They're taking over already

Sharon

Sharon

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Staff member
PREMO Member
SPIDERS! :dosman: Yuck. I can't believe they are this much of a problem already. Usually it's mid-summer before they really get going.

Last week I went out to wash my mailbox, not because of spiders though, it was dirty. I scrubbed it good and clean inside and out. A few hours later I go to check to see if it's dry inside before the mail-lady comes. I open the door and guess who's in there. The string of steel was a dead give away. There she was just inside the door in her sloppy web---a Black Widow (of good size too).

I can't walk down the front steps on my porch without catching a web of some kind and I clean them off everyday. In the summer they are harder to get to because they make a web that goes all the way up to the roof, where they hide until it gets dark in the evening. I swear, you can watch the spiders grow bigger over a few weeks until they are so huge, it's like having a small pet.

This morning I get into my car at 5am. As I get ready to sit down, there across my steering wheel is a beautifuly perfect web. :eek: Smack dab in the middle is a small brown momma waiting for a meal. Now my car is clean and there's no food of anykind in there for her and I always keep my windows up unless I'm in the car. I had the hebbie-jeebies the whole time I was driving because maybe she had company with her.

I don't know---I asked my neighbor a few days ago if the spiders were becomming a problem over at her house. Well of course they're not, I've got them all. :mad:

How can I get rid of them for good? The tree frogs are back but I guess they're not on the menu. :rolleyes:
 
RoseRed

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
I have had that happen in the car with spiders too ~ :eek: Except the spider was about the size of a quarter!

My cat brought me a mouse Sunday night, which she promptly killed and then she had a snake yesterday, which my husband killed.

That darn cat!
 
Sharon

Sharon

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Staff member
PREMO Member
Do cats eat spiders, lol? My neighbor's cats always come over to visit. They haven't yet left me with any gifts, although I did find a chunk of feathers in the yard a few weeks ago. Lucky for me, she probably took the kill home.

I've been after my husband for a couple of weeks-ends to pressure wash the house and spray with malathion but he's always busy.

A few summers ago, I had this dream that I woke up in the middle of the night and when I rolled over I felt a web string. Sure enough, when I got up in the morning the WAS a web over my bed, although I never did find the spider.

One good way to catch the spiders before they crawl away is to give them a good shot of hairspray before knocking the web down, they "freeze" and can't get away.
 
Frank

Frank

Chairman of the Board
I always find them in my house in the spring, and in the fall - when the weather changes. I just make sure to kill the ones INSIDE, and keep flowers and plants that bugs hate on the porch. I don't know if spiders hate them, but where there aren't bugs, there's nothing to EAT.

The rest on the property - I leave 'em alone. A few years back I killed a bunch, and found pests all over the place. Although I don't have cockroaches, I found them all over my *roof*! So I leave 'em be, and let them do what they do best.
 
Sierra39

Sierra39

Hairball Magnet
It's bad luck to kill a spider...

Personally, I am fascinated by spiders. Building a web is truly an amazing talent! And seeing a newly-woven web glistening in the morning dew is a near-religious experience...

I rarely have a problem with spiders INDOORS, because both my cats and dogs find them fun to play with and/or eat... :D

Spiders LOVE to hang out on my front porch, because I leave the light on all night and it draws the bugs for them. Every year we get a HUGE spider that make its web across the section over the porch rail in front of the outdoor light... My daughter and I like to catch moths and toss them into the web and watch the spider pounce on them and wrap them up... :D

Ever since reading "Charlotte's Web" as a kid, I can't bring myself to kill spiders...if they make their way indoors, I catch them in a jar and take them outside!

This years there are TONS of spiders, I guess due to the mild winter. They are on the porch, in the garage, in the shed, in the horse barn, and in the cars. I have LOTS of black widows, too, but don't worry about them much (they are very sensitive to activity, so don't usually build their webs where there's alot of people traffic! You'd have to work hard to actually get bitten!)

SAVE THE SPIDERS! There's gonna be TONS of bugs this year due to the mild winter, and we need all the predators we can get!! :D

PS – Please don't spray your yard for bugs! You kill the good bugs who pollinate and predate (butterflies, bees, lacewings, mantids, and ladybugs) as well as the bad, and mess up the natural checks and balances... Did you know that using a bug zapper will actually attract up to 10 times the number of undesirable insects to your yard than would normally be there? (Ditto for japanese beetle traps!!) And the zappers rarely kill mosquitos, because they are attracted to the chemicals our bodies emit, NOT light! Put up some bat houses instead, and you'll notice a HUGE difference in the mosquito population!
 
