Spiders

[munk]

I'd rather they not be palm sized, but most of the time I can ignore them or crush them.

Waking up with a new spider bite, with no body or Perp to seek justice upon, is unfair. Why do they come into my personal space, then object when a leg rolls on them?

I've had the same spider leave a series of bites from my calve to my chest.

I don't like Black Widows. I don't like the way they look, move, or their webs- among the strongest amongst spiders. Once they're in an area, like outside the house or in the garage, they are next to impossible to remove.

Last night a spider ran out from under the couch I was laying on. I hadn't seen anything like him, and his looks sent a shudder through me. He was that sickly, light brown, translucent-in-places color, like a Brown Recluse, and he was fast. How fast? He saw me get up to hit him with a shoe, and ran back under the couch. I never got a hit off. He was aware of me. I moved the couch and turned over a peice of paper and he again ran from me. I got him on the fourth swing. I've read some of the Hunter spiders are very much aware of you, but never saw a spider react so immediately to my actions.

I could not allow this spider to go free. This thing was so ugly, no one could rest easy in the livingroom with him loose.
Looking over the corpse later, I was unable to figure out just what he was.
Brown Recluse spiders are probably in the lower 48, due to shipping between the States, but do not breed in the West or North West. If this was a BR, he could have ridden in my Carver preamp box.

>>>>>>>>

Had a funny dream the other night. I dream about Rattlesnakes when trouble is ahead- my presentience. It never fails; I see rattlesnakes, and a few days later a situation developes that calls for wisdom and good action. Well, in this dream, we fried the snakes up in a deep batter, and ate them.

They weren't bad. That has to be a good omen.


munk

 

[Josh Feltman]

I'm not too keen on spiders. I kill black widows whenever I see them around the property. Elsewhere, I generally leave them alone, but the urge to squish them is still there.

 

[munk]

Animal Planet, and the Discovery group have spider and snake specials. After advising us these creatures are misunderstood and superstitiously hated, they then play sinister music in the background. I've even heard the rattle of a rattler when the snake being explored was a Python....

ON one of these shows, there was a guy killing widows on his property every night. Someone had got bit and he was keeping the place clean. The program showed us all the eggs hatching and impossibility of his task, but from his perspective, if he killed all the ones in sight, he was greatly reducing the risk of another bite. If anyone has ever lived in Southern California, you know what Widow Country looks like.

I lived in a 'ghetto' in San Bernardino, and one morning I woke from a night of drinking with a widow a few inches from my hand. Seems the creature had built quite a nest without me noticing over the course of several days. I slept there every day...

munk

 

[Josh Feltman]

Actually, I've made a significant dent in their population over the last few years. I have a friend who likes to hunt them, and the last time he came for a visit, back around Memorial Day, we couldn't find any. When I moved here, I'd kill 20-30 a night.

The best thing for it, oddly enough, is a flip-flop. Whap! Of course, 90% isopropyl in a spray bottle, in conjunction with a Bic lighter, does a decent job as well.

 

[munk]

We went canoing today. Not sure of the spelling, as I've never done it before. I had babies one two three with me, and we'd bundled them in life jackets.

"It's too tight, Dad." Keith said.
"Uh huh. It has to be tight." I could just see him going overboard; you lose a toddler in the Milk river and he's gone, man, I don't think heat signature equipment could find him. It's called the Milk because it attains a milky quality when it hits the plains of Montana, down from the Rockies. That pure clear mountain river is doomed when it rolls into the dinosaur dust of our plains.
At certain times of year and in certain lighting, as provided by God, the river actually looks like flowing milk.
A few bubbles; the kid is gone.

But that vest, if he didn't slip right through, would save him. And it was tight. They were all bundled.
We got to the high grass bank and Joe proudly pulled the aluminium craft into the water. As he stepped in carefully, the boat tilted and Joe was spilled into the Milk.
Trav watched this with horror. This was the Captain?

