely had the red hour glass mark. I was going to take some pictures this evening when I got home, but it was gone by then. I presume that ants or something dragged it off during the day. Either that, or there's a REALLY pissed off spider lurking around here somewhere!!!

Stress_Test said:

I gave it another long blast, and left it lying in a puddle of spray. I hoped that if the poison didn't kill it, it would at least drown!


I've read that a Black Widow bite won't be rapidly fatal in the manner of a rattlesnake or other snake bite; an adult might have a day or two before it actually kills (I think).

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Black widow spider bites are VERY rarely fatal and usually it is young, old or allergic people that die. Bee stings kill far more people every year.

As for your spray, it may have drowned them but they are highly restistant to even poison designed specifically to kill them, they are not insects.

If the web is still there and teh spider gone, touch it to see what it feels like. The web is far stronger than any other north American or almost any other spider.

The next time you touch a web you will instantly know it it a black widow.

A true flashaholic would have used a Mac's Torch to eradicate the vermin.

Off-the-shelf bug spray here won't kill them. They cramp up, sure, but I've touched them with a stick a day later and they're still alive. You can mail-order some better stuff, like Cynoff WP or Demon WP, that are 2-3 month residual sprays that are also odorless.
I see several Black Widows every night during our walk. My daily walking light is a Wolf Eyes Storm, which I bump up to high on a stretch of sidewalk I know has a lot of them. The good thing about the gals around here is they weave their webs pretty low to the ground and close to a wall. I've never seen them higher than knee height.

Crenshaw said:

maybe you are just "lucky" luckyinkentucky, but i thought black widows and redbacks (as thier called in aussie when i used to stay there) bites cause extreme pain......or maybe it was the funnel web spider? regardless..

Crenshaw

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The redback spider

The redback spider is a member of the spider genus Latrodectus, in the family Theridiidae. It is related to the best known member of the group, the black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) found in North America and other regions. Close relatives of the redback are the katipo (Latrodectus katipo) and black katipo (Latrodectus atritus) spiders native to New Zealand. The common name of "Redback " is derived from its distinctive red stripe along its abdomen. Other common names include Jockey spider, Murra-ngura spider, Kapara spider and the Kanna-jeri spider.[1]

The species name is in honour of A.W.M. van Hasselt, a colleague of describer T Thorell in 1870.

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From Wikipedia

gasp, to think i speant most of my childhood thiking these damn things are one of the most deadly spiders in the business..

Crenshaw

My choice of weapon inside the house is canned air upside down, instant freeze to below -20°C and doesn't contaminate any surface bug is on, haven't seen anything survive that.

Outside the house it's CIL's spiderban, some sort of neurotoxin that knocks out spiders very quickly. Although most of the time I leave them alone, unless they make web right outside the doorway, or on my truck.

My wife can't stand spiders in the house, but I've always insisted that she take them outside instead of killing them. After a while I got tired of her whining about having to catch them with kleenex, so I bought her a Bugzooka. She loves it. It's a little rough on the Daddy Longlegs and 'squito Eaters, but most bugs survives unscathed. We've even trained our two year old to grab the Bugzooka and come get us when she sees a spider. "Here, Mommy! Get the fwider! Get the fwider!"

Taking the spider outside might seem merciful, but it's not what it seems. The spiders that live indoors aren't able to survive outdoors, nor are outdoor spiders able to survive indoors.

jzmtl said:

My choice of weapon inside the house is canned air upside down, instant freeze to below -20°C and doesn't contaminate any surface bug is on, haven't seen anything survive that.

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Ha! Thumbs up for the unconventional weaponry! :twothumbs

I once used some white lithium spray grease on a wasp that was on my car (because that was the first thing I had on hand). The thick grease on its wings kept it from flying, and eventually suffocated it. Then I carefully poked it off onto the ground and wiped the grease off the car. Problem solved!

Hmm, I'll have to try that on the spiders if I see one again...

i burn bugs with my incan....
i don't like to try to catch them with my hands so i turn on my incan and follow it around and eventually whent hey can't move anymore i take a piece of paper and throw it in the trash