Black widows

[Bronson]

So I have been spring cleaning, the yard, shop, house. The other day, I killed a ********* Widow in the woodpile I was moving. Then, I killed a baby BW in My shower. Last night, I was watching TV in the shop. I went to the desk, which is about 4 feet from where I sit when I watch TV. I went to open a drawer there, and there was a fresh web, with a half-grown Black Widow! I hate spider, especially Black Widows and Brown Recluse.......Seeing as how I have found them in 3 different locations, what do You Guys suggest, other than burning My place to the ground? I will check with a Exterminator, but here at Tax Time, cash is a little tight. My Spidey Senses are tingling .......

 

[trbomax]

I too have an intense dislike for spiders. We have severalmetered dispensers at the house and shop that do an exelent job (moreso in the house because of the volume of the shop). I got them from zep quite a while ago and they are powered by battery. They are called Meter Mist Insect Killer S and are rated as safe for resturant and food handeling facilities. I used them in the carry out and party store at the marina when I had that. I had several cases of refills left over so I havent bought any for a few years,but a Zep sales guy could point you in the right direction. I also use a spray (in a garden sprayer a couple times a year )in the crawl space and around the walls in the shop. I'll find the can and post it up.


edit) I got it from Hysan div of Specialty Chemical Resourses in Mancedonia Ohio. 800 288 3431. Here again,I got it in 55 gal drums for the buildings and docks at the marina,and it will kill anything that walks,crawls or flies includeing hornets and wasps within 3 minutes.I took two drums with me when we sold out so I havent bought from them for a few years,but its a start.

 

[1948]

we used to have black widows like crazy in my old house in LA. roaches and black widows were a big issue out there. if your nabors had them, they would find there way over to your place too! anyway, they seemed to leave you alone if you werent bugging them, mostly hung out in the dark corners. i guess the males arent really that harmful ones(they have white spots on most ive seen) are you sure it wasnt this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatoda im not saying they arent black widows i just thought maybe you were lucky and maybe dont have them.

 

[Syndicate]

here ya go http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+the+best+remedie+to+rid+my+property+of+black+widows

 

[Boiler]

Orkin does our house inside and out four times a year for about $100 ea. I never see spiders.

 

[scooterseats]

Use Demon WP Insecticide. Mix it in a sprayer and spray all the likely places these critters dwell. This will keep them away for months. I use it in our boat house and it keeps all insects at bay. Really works good for me.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I met a girl, a couple weeks back, I mentioned finding black widows in a wood pile when she was asking what I was doing.

She then went on to tell me she lost her father to black widow bites. Her brother had left for college, but could not have his wheels first year, so her dad would go out and start it and let it run once a month. He kept the keys above the visor. There was a nest on top of the visor, he got in the truck, dropped the visor for the keys and a nest of black widows hit him in the face. The number of bites on his face/head killed him. This was in Wyoming, so I was told.

 

[ajchien]

^^^

Dude, that's worse than any horror film.


Nevertheless, I spray some kind of bug killer around the perimeter of my house about 4 times a year.

 

[malibu101]

I have a vengance for all spiders.
I know that most spiders serve a valuable pupose in the ecosystem.

However-
Not only do I dislike webs all around, but I was once bit by a brown recluse. They are uncommomon around my part of the country but one found me. I'll leave the gory parts out but it was a very nasty bite on my leg that left a lasting mark. I waited too long to seek medical attention and it got real bad.

I regularly get pleasure out of walking around the patch and using Ortho Spider Killer aresol spray on all the visibles and laceing the area around the house and garage with bug killer.

I sure miss being able to get diazinon.

 

[pcmeiners]

Happen to like spiders, impartial to ants, but hate termites... hit the outside of foundation with Termidor (purchased on Ebay) 5 years ago, since then I have not seen any of them. Stuff is not instant, takes a month before they are gone. For $20 for the application application, I figure it will last 10 years.

 

[70redbee]

I have all kinds of spiders and bugs too. The problem is, I have pets too. What can be used and will not hurt my cats and dogs?

 

[DezRanger]

Use Demon WP Insecticide. Mix it in a sprayer and spray all the likely places these critters dwell. This will keep them away for months. I use it in our boat house and it keeps all insects at bay. Really works good for me.

I have all kinds of spiders and bugs too. The problem is, I have pets too. What can be used and will not hurt my cats and dogs?

