Warning! If you have a fear of spiders than today’s post is not for you; however, it is probably too late since you have already seen the picture of the popular spider above. Don’t worry, it is just a picture and won’t do you any harm. In fact, if you keep reading you will find out exactly what harm the Black Widow Spider can cause.
The black widow spider is a popular and much feared spider. It is amazing how scary a spider ranging in size between 1.3-3.8 cm (0.5-1.5″) can seem to us. I guess the reason we panic when we hear about this teeny tiny spider has to do with the fact that it contains venom 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake. Yup, that would scare the pants off me. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that the quantity of this venom isn’t usually deadly. For the most part, if you are bitten by a black widow you will experience nausea, muscle aches and it may have difficulties breathing. Heck, these are some of the same symptoms you would experience from the H1N1 vaccine. Whatever happened to that pandemic? There have been occasions where the black widow has killed humans, however, they are usually the elderly, young or sick. It is also important to know that the black widow doesn’t wake up in the morning put on its war paint and head out looking for people to bite. They are not aggressive and will only bite as a form of self defense, so watch where you sit.
Have you ever wondered why this particular spider is called the black widow? Believe it or not, the reason you are thinking is correct! You were not entirely correct if you were thinking that the female finds some unsuspecting, rich male to marry and then murder him in order to get all of his money. Although, the female may kill and consume their mate after reproduction. This will provide the female spider with the energy required to lay her eggs. As a male, I am happy that I am not a black widow spider.
I have killed several of those around the yard outside the house; they seem to like the fence posts (although one audacious little booger was actually hanging out on my kitchen window – the nerve). Can’t say I care much for them as a species, but since we also have the Brown Recluse here in the south methinks I’ll take the Black Widow 😉
I guess that is the perks of living in the Yukon. No crazy poisonous spiders dare live up here! I don’t think I would be a big fan of either of those spiders hanging around my house.
We get lots of these in Southern California, and since I love living in vintage (pre-1930s) houses, they are impossible for me to avoid completely. But they really do concern me – while their bites wouldn’t kill me, they WOULD kill a cat, and we’ve got three. And while our dog is bigger – 50+ pounds – she would get very, very sick from a black widow bite. So I do my best to keep ’em away! They are the only spider I will kill – the rest get captured and set outside.
I never thought about pets, Janiss! That is a great point and it makes sense that it would be a problem trying to protect your furry little pets. I have never had to worry about poisonous spiders. I don’t blame you for killing the black widow for hanging around your house. There are plenty of these spiders in the world so I am sure their population can handle a few being killed.
By the way, I bet your vintage houses would be incredible. There is something about the vintage house that is appealing.
Yeah, I don’t think the black widow is going to become an endangered species anytime soon (although I still feel a little bad when I find one and, uh, dispose of it).
I love the character that older houses have (mine’s a Bavarian/Tudor blend – typically in southern California, they mixed styles). It sort of makes up for the lack of character my furniture has, LOL!
LOL! “the lack of character my furniture has” ! That made me laugh.
I am not sure what a Bavarian/Tudor house looks like (I will have to google it in a bit). I am sure that it is a beautiful house. In fact, it is so nice that all of the little creepy crawlies want to live there too!