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Sharon

Sharon

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Staff member
PREMO Member
I love these replies!;)

Sierra,
Your huge spider must be a relative of the ones that I have. I must say, I've never thought of feeding him though. I don't use a bug zapper and I don't spray the yard either. In fact I rarely see any bugs because of all the tree frogs, garden snakes, skinks, and lizards that have taken up residence here, and we have bats in the neighborhood too.

Barbara,
Don't worry about the black widows, I've got the monopoly on them too! The are in my shed and under my deck. But don't leave your shoes outside overnight. :p


----------It's only spiders!----------
I just want to walk out one of my doorways without being caught in a web and having one hanging off of me. There are so many of those "spider nesting balls" caught in the corners of the overhangs. If they all hatch, they will most likely starve to death, unless they move around to the deck area and build their webs where the carpender bees are fighting for territorial rights in the wood.

Here's some info on attracting and building bat houses--
http://www.nobleknights.com/~eagle1/bats2a.htm
http://www.travisaudubon.org/News/a-bats.htm
 
Sierra39

Sierra39

Hairball Magnet
As far as bats go, I would just do an internet search for "bat house" and see what you get. There's a preferred height to mount them on the side of your house or on trees. ALOT of garden shops sell them, but they're real easy to make, too – and cheaper! Bats especially like to be close to a water source – ours like to swoop down over the pool every evening and scoop up a sip of water!

Sharon – we have plenty of natural predators, too! Snakes, skinks, tree frogs and bats! I like spiders, but I don't like walking through a web, either (especially if you're not sure if the spider ended up on you somewhere!) And ours like to run strands across our walkway between the lamp post and our dogwood tree, so it's right in our path out to the car! YUCK! Just do what I do – let your child (or hubby!) walk in front of you so THEY get the web! :D

Here's a good info link on black widows (where they like to nest, how to discourage and/or exterminate them, etc.) :
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061A.html

Attached is a good photo of a black widow:
 
Sharon

Sharon

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Staff member
PREMO Member
Originally posted by jetmonkey
It's one of the coolest things I've ever seen. That and the cow flying.
Click to expand...

/me wonders about the cow???
 
S

seasquirt

Vermicious Knid
I fling like a Norwegian, according to that link.

But back on topic, I think there are two spiders in our area that are potentially harmful to humans - the black widow and the brown recluse.
 
SxyPrincess

SxyPrincess

New Member
Eeewwweee, Jay! I'm gonna start having nightmares about spiders now. I'm glad I don't have any running around my house, surprisingly since I live in the woods.
 
missi1013

missi1013

Catch Me If You Can!
I get them like cazy! My husbend has to spay around the house every month and that does the trick! We get those really big ones that are the size of quarter dollar. There huge!
 
Sierra39

Sierra39

Hairball Magnet
Missi – the spraying around the house won't eliminate the really big wolf spiders! They like to creep around in tall grass looking for other bugs to pounce on. When they end up inside, it's purely by accident – I just scoop them up in a jar and take them back outside, where they can continue to rid my yard of other pests! Their size is rather ALARMING, but they rarely bite, and they're not poisonous if they do...ditto for garden spiders.

Here is a blurb from a website about the golden garden spider:
"The female golden garden spider sits in the center of the web during the day, holding the end of her abdomen upward and aiming her eyes and mouth-parts downward. She also places her legs together in pairs, which gives the appearance of four legs instead of the legal limit of eight. When disturbed, the spider will vibrate the silk orb, giving the appearance of a larger, more threatening foe. If this doesn't work, she will drop to the ground and hide." (For those of you with arachnophobia, please note that it does NOT say "when disturbed, the spider will leap onto your face and attempt to eat your eyeballs..") :D

To reduce your number of spiders, you have to reduce favorite potential habitat: tall grass, woodpiles, brushpiles, cracks and crevices in walls; caulk around doors and windows and foundation sills; weatherstrip your doors and windows (including gararge); fix holes in screens; reduce piles of boxes and clutter; AND get a cat or two to take care of the few that make in inside! :D
 
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bknarw

Attire Monitor
I used to be one of those "Don't kill the spiders" type people, but with all due respect, Sierra, that was prior to this past March 15.
I was bitten by a spider at my place in Calvert that nearly killed me. It spiked my blood pressure to twice the normal levels and put me in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit for three days. I am a normal, healthy male in pretty good shape, by the way. They think it may have been a Brown Recluse but no one's quite sure. I had a saucer-sized BLACK spot on my leg that fortunately healed. I was told that in most cases, they have to cut out the portion that's black through surgery.
I also found out later that if left unchecked, spiders can infest your home just as easily as any other bug you think they're likely to kill.