Ive heard good things about demon wp. Also try suspend sc. I mix it strong and spray outside my house, find dead bugs outside all the time but never inside.

 

[MScott]

Often, in the depths of winter when I'm freezing my a** off, I dream about moving to a milder climate. Then I read these stories about poisonous spiders, venomous snakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, none of which we have where I live and I think that, perhaps, winter isn't so bad after all.

 

[Dmaxman]

^^^ I'm with him. Reading this thread gives me the creeps.

 

[Buckgnarly]

Often, in the depths of winter when I'm freezing my a** off, I dream about moving to a milder climate. Then I read these stories about poisonous spiders, venomous snakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, none of which we have where I live and I think that, perhaps, winter isn't so bad after all.

EXACTLY!

 

[Falcon67]

I just spray everything about every 60 days or so. I also carry Yard Guard in a holster - a .38 Special for bugs. I was unpacking some books and ran across a Black Daddy Longleg Recluse, sprayed the whole shop after that. This is west Texas, even the trees will bite you out here.

 

[Bronson]

Thanks, everybody, I have decided to call in an expert, I dont want to mess around with this! My Dad got bit by a Brown Recluse and was two weeks in hospital, so.....

 

[vibenation]

Okay, officially freaked out now...

When removing the handicap ramp that the previous owner built in my attached garage I saw all manner of nasty little eight legged beasts scurrying about. Did not get close enough to identify any of them, sucked them all up in the shop vac as they poked their heads out and scurried away.

I hate spiders, and now have to do some research on getting the jungle under control. Skin is crawling.

I work for a traffic department of a local government, and one time when we were inspecting a pedestrian pole installed about a month previous to the inspection (we do this at night) I removed the hand hole cover and shined my light in. SO GLAD I shined the light first because there was a big nasty black widow just waiting for me to reach my hand in to check the tightness of the ground cable...

Will be spraying the **** out of my yard and garages next weekend...

Skin still crawling....

 

[draglink]

I met a girl, a couple weeks back, I mentioned finding black widows in a wood pile when she was asking what I was doing.

She then went on to tell me she lost her father to black widow bites. Her brother had left for college, but could not have his wheels first year, so her dad would go out and start it and let it run once a month. He kept the keys above the visor. There was a nest on top of the visor, he got in the truck, dropped the visor for the keys and a nest of black widows hit him in the face. The number of bites on his face/head killed him. This was in Wyoming, so I was told.

Holy **** this has really creeped me out!!

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Holy **** this has really creeped me out!!

Yeah, it was a little weird for me too, a causal comment about " could not believe how many black widow spiders was in the stack of siding" too, " I recently lost my father". Im like, wow, didnt mean hit on a sore subject. I had just met her minutes before, she is a friend of a friend who came to my place to ride with us to a consignment sale.

Anyhow I thought that story was good to share, for operational awareness for others, to be vigilant (if playing with parked vehicles). A schoolmate from my high school class that I used to snowmobile with, he died last fall from a brown recluse bite that went untreated for two long, and my "x" worked with a kid in his 20s who lost his foot from a brown recluse bite (was in his shoe). These both happened in Northern Illinois, not an area known for brown recluse problems.

Ive seen one, in a stack of plywood several years ago, when I was building my garage. Other than that Ive never seen one. I live in a 108 year old house, so I keep an eye out for that kind of stuff

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

One other note on spider control, I believe I googled this several years ago, but from what I recall, they are "exoskeleton" and to spray, does not work nearly as well as it does for other insects. IIRC, glue traps work best. Spray works on them if you hit them directly, otherwise, you need to hit their web, or their food source, I think they said that the "dust" works better than liquid spray, because it will get on their "hairs".

But google the subject before you spend any money.

I recently went into my basement, and spent a couple hours vacuuming the bottom side of my first floor, the floor joists and sheathing where littered in spiders (1000s), mostly the daddy long legs and wolf spiders near the edge of the foundation. My house sits on a limestone "block" foundation, and does not provide much of seal, as far as basements go.

When I remodeled the interior, I used "acoustical sealant" -spelled inexpensive caulk, on all the sheet rock where it meets the floor, to slow down the travel of critters. Basically I sealed the rooms, although they can still run the duct work if they want, but Ive significantly cut down on the spider bites I was getting in bed at night. The where chewing the snot out of my ankles, nightly.