"I'm not going." He told us. A little whine came out and went keening off into the tall reeds. Joe and Phil got the boat mostly drained and plopped it back into the water.
We got Trav into boat with coaxing, and out again. Then in. Finally he just bailed and stood in the grass over his head saying no.
Joe's construction buddy, Phil, down from Alaska agreed to take Trav for an hour while we went. Phil had Ferrets. I hoped that would be a fair trade for Trav.
Keith got in, then Carter. Now, Keith is pretty much a Trav foot soldier, and does whatever Trav tells him; but Trav was not here. What then, did that mean for his safety? Did Trav know something he did not?

The canoe was shaky. I did not expect that at all. You had to balance or sink.

After a half mile, we all settled in. That's when Carter spoke.
"Dad, there's a spider on your back."
"Well, how big is it?"
"About medium; he has a big butt."
"You mean like those garden spiders at home?"
"No, not them."
Well, I couldn't start tossing in the boat, I had to take it. Couldn't even pull my clothes off to get at the sucker.
I handed Carter the oar.

"Kill him."
"I can't; he's run around to the side of your vest."
I looked down but could see nothing.

"There's another one, a baby."
"Well, kill him then."
"I got him, Dad."

"So how big was this one? "
"Oh, he was just a baby, probably following the other one."
"Well, how big was the other one?"
"Hmmm," Carter considered, "like a large teenager."

"Joe, you ever clean these life vest or this boat?"

A little later, Keith announced,
"I want to go back now."
"There's no back," Joe told him, 'there's only forward."


munk

 

[Sutcliffe]

But, have a niece and two friends who ended up in the hospital with terrible infections that the Doc's said were classic Brown Recluse bite. If I actually met one I'd stomp it.
Black widows are another I will kill on site. Usually not very fair to them as they are pretty selective in choosing their lair and caution when picking up or moving things around should keep them from going after you. I once stomped one in a porta potty at a campground while wearing sandals. Made a great impression on everybody there, but hardly as dangerous as they thought.
I'm willing to give all other spiders a pass and let them do their thing. I figure they do me a service by thinning the ranks of other nasty things that breed disease.

 

[munk]

Your two friends weren't in Ca, where they? Because I thought the BR was not supposed to be in CA.

On the other hand, my landlord and pal Dave once met Killer bees in San Bernardino, and they were not officially recorded there for some months.



munk

 

[SilverFoxKnows]

in the kitchen of all places I'm afraid of spiders, anyway. But going after a Widow with three paper towels gave me the heebies and the jeebies. The daddy long legs get a free pass but not the Widows.

Frank

 

[Kennieyk]

I have kept black widows and brown recluse spiders as pets ... The black widows I let crawl on my hands and arms .. They will not bite as long as they dont have eggs around... They also eat all the pest we hate ,, roaches ,bees,skeets,ants and so on .. I would never kill them ,, The Brown reculses are evil little things ! They willl put a hurting on you if yu are biten .. Do a serch on brown recluse bites and you will be amased at the damge ..

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=brown recluse bites&sa=N&tab=wi

 

[Kennieyk]

Heres a map where the brown recluse can be found in usa !

 

[Prince of Peace]

Dear God,I just looked at those damaging bites.
I live in Southern Wisconsin. We have the largest population of wispy porch light spiders in the world. And about 30 Daddy Long-legs a year. I would never live in a region that had spiders like that! Or snakes for that matter.
My Aunt and Uncle lived in Arkansas in their retirement years and she almost daily swept black water moccasins out of her garage and off her porch.
INSANE!!!
I can't deal with anything more than a Daddy Long legs period. .
Munk you make me laugh out loud all the time! You are very dry in your humor and it lights me up often!
I read the H I makers forum daily, I just never comment. I read every thread every day,just keep quiet. Today when I read this thread I could remain silent no longer. Great stuff Munk!
And by the way L A R G E kudos to you for helping a friend to all in Yangdu. By doing what you are you not only help her out in the greatest way possible but you also help yourself out by becoming even more of a magnanimous person than ever before. Mans greatest service is found in service to his fellow man,and that more than applies to your selfless efforts in the world of H.I.
See ... people you didn't even know existed know of you and your efforts and they are selfless and will NEVER go unnoticed. Especially by your Lord.
Good job and God Bless Munk.
Peace.

