[ericj]

Just started a movie and noticed that the sub didn't seem to be working.

So i reached my arm back behind it in the dark and fiddled with the various switches and knobs on the back of it for a few minutes before i realized that i wasn't getting anywhere.

When i finally grabbed a flashlight, this is what i found:

For scale, the larger cable is a standard IEC power cord.

This little black beauty is now safely contained in a small tupperware container while i decide it's fate. It's too cold outside to release it. Perhaps my friend in San Antonio wants to keep it as a pet.

So, how would you dispatch a black widow hiding behind your speakers? I briefly considered torching it with an aerosol can + lighter, but i wasn't sure i wanted the possibility of messing up my sub.

I don't have any RAID, and i don't like using poisons inside anyway.

If i just moved the sub, that would screw up the web, and it would probably run off somewhere else.

A friend suggested that i drip some rubbing alcohol onto it, and i suddenly realized that Baron Rothschild Vodka is only a little bit more drinkable than rubbing alcohol, and I had some in the freezer.

80 proof at about -20f does indeed slow down a black widow a whole lot, but doesn't appear to kill it.

 

[Zephyron]

Holy crap man O_O

I'd get freaked out if I found out I was in close vicinity to a Black Widow and risk doing something that would let it percieve my hand as a threat

That said, be thankful you're OK.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Just squish it, and flush it down the toilet.

 

[Trippytiger]

Yikes! That's rather terrifying. I'm glad it didn't get you.

This makes me very grateful that I live in a place where the only dangerous fauna is at least as large as me!

 

[ericj]

I was pretty surprised to find a black widow. I get some brown house spiders typically - in utah we get big ones that look a lot like a brown recluse, but their bite isn't bad.

This must have come inside months ago. I have slightly mixed feelings about capturing it, because it's web was full of the carcasses of brown house spiders.

But my feelings about spiders in my house are territorial. I'm not afraid of them - i respect their ability to retaliate, but I am offended by their intrusion into my domain.

I have a friend in SAT who sometimes breeds black widows. Not my idea of a good time, but if he wants this lady, I'll gladly mail her to him.

 

[owkia]

I'm pretty sure I've read multiple posts in other forums that Black Widows aren't actually that deadly, especially to healthy, grown adults. This is coming from people that have been bitten by them numerous times with no serious problems. It would be pretty damn freaky to come across one if you're not used to seeing them though.

 

[J.D.N]

Somehow kill it without damaging it, then put it in a little box with a clear top, attach to your house wall at ground level outside and put a little note on it: "Warning, enter at your own risk"

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by owkia /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm pretty sure I've read multiple posts in other forums that Black Widows aren't actually that deadly, especially to healthy, grown adults. This is coming from people that have been bitten by them numerous times with no serious problems. It would be pretty damn freaky to come across one if you're not used to seeing them though.

yeah - but it still really hurts.

 

[1117]

You should preserve it in a small amber casing and hang it from your keychain. Then show it off to others and tell them a story: "the day I almost died."

 

[ecclesand]

Their bite does hurt, but like has already been stated, it will not kill a healthy adult. We have them all the time where I live. You never simply slip your foot into a shoe without checking it first.

To the OP...I would simply vacuum the spider up. It looks like you need to vacuum behind your sub anyway.

 

[J-Pak]

You guys don't want to (or maybe you do?) see pictures of brown recluse bites I've seen from our ID department.

 

[ecclesand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak /img/forum/go_quote.gif You guys don't want to (or maybe you do?) see pictures of brown recluse bites I've seen from our ID department.

I've seen some pics in books. I'm not afraid of Black Widows at all, but I scream like a little girl when I see a Brown Recluse.

I saw a couple while living southeast of Phoenix several years ago. They're pretty scary when you see the damage they can inflict.

 

[progo]

The bigger spider the frightening it is. Thankfully here in Finland ain't many large species in wild.

 

[GreatDane]

...so did you get the sub properly calibrated? lol

 

[freid77]

That gives me flash backs of the tarantula i saw in the street 3 weeks ago.
I dont consider myself arachnophobic but mannnnnnn watching those things walk around at night gives me the willies.