[will75]

I live in St. Louis and always hear about the dreaded Brown Recluse but no one ever mentions the Black Widow around here.

I guess it's rare. Well, today I was in my back patio and grabbed the grill cover to put it back on the grill. Right when I picked it up a jet black spider with red markings went toward my hand.

After alerting everyone within a mile with a girlish scream, I went inside to change my pants. (Ok, these 2 things didn't happen but almost could have).

What I really did was grab wasp spray and it killed the spider right away. I put it in a jar and sure enough the red hourglass was there on the belly. It's definitely and unfortunately a black widow...

This was just a few feet from my house and now I'm freaking out. I'm extremely afraid of spiders already and now have reseached this variety to find horror stories of excruciating pain, death, etc.

1) Anyone know how deadly they are? I have a 2 1/2 year old son and a pregnant wife here, would a bit kill my son?

2) What do I do next? Smoke bomb the house or just get it sprayed?

3) How does someone with arachnaphobia sleep tonight?

I am near panicked about this and the threat to my family. Just need some insight I guess.

 

[uraflit]

dude, dont freak out too badly! i understand your concern for you and your family, but that black widow sighting was probably a very rare occasion. maybe someone else can provide more technical info on how to prevent these critters from coming around your house, but in reality, there is close to little ways to stop small insects from coming into your house

 

[ZephyrSapphire]

Sad to say that the Black Widow can kill anyone if bitten. But it only bites a person if threatened, like most spiders. My friend has arachnophobia as well so I know what you're going through. Spray the gaps under your door, spray the gaps on your windows, spray every gap which can let small things in. Spray it with one of those sprays which last like 6 months etc. That's what my friend does and it makes him feel much better. Don't know if you'll feel better from it though.

 

[vagarach]

Although it can be fatal, it is usually not, though a very young person like your son is at a higher risk.

I hear you though, this new house we just moved into is spider central, and it is quickly turning me into an arachnophobe. They are most tenacious creatures, and rebuild their webs without fail, taking advantage of literally any available two points in space on which they can set the anchor lines of their web.

 

[Sovkiller]

Contact a professional exterminator or any academical institution for help in how to prevent them around, and if posible kill them, a black widow is not a joke around....

 

[Clincher09]

I'm pretty sure Fiddlebacks are a much bigger problem than black widows. As long as you live remotely near a hospital a black widow bite should really be nothing, and the chances of getting bitten are very rare. They just sit in dark secluded areas and build webs. Now fiddlebacks on the other hand like to crawl around and hide in your clothes.

 

[synaesthetic]

A widow spider's bite could cause your son some danger, but you and your wife are not at much risk. They're not especially gregarious though, like most spiders they are solitary and just because you see one does not mean there will be more.

I have had the misfortune to be bit multiple times by a widow spider on the cheek while pulling CAT5e under a house. Very painful and necessitated a trip to the ER, but with proper medical care there's little danger of death.

The poster above me is correct in noting that recluse spiders, especially fiddlebacks, are far more dangerous, as they roam, and they are quick to bite.

 

[BIG POPPA]

When I lived in Cali. they were very common to see around the house. In Bakersfield to me it was some what normal.

 

[synaesthetic]

I had my encounter with widow spiders when I lived in Northern California. They were quite common during the hotter parts of the summer. I wasn't paying attention and managed to get bit. =/

 

[inego]

Black widows are for losers - let me send you some of our funnel-webs!

We have so many different types of spiders here in Oz that you just train your kids to avoid them. Our redbacks (closely related to black widows) aren't very gregarious, so we tend to let them get on with their lives as long as they don't disturb ours.

 

[jordanross]

Yeah we found one in Cali yesterday, at a BBQ. We put it in a beer bottle and (nothing really happened although we pretended it got drunk)

Yeah but on a serious note they are quite common around here and a bite won't kill you, especially if your a bigger guy.

 

[amphead]

Yeah, Australia definitely has the most lethal species. The funnel-web spider. It's fangs are strong enough to bite through a toenail and it's venom is strong like a cobra! The Brazilian wandering spider(Banana spider) is very dangerous too. It runs as fast as lightning and can cause a dangerous case of priapism in men.

 

[oicdn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amphead /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, Australia definitely has the most lethal species. The funnel-web spider. It's fangs are strong enough to bite through a toenail and it's venom is strong like a cobra! The Brazilian wandering spider(Banana spider) is very dangerous too. It runs as fast as lightning and can cause a dangerous case of priapism in men.

What???? That's effin scary!!!

 

[amphead]

The Brazilian wandering spider causes something that you value above all else to turn purple, then black/gangrene which causes "it" to fall off. Edit: it's a "Banana" spider LOL get it?

 

[aaron313]

Just stop talking... stop right now. I have to take some Xanax now...