 

[Svashtar]

I built a wall out back a few years ago; 55 feet long, and 3' tall, with 200 large 50 pound pavers. 10,000 pounds and I humped every one of them back there myself. Took me 8 weekends (two just to transit and level the ground.)

Anyway, each paver has a small hollow center from when they were cast. A few weeks ago I pulled one off the top to run some electrical conduit, and in the very center was a black widow and a hundred dead ants. I moved the next one in the row, same thing. The next, 2 widows. My wall was full of the damned things feasting on ants, each in their own sheltered encapsulated safe haven within a 50 pound stone. They were _huge_ as they had no lack of food.

I took the entire top row of pavers off, and mixed up diazapene (sp) in a sprayer and soaked everthing. That still left 3 rows of pavers, but I was damned if I was going to dismantle the entire wall. Killed at least 2 dozen widows and 3 nests of ants.

Probably should have just left them alone as 2 days later the house was invaded by anty hordes for the first time in years. I called our pest control people and they drove them back, but I'm sure they are remarshaling their forces in the wall.

Luckily the only place I have encountered widows inside the house is in my pile of wood scraps from various old projects in the garage. I'm just careful about what I grab from the pile, and kill them when I find them.

Norm

 

[Grob]

I generaly follow a live and let live policy with spiders around my home. Then again where my home is on the south coast of BC you dont get many large or dangerous spiders, I see maybe one black widow a year. My trip to the amazon ast year put an end to that, it turns out I am only tolerant of spiders up to a certain size (i.e. smaller than my palm) once they reach that threshold they had better get out or prepare to be booted. I woke up in a hut in this little village in the peruvian amazon one morning to find a hand sized spider wandering towards the mosquito net. My openmindedness towards other species evaporated pretty fast and to my girlfreinds chagrin I grabbed a boot and headed out of the net. By the time my first blow landed the spider was on the otherside of the room, I have never seen anything move that fast before. Eventualy I chased it down and killed it many attempts later.

Grob

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I used to have a health teacher in high school that hated spiders. When we took health our sophomore year, we did a short segment on dangerous spiders/bugs. He brought in a couple of jars with a BR in each one, maybe 5 jars. He said that they are so aggressive with each other that at the end of the lesson he takes all the spiders and puts them in one jar for a battle royal. The "winner" get the prize of being taken outside and crushed under boot.

I think I found the source of my wolf spider friends that keep getting in the house. The drainage ditch just south of my backyard is full of them. The grass grows high and fast here as everyone's sump pumps beltch water out to the grass and know one knows who's going to mow what and when (usually i do ). Anyway, I mowed back there this morning and the grass was crawling with the monsters. Big wolf spiders. Some with abdomens the size of a nickle. I couldn't imagine why they were converging in the ditch of all places. Then I trimmed right along my fence. CRICKETS....everywhere. They were here for the all you can eat cricket buffet I don't mind the crickets as I have nothing of any real importance that they can eat (what are the going to eat ALL the crabgrass that makes up my lawn?) However, I've always loved to watch wolf spiders, so the big monsters can have at the crickets. Ya know, i was noticing a trail of ants a week or so back. However, they have sense vanished since the spider invasion. I'll take some big ol' spiders over the destructive ants any day of the week

Jake

 

[munk]

I'll never forget moving to Idaho Falls and renting a place to prepare for my family's arrival in several more days.

I'd just shampooed the rug, and was laying down to sleep in my bag when a big old wolf type spider came running towards me. I killed it.