 

[Thruxton]

My dad managed an HVAC supply in the house, so I grew up knowing a bunch of plumbers. They regularly got bitten by black widows, and their remedy was 3 aspirin. Bit of a brown recluse is actually worse I understand because it takes forever to heal and can get badly infected.

 

[2manytoyz]

When I first moved into our present house last October, I noticed a large number of big spiders in the yard.

I used a bug bomb in the shed, and sprayed the outside of the house with Spectracide Triazicide insect killer in a pump sprayer. Spiders fell to their deaths, along with ants, wasps, and most anything else I spotted.

The LARGE spider in the shed is said to be a Huntsman Spider. Some can grow as big as 12". This one was maybe half of that at full span.

Used to have a lot of Black Widow spiders at my first house, about 10 minutes down the road from my present home. Find odd shaped webs in the garage, between the exposed 2x4 wall studs. Back then, I'd use Dursban to kill 'em all. Can't get the good stuff anymore, but this Spectracide stuff does pretty good too.

I also now have a 10 gallon tank with an electric pump for the sprayer. This gets put on the cart I tow behind the riding mower. Makes spraying the yard and exterior of the house a breeze.

If I spray the yard & house exterior every month, very few bugs make it inside the house. Just part of the fun of living in FL.

 

[Flathead Johnny]

omg if I saw that spider I would **** myself

 

[Falcon67]

My monitor now smells like RAID.

 

[Buckgnarly]

Good Lord!!! That's the second time I've seen you post that, thanks....forgot how much I NEVER want to live in the desert/warm areas again!

 

[SGKent]

we are in California and black widows are quite common here. Spiders must be hit with bug killer of some kind to go down - their legs hold them too far from residual spray. I've found these stragedies work well:

(1) Black widow webs are very strong. You can hear the strands snap. When you feel a strong web there is a black widow nearby. Watch for their webs.

(2) most insecticides including soapy water will kill them when sprayed on them. Adams flea and tick spray in a bottle on stream is a quick thing to grab if you see one. Otherwise spray around the foundation and under the windows.

(3) Look before you put you hands anywhere. They can appear overnight.

(4) you can't keep them away. Young ones balloon in every year from miles away.

(5) The small ones can infect you just as much as the full grown ones. The can be anywhere. I watched a fully grown one once in a freshly cut lawn next to the highway crawl out from under 1 leaf and then crawl back. No web, no debris, just one small 1" leaf with a spider hiding under it. Just happened to be looking down at the grass in the center divider while I waited for the light to change. Another time when a kid I watered in our atrium and sprayed down the walls. Killed 14 black widows in 5 minutes as they crawled out. Never had seen one before that. They also seem to like metal and water heaters, hiding under tool cabinets and workbenches. We do not have brown recluse here but we have some similar spiders. Long sleeves and gloves when working in the bushes.

Last - just remember that when you spray the woodpile, you have to breathe anything that ends up in the smoke. Look at the ingredients of those sprays. Soap and water kills most insects by smothering them, but does not kill the eggs.

 

[hobie1dog]

Spiders never bothered me as they are so small, you just smash the fu#k out of them...done.

 

[Bronson]

Thanks for all the info, Guys! ****! I need to go under the house to do an annual inspection......Now, I dont want to.......

 

[camarotoolman]

here besides black widows, we got huge rattlers, cottommouths, coral snakes, bowas. red ants, gators, crocks, wild pigs, termites, but its nice in the winter. And don't forget all the criminals and low lifes.

 

[GarageEnvy]

I scrolled past that spider photo as fast as possible. I hate spiders! Last week I got an old stroller off the side of the house to clean up and put on CL. I reached into the back pocket to pull out some old junk (Kleenex box) and pulled 4 giant black widows out. So I commenced the pressure washing and by the time I was done I counted 18 of them. Most died from blunt force trauma but Home Defense spray worked on the rest. My wife had heard that Windex worked and she tried it. I saw no evidence of it working. Maybe it's a longer death than I was willing to wait for.

 

[SGKent]

My dad managed an HVAC supply in the house, so I grew up knowing a bunch of plumbers. They regularly got bitten by black widows, and their remedy was 3 aspirin. Bit of a brown recluse is actually worse I understand because it takes forever to heal and can get badly infected.

