BLACK WIDOW

[BloodyBaroness]

I was bitten by a black widow in '04 while field herping. Those little suckers pack a serious punch and the doctor only prescribed antibiotics as treatment. Took a week to over come the primary affects such as muscle spasms, sweats, fever, etc. Then it took six months for my skin around the bite to completely regain color. The lesson here is to wear gloves or use a hook when lifting flip items in the field and use only your finger tips.

I've been bitten twice by them. And I'm allergic to venom, which made for a 3 day hospital stay. Take that bite of yours and multiply by 5, it destroyed my calf. Took the better part of 2 years for my leg to look normal again.

I kill the little jokers on site. Some spiders I'll just along but not widows.

 

[Spurticus]

Lots of people around here are reporting seeing more Brown Recluse spiders
than normal too. Those things don't mess around either. I've seen a couple
of those around when I lived in the upstate SC, but have neighbors and
some friends saying they are seeing them a lot this spring !!

 

[Cattsy]

Ugh I'm in the complete and utter arachnaphobic camp... To the point where I can't even go NEAR the buggers...

I lived in a house once that had a REALLY bad spider problem in the crawlspace... They used to make it into the house all the time Harmless daddy long legs type critters but they still sent me into panic attacks... One a rather large specimen set up camp next to my toilet, I was living alone at the time and it was in such a spot that I couldn't squish it in a clean shot (I hate it when they jump out of the way and skitter off or if I don't kill them cleanly ) so I didn't go in the bathroom for two days... Worked a lot of overtime and walked to the store a block away >.< finally a friend came over and I got him to dispose of it for me!!

My fiance doesn't mind spiders, he'll catch and release them if he can while I hyperventilate in the corner LOL. that is if the cats don't get them first, I have one that thinks spiders are great toys and yummy snacks.

I'm so glad we moved up north where spiders aren't as much of a problem. We only get little guys here. Down in the Okanagan lots of black widows and other big types of spiders.

T

 

[Snakes Incorporated]

I was requested to assist some personal at a local police station a couple of years back. I caught and picked up a large “rain” spider about the size of my palm.
The cops all went into the crouch hand on firearm position when I turned around. I’m not afraid of guns but I’m terrified of idiots behind them.:twoguns:

 

[Porro]

I am an animal lover. That means I love all animals, no matter how "creepy and crawly" they are. When I see something like a small spider or other insect in the house I usually just sit there and explain to my girlfriend that it isn't hurting anyone/anything so why should I kill it? Chances are it will find its way back into the walls/out of our lives soon enough anyways and we will forget that it ever exsisted.

Something like a black widow on the other hand, is something that could seriously hurt someone so in that case I would most likely capture the little bugger and set him off into the woods, or anywhere else where we won't be likely to cross paths again.

 

[Spurticus]

Ugh I'm in the complete and utter arachnaphobic camp... To the point where I can't even go NEAR the buggers...

I lived in a house once that had a REALLY bad spider problem in the crawlspace... They used to make it into the house all the time Harmless daddy long legs type critters but they still sent me into panic attacks... One a rather large specimen set up camp next to my toilet, I was living alone at the time and it was in such a spot that I couldn't squish it in a clean shot (I hate it when they jump out of the way and skitter off or if I don't kill them cleanly ) so I didn't go in the bathroom for two days... Worked a lot of overtime and walked to the store a block away >.< finally a friend came over and I got him to dispose of it for me!!

My fiance doesn't mind spiders, he'll catch and release them if he can while I hyperventilate in the corner LOL. that is if the cats don't get them first, I have one that thinks spiders are great toys and yummy snacks.

I'm so glad we moved up north where spiders aren't as much of a problem. We only get little guys here. Down in the Okanagan lots of black widows and other big types of spiders.

T

Had a really REALLY eerie run in with a Carolina Wolf Spider years ago. I was
sick with the flu and up at about 3:am sitting in my living room with the TV
on. We had a sectional sofa and I was in a chair on the other side of the
room. I saw a movement in the light of the TV right beside the sofa,
I got up and flipped the lights on, but didn't see anything so I turned the
light back off. A few minutes later, I saw this thing crawl out from under
the sofa and stop about half way across the floor from where I was. I
grabbed a flashlight on the table beside me and shined it down on the floor
and low and behold, this creature's eyes reflected the light just like a deer
or cat in the headlights of a Car !!!!!!. . . . I grabbed a shoe and turned the
light back on, but again, this thing disappeared. It was a pretty big Wolf
Spider and it scared the **** out of me. I put my feet up in the chair with
me and kept looking for the thing on the floor. Short time later, it crawls up
the wall from behind the sofa, and grabbed the flashlight (as not to scare it
off with the house lights again) and head for it with Rebok in hand. But when
the flashlight hit it, it headed back down behind the couch and was gone. I
decided I was going to find and eliminate this thing, so I dismantled the
sections of the sofa and carefully looked under and around each piece . . . .
. . . NOTHING !! Put it all back together, and started watching TV again
with the lights on this time. .. . . Didn't see it again, so after an hour, I
went to bed and tossed and turned all night thinking about that thing.
Never found it.