Anyhow, any spider in my place is now headed toward the endangered species list!
 
D

DarbyOhara

Musician
Well... I don't think Sierra was implying to breed them in your home.. she was referring to nature's cycle.... She is a bit lonely up there in animal/reptile/rodent/bug land where she lives... so be easy on her :p

As for your dilemma bk, sorry to hear it... sounds like you happen to be in the wrong place... the wrong time.... but since you are on the war-path for them... you could drop by my place around noon on saturday and do an infestation at my place in Ridge, MD. Oh, you'll have to get through the ants, wasps, bubble bees, a roach here and there and some unknown creature that make a gargling sound.. in splurts... Yep! It is unidentified at this time, but it sounds pretty creepy... I think it lives under the house, but sounds like it is up on the roof... I also don't know how big it is, but I am sure that it makes a noise that, if quiet, the neighbors could here it... and they aren't that close! :eek:
 
SxyPrincess

SxyPrincess

New Member
Now remember I mentioned I have no problems with spiders at my house. Well...tell me why I was greeted at my door the other nite by some big, brown, furry spider?

I left him alone so I figure he's probably reached my bedroom by now. :eek:
 
Sierra39

Sierra39

Hairball Magnet
Hey! Darby's BAAACCKK!! Yippee!

bknarw – So sorry to hear about your run-in with a brown recluse! My neighbor was bitten behind his knee on an airplane to California – by the time he got there he was SICK as a dog, and had to be hospitalized and put on IV antibiotics...THERE IS NO DOUBT that bites from these spiders are dangerous! I have always had an interest in spiders, so I have learned to identify the poisonous ones and be careful when I'm working in and around "prime habitat" areas! Sometimes they are NOT where you expect them to be, (i.e. an airplane!) and there's not much you can do to avoid them!

Darby – it sound like you either have an owl or raccoons...I'm gonna see if I can figure it out for you! Does it sound like the critter is on TOP of the roof, or actually IN your attic? Do you hear scrabbling sounds like something moving around on the wood, or just the vocalizations?? (I know I'm gonna obsess about this until we figure it out!)
 
D

DarbyOhara

Musician
Originally posted by Sierra39
Hey! Darby's BAAACCKK!! Yippee!

Darby – it sound like you either have an owl or raccoons...I'm gonna see if I can figure it out for you! Does it sound like the critter is on TOP of the roof, or actually IN your attic? Do you hear scrabbling sounds like something moving around on the wood, or just the vocalizations?? (I know I'm gonna obsess about this until we figure it out!)
Click to expand...


lol... Hiya Sierra... We have no attic... We heard it this weekend. I opened the front door and it made a wailing type cooing sound, with a Louis Armstrong cackle to it... (I know, strange, but hard to describe... lol) and while I snuck up to the doorway, it sounded off.. scared the bee-gee-bees outta me... I snuck quickly around the house and seen NOTHING above, where it sounded like it came from. The other day, it sounded like it was out at the garage. I know for a fact that there are rabbits going under the house... but never heard them make noises like this.... and no other noises except the wailing-cooing-louis armstrong sounds... lol

btwl, people are down there at the point look out old prison... stirring up a mess for the prison tour... perhaps it's one of those ghosts wanderin.... :eek:
 
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bknarw

Attire Monitor
Wow, I'm just a newbie and you all had such nice comments! Thanks...
They think the spider was a brown recluse, but there was an article in the Post recently that said that they don't exist in MD. Personally, I have my doubts.
:)
There's also something called a "hobo spider" which is said to be more common and has a similar bite, so it may have been that. In spite of the severity of the bite, I never even felt the actual bite occur. How strange is that?
I never had arachnaphobia until this incident. The other day, a friend of mine came over to see me walking all over one of my sweatshirts. They asked what I was doing before suddently realizing: "OH, you're killing spiders!"
 
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