Black Widow???

[Wonka22]

Tried to get a picture but it got away.

This one had the traditional hourglass on her bottomside. But, she wasn't solid black, she had a red line from her tail up toward her head but not quite all the way....and either two or 3 white stripes on either side of her body. VERY awesome looking Black widow.

I guess I should say, I'm in Southeast (Hobbs) New Mexico.

A link to a yahoo page of someones....spider looked VERY similar to this one.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/v ... =13f6onalo

[reptilist]

Yep. When they are young they are not completely black (w/red hourglass on bottom side). But the body shape of a female BW is a dead give away.

[Apache Devil]

The red marking can take many forms. I have seen big female widows who only had a red dot or several tiny red dots instead of the classic hourglass. I am usually critter-friendly, but I will not chance a bite from one of these so I often patrol around the perimeter of my house after dark on hot nights with a flashlight and a can of pesticide.

[Plays In The Dirt]

Living in the desert we have our house sprayed once a month. There's just way to many stinging and biting critters that can (and do) get-in to the house.

[Goldseeker]

Also Greg, make sure all doors and windows are tightly sealed. Not that this will completely stop the problem, but it helps, A LOT!!

Also, get an indoor cat. My year old female, whom I rescued out of a tree last thanksgiving, has kept many things at bay, IF they get in, and no matter how hard you try to keep them out, some squeeze thru. Crickets are a problem here; the cat gets 'em all. This ones a hunter. She even found, but was smart enough to just keep taging with a paw, (like the left jab of a boxer) a mexican brown recluse. I quickly killed that thing. Get a cat, esp one that has the hunter instinct.

I 100% agree with Apache Devil on that. I have gotten a few here also.

[blackturtle.us]

Living in the desert we have our house sprayed once a month. There's just way to many stinging and biting critters that can (and do) get-in to the house.

I live in the desert and I've never had my house sprayed. I get really big black widows in my garage and on my patio, but they never go inside my house for some reason. I've had a couple sun spiders in my house, but not enough to justify spraying the house.

If you're in the mood for a silly video about spiders that includes some of the black widows in my garage, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLUUFFRR1RY

[Jerry Feldner]

I have never heard of a "Mexican Recluse" Spider. Here is a map which shows distribution of the recluse spiders in the United States. Note that only one makes its home in desert Southern CA and that is Loxosceles deserta. See>>> http://spiders.ucr.edu/images/colorloxmap.gif

[Desert Cruiser]

Something to think about --- A black widow spider can hold it's breath for up to 2 days, and the bug guys you have coming to your house will tell you that the stuff they use kills them -- this is an outright lie, no other way of putting it. If you have some widows that you really need to kill then use a fly swatter (look for them at night with a flashlight) or spray them with oven cleaner (must be the old type with lye in it). But be careful it will discolor almost anything including concrete.

Another tip (given to me by Norm, Reptilist brother) about killing ants. If you or the bug guys spray them they only kill the ones in direct contact and nest is still safe and the little guys will open up another hole somewhere else. And you never wondered why you have to keep calling them to come back and keep paying them? Use a product called Amdro, you can get it at Lowes.

Spraying your home is not a good idea --- damn chemicals.

Oh Jerry -- how's Marty?

Don....

[Desert Cruiser]

Two other things you should know about Black Widows:

The anti-venom for the bite can be as deadly as the bite. It is highly recommended that you don't take it and instead ride it out, which can be painful and does affect different people in different ways. Ask your doctor. I was nailed once and it didn't do much except a large red ring (1 1/2 inches in dia) with a black dot in the center that did itch for 1 week. Others are not so lucky, especially small children.

The web is one of the strongest webs in the spider world. It's a great way to tell the difference between spiders when they are not visible. A Black Widow web will be hard to break -- you'll know the difference! They are so strong in fact that in world war II the webs were used as cross hairs in bomb sites on bombers! Photo of an adult Female--



Reptilist; how's Norm doing?

Don....

[Apache Devil]

Some optical purists who build their own sighting and rifle scopes will still seek out the widow for it's web. It is finer and straighter than just about any man-made wire except for stuff that will cost you a fortune.