There were a lot of them. I soon found out they were not wolf spiders, but the dangerous Hobo Spider, cousin to the BR, but much much bigger. The nests were outside around the house and in Fall the males would come inside.

While I lived there a gal lost a leg and some other body parts to a Hobo bite.


munk

 

[munk]

Prince of Peace,
I'm glad you are here and thank you for your kind words. I do assure you, though, I still have a long ways to go before becoming the human being I see sometimes in glimspes. And that's OK.



munk

 

[munk]

Joe's talking about the boat, how to sit, what not to do, look for wildlife, etc etc. Wildlife? I have turkeys in my backyard, Cougars hanging around the one room school house, deer everywhere, Elk and Antelope five minutes outside the valley. Oh, and Rattlesnakes. Got to have Rattlesnakes.

"So...you see any muskrats around here?" I asked him.
"Yes, and Beaver too."

I couldn't see a Beaver making a stand on this canal tributary of the Milk, but I wasn't a Beaver and would take Joe's word for it.

IN Southern California they once had Beaver at the headwaters of the Santa Ana. No, I'm not kidding. They were introduced and became a tourist sensation. Someone even shot one once, and that man was despised and villified. He's probably still rotting in jail while murderers and molestors are free. The Beavers were busy killing the furthest western-most stand of Quaking Aspen of a certain type. This was embarressing to the Beaver Boosters, but ignored. Mother Nature finally took care of the oversight.
IN the mountainess desert of Southern California, every once in a while a whole lot of water comes down all at once in a thunderstorm. This happened, and a wall of water swept through the water ways of the Beaver and took home and all animals downstream never to be found again. Beavers had never been native to the San Bernardinos. And still weren't.

We saw nothing but a bunch of ducks flying in opposite direction.
Then the bridge came. For Joe, this was no problem, but I was amazed. The only way to pass under was to either disapear into the bottom of the canoe or lay backwards, flat, or forwards down. We squirted through the 2 ft drop.

"That's the highlight of the trip," Joe announced. I hadn't seen it. I was bent over so far I saw nothing.

There were three bridges and I hated them all.

ON one I had to catch a pipe under the bridge, stop the craft, and pivot to get under.

"Next time let's take the Milk proper, instead of this," I said to Joe.

As we neared the last bridge, Trav and Phil were waiting by the rail. We waved. Phil called out for us to stop the canoe; Trav wanted to try. We paddled it along shore and he came in, Keith out. The littlest guy had enough.

There were only a couple hundred yards left before our landing. Trav was spooked, but I was happy for him. He'd faced fear.

We got out, got wet, a little muddy, and hauled the thing to the back of Joe's shop. I felt a itch in the center of my back I assumed was the spider striking pay dirt. He hadn't liked it when I'd leaned over backwards.

It was a fine time. The kids all went to bed upon reaching home and were out fast. I was alone and awake in the kitchen, per usual, when a large black and grey spider came out and stopped a few feet in front of me.

At least he didn't run fast. He got crushed. He was the kind of thick bodied monster you did not want on you as you slept, but nothing compared to that translucent Brown one the other night.

It's getting to be a Spider a Day around here. Must be Fall, and they want the warmth of my home. Those that don't enjoy an afternoon of canoing, anyway.


munk

 

[Fiddleback]

When I was on Grandaddys place last weekend I found 10 recluses in his basement in 5 minutes, and 20 more in the shop without moving anything mind you. They just hang out behind the freezers and stuff. We don't see many black widows here. I've seen three in my lifetime. But the recluses are everywhere. They look like small wolf spiders. Very small. BEWARE!!!

 

[munk]

When I lived in Fontana there were Black Widows all around the outside of the house. I bombed the shed. Couple days later I was in there and was surprised to see some still in their webs and not on the floor. Then one fell with a plop next to my foot. You could see some yellow discoloration; the poisen dilute in the leaky shed just took a while to work.


munk