Spider? oh-man!

[madrasahs]

Looks like we arachnophobes at the Forum missed "an unusual 2004 event" found this morning in the Citizen:

A resident of Gilford discovered the largest black widow sighted in the area in 2004 when the spider crawled across his back at a Wolfeboro construction site.

Ross LeClair found the spider at a waterfront home there and held onto it. Though considered rare, the species can be found in northern climates like New Hampshire’s. LeClair’s once-in-a-lifetime find was both a close call and a blessing in disguise.

While he eventually unloaded the exotic creature at a pet store, when he held the insect in a plastic container with the lid taped shut he still seemed nervous around the dangerous arachnid.

"It’s scary," he said. "I have to get rid of this thing."

The experts he consulted had also told him the spider known for killing its mates was also likely to be pregnant.

http://www4.citizen.com/January2005/..._01.01.05c.asp

Pet store? For me -- I don't think so.

[lakegirl]

I'm starting to feel sick after reading this thread!!! So mcuh for eating my lunch!!!

Attached is an interesting link for lots of spider information:
http://www.rochedalss.qld.edu.au/redblack.htm

[glennsteely]

I find black widows pretty often here in NJ, at work, they seem to come in lumber bundles from Georgia. I guess we had about 5 this year, but we found a spider in October that we had never seen before, it had an almost metallic body, silver in color, with longer legs. That thing was the scariest spider I have ever seen, it kinda made me think of something from a sci-fi movie, you know, like half spider half machine.....but nothing, and I mean nothing, can be as bad as eating those african cave spiders on fear factor. I agree, so much for lunch........

[warren]

last week a guy i work with called me over to his house, he found a female black widow crawling out of his backpack. the same pack he took to texas for hunting the week before. i told him next time to leave the gear out in the cold for a few days when he gets back next time. creepy. warren

[BBS2]

As creepy as these guys might be they are necessary.
I have been bitten two different times by a brown recluse while cleaning our garage. The first time I was really sick, but my Dr. said that I would build an immunity. He was right! the second time was a lot less nasty, more like a bad horse fly bite and no necrosis the second time. The brown recluse is a tough one to spot, they are so small.
I love the jumping spiders, they are really curious. I had one living in my desk for a few days and when I would work there he would come out to see what was going on. He left for better hunting after a few days.
I just hate it when they crawl on you!!

[Brewer720]

I can remember when I was probably nine or ten that I was at a camp and there was a raft a ways out that the older kids would swim to and jump off. This was at a lake local to me, not Winnipesaukee, but one day I decided to try and make the swim out there too. So I headed out and as I got about 3/4 of the way I started getting really tired. It was with, what I thought, was my last bit of energy that I reached out for the raft, and almost put my hand on what looks from the pictures here must've been a very large Fisher Spider. This thing was as big as my hand! At that moment my adrenal gland dumped a large dose of adrenalin into my bloodstream, and I turned around and headed back to shore. I made it easily, and never went near that raft again that summer.

[PHDIII]

I am really sorry I read this thread. Our architect is finishing up the plans for our retirement home on Long Island. You guys have succeeded in scaring me to death. I can't stand the standard, every day spiders we get here in Michigan. The only good thing I can think of is that nobody mentioned centipedes. Spiders that can cause unconsciousness? I DON'T THINK SO! Taking a shower without getting rid of the overhead spider first? I DON'T THINK SO! Now I'll never be able to go outside in the summer without long pants and combat boots and armed with wasp spray.

[Island Girl]

Most of our spiders are very useful creatures, they eat other bugs. A few daddy long legs, a few dock spiders... nothing really bad.

The really dangerous spiders are in other parts of the country. They only get here by traveling in clothing and fruit shipments, therefore don't really take hold.

I have learned to love them, because I hate flies and mosquitos.

http://www.tnhonline.com/news/2004/1...h-797656.shtml

Don't be afraid... and stop reading this stuff

[BBS2]

You are right on Island Girl!!!

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Originally Posted by PHDIII

I am really sorry I read this thread. Our architect is finishing up the plans for our retirement home on Long Island. You guys have succeeded in scaring me to death. I can't stand the standard, every day spiders we get here in Michigan. The only good thing I can think of is that nobody mentioned centipedes. Spiders that can cause unconsciousness? I DON'T THINK SO! Taking a shower without getting rid of the overhead spider first? I DON'T THINK SO! Now I'll never be able to go outside in the summer without long pants and combat boots and armed with wasp spray.

Congratulations and good luck on your retirement home.
Spiders around here really aren't as bad as they sound and as IG pointed out, I would rather have them around eating the bugs that come to chomp on me.
At night is when I have the most wariness of them. After dark they get busy making those incredible webs. So if you do venture out to enjoy the evening, just get a duster of some sort to sweep off chairs. These little guys aren’t the bothersome ones anyway. It is the ones hiding in dead leaves and dark places you need to be watchful of.
When doing yard work, always wear gloves and don’t store those said gloves where a spider could crawl in. Same goes with storage of work shoes and clothes. Prior to use, shake out any items that have been stored.
Dock spiders usually scram when you get near them. If you are swimming around the dock, don’t surface under it as a precaution.
At the grocery store I carefully pick up bags or clusters of fruit and look for hitchhikers. When I get home I carefully put them in a colander and wash the heck out of them, turning the fruit and thoroughly inspecting nooks and crannies. Just to be sure.
Spiders taste through their legs, so the use of certain bad tasting sprays may be useful in keeping them out of your home, something like lemon or pepper.
Site for natural spider control
Here is an article on spider control

[ApS]

Originally Posted by BBS2

As creepy as these guys might be they are necessary...

The little spiders are prey for small birds. (Though the reverse is true in the tropics). Hummingbirds use spider web material to "cinch up" their tiny nests. (In nesting season, they raid the tiny branches of my dead -- but still-standing -- hemlocks regularly).

Dock spiders (fisher spiders) eat bug-eaters like small fish and tadpoles in addition to bugs, so I don't have any qualms about "The Hunt". There was a bumper crop this past season, anyway.

Originally Posted by BBS2

I love the jumping spiders, they are really curious.

Though I've seen just one fuzzy, scarlet-colored jumping spider the size of a half-dollar, the little jumping spiders DO have an attitude.

Approach one with your index finger, and they'll "grab" the threat!

(Is it "threat" or "prey", I wonder?)

Originally Posted by BBS2

I just hate it when they crawl on you!!

Dock spiders can run around on underwater surfaces, so you can't shake them by immersion, as Mink Islander may have considered doing.