The bite has two components - one is the toxin. If you have an allergic reaction it can kill you. The other is that the bite is extremely dirty. The toxin damages the body's immune system in the area of the bite and the bacteria take off and become the primary killer on mammals. A friend got bit and on the third day the bite had swollen up to the size of a quarter. When he got up the next morning it was the size of a grapefruit with streaks. I got bit by a baby one and when it got to the size of a dime went to the doctor who put me on antibiotics. I don't think 3 aspirin would cut it.

 

[Ram]

I have bought bumpers several years ago and a nest of them were in the plastic step covers. Had taken the front seat out of my Dodge Neon and laid them both in the car front seat floor to the back seat floor. Was using them as a cup holder and arm rest. Went nuts driving down the road when they walked out. Took them damn things out and threw them onto the side of the road to hopefully knock them out into the out of doors. Was a real long drive to get these bumpers and the Neon was the best mileage at the time.
I bet the people behind me thought that I'd freaking went nuts getting off the road. My tool bag was in the bumper too. Took out the hammer was just swinging away at them damn things. Was only doing about 75 when spotted them.

I can tell you was wide awake the rest of the way home from then out.

Last year we had found them at our front door, under the edge of the hot tub, and I found a hub cap along side the road. Didn't bother to look at it. Drove with it on my floor board of the passenger side for over two days. Took it out and it was full of them too.

I'm so sick of those damn things. I've had to fog two cars now. And spray all over the place not to mention have a pest service get them. I'm sure my shed is full of them again with this warm winter.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I can tell you was wide awake the rest of the way home from then out.

.

That would **** !!!

 

[Maexle]

When I first moved into our present house last October, I noticed a large number of big spiders in the yard.

I used a bug bomb in the shed, and sprayed the outside of the house with Spectracide Triazicide insect killer in a pump sprayer. Spiders fell to their deaths, along with ants, wasps, and most anything else I spotted.

The LARGE spider in the shed is said to be a Huntsman Spider. Some can grow as big as 12". This one was maybe half of that at full span.

Used to have a lot of Black Widow spiders at my first house, about 10 minutes down the road from my present home. Find odd shaped webs in the garage, between the exposed 2x4 wall studs. Back then, I'd use Dursban to kill 'em all. Can't get the good stuff anymore, but this Spectracide stuff does pretty good too.

I also now have a 10 gallon tank with an electric pump for the sprayer. This gets put on the cart I tow behind the riding mower. Makes spraying the yard and exterior of the house a breeze.

If I spray the yard & house exterior every month, very few bugs make it inside the house. Just part of the fun of living in FL.

F*** for that thing i would've used my 12 gauge to put it a sleep.......

 

[2manytoyz]

Spiders never bothered me as they are so small, you just smash the fu#k out of them...done.

Maybe you didn't see the actual size of the one in my shed!

 

[bayoutoolguy]

spiders are my worst fear, whenever i see a black widow its stops me dead in my tracks.

 

[MichaelUser]

One other note on spider control, I believe I googled this several years ago, but from what I recall, they are "exoskeleton" and to spray, does not work nearly as well as it does for other insects. IIRC, glue traps work best. Spray works on them if you hit them directly, otherwise, you need to hit their web, or their food source, I think they said that the "dust" works better than liquid spray, because it will get on their "hairs".

<stuff deleted>

True spiders do not lick themselves to clean. They need to stay free of anything that might hinder there ability to not stick to the webs. That being said all other typos of bugs lick to clean themselves so they ingest the poison. The spiders need to be sprayed with something that will get in their little lungs and choke them.

Living in SoCal especially right now (springtime) is crazy with spiders. Daddy-long-legs, black widows and the newest brown widows which are a evolutionary cousin to the black widow and something else. Hydrex will spray my house now killing all that crawls and not harm the animals. Good for about 3 months. The problem once you spray for spiders and bugs, the ants come out to clean up. Which is another problem. The key is black widows like dark places that are going to not be disturbed. They hate activity namely people and animals. Keep your area clean and clutter free is half the battle.

 

[ctb]

Just getting ready to go to bed when I see that damn big spider. Thanks a lot for re-posting it Maexle,

 

[matty d]

The LARGE spider in the shed is said to be a Huntsman Spider. Some can grow as big as 12". This one was maybe half of that at full span.
.

DAYUM DUDE!!! You just freaked the living s--t out of me!!!