Hi all,
Found a Black Widow & her kids in the corner of my shed. Should I get rid of them, or are they good pest control. A friend of mine never kills spiders as they nab quite a lot of bugs, but I am a little wary of the venomous variety, though I dinna think the widow is too bad.
Any thoughts?
Best,
Freddie
On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 22:14:12 -0500, "Perry Templeton" scribed:
Yup:
Just what I reckon too. Just let them do the thing they do so well.I am pretty sure they will keep the shed free of flies and skeeters through the summer months.
Now if I found a brown recluse, that would be a different story. That puppy can impart a nasty bite. A necrositing wound is never pretty.
All the best,
Freddie
If you kill it, another one will move in. Now you know where one lives, just be cautious.
Or import a couple of centipedes. Worked in our basement when I was a kid. My mother didn't think much of the centipedes though :-).
From:
The severity of an individual?s reaction to the black widow spider bite depends on the area of the body bitten, amount of venom injected, and their sensitivity to the venom. The venom travels in the bloodstream throughout the body and acts on the nervous system, causing varying degrees of pain. Some people report very intense pain. There typically is no necrosis (sloughing) of tissues and no conspicuous swelling.
The bite of a black widow spider initially may go unnoticed, but some people report a short stabbing pain. At first, there may be slight local swelling and two faint red spots, which are puncture points from the fangs. Pain soon begins and usually progresses from the bite site to finally localize in the abdomen and back. Severe cramping or rigidity may occur in the abdominal muscles. Other symptoms may include nausea, profuse perspiration, tremors, labored breathing, restlessness, increased blood pressure, and fever. Symptoms often diminish after a day or so and cease after several days. Serious long-term complications or death are very rare.
First Aid
If bitten, remain calm, and immediately seek medical attention (contact your physician, hospital and/or poison control center). Apply an ice pack directly to the bite area to relieve swelling and pain. Collect the spider (even a mangled specimen has diagnostic value), if possible, for positive identification by a spider expert. A plastic bag, small jar, or pill vial is useful and no preservative is necessary, but rubbing alcohol helps to preserve the spider.
A hospital stay may be recommended, particularly for those with a heart condition or with health problems. A physician may administer a specific antivenin to counteract the venom or calcium gluconate to relieve pain. Control
Control efforts should target black widow spider webs because that is where the spider spends most of its time. Control is best achieved by following an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy, which involves using multiple approaches such as preventive measures, exclusion, sanitation, and chemical treatment when necessary. IPM requires a thorough inspection of the building to locate the pest. An inspection preferably should be done at night because the black widow spider is nocturnal.
**** end quote ************I'd bomb them.
Also depends on whether you have young children who can't be counted on to avoid the spider's home.
Young children will get a higher dose of venom from a bite (per pound of body weight, since they are small). So, they tend to fare worse with bites. If you have kids or grandkids about, consider killing the spiders.
Now, before I get flamed for indiscriminately killing innocent creatures, I have lots of spiders in my yard, garden, and sometimes house. Unless I believe they are of a dangerous variety, I leave them alone. They are good pest control.
Well, ones inside the house tend to get relocated outside. (I have a baby who's crawling, and he will eat anything he can get in his mouth. I'm not inclined to take chances with him getting bitten or *eating* spiders.)
Laura
centipeds can leave you very sick too, after all, their front 4 legs have posion stingers in them.
Not sure if it's true or not but I've always heard that you can only have the antidote to Black Widow bite one time. If you get bitten a second time I guess you just have to tough it out.
Anyone else with better knowledge to this "I've heard ...?"
Kim
My personal opinion is that if I lived in an area where black widow spiders were common, they might be the only spiders that I would try to get rid of, unless they were outside where no one would come in contact with them. Ohio State has a lot of information about them in this factsheet that should help you decide for yourself whether you want to leave them alone or not:
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