I know this subject's been touched on, but I still need help. I am extremely fearful of spider's. 2 weeks ago, while stripping the guest bed I found a Black widow! I don't mind these creatures when they are outdorrs, but not in My House! Fortunately my husband was around and saved the day. Last night while in the guest closet I heard something. When I turned, I let out a scream - as staring me in the face was a half dollar sized, I believe, wolf spider! No one around to save me, so I had to squish the thing myself. (I let out a few more screams before the thing stopped moving for good!) Anyone have any ideas how to get these guys out of the house? I have a indoor dog and cat, so don't want to poison them. I can't sleep thinking of the creepy/crawlies out there, and to think - I HEARD that last one before I saw it!!!

-- Michelle in NM (mtndwellers@sulphurcanyon.com), December 02, 2001

Answers

There is no sure fire way, aside from making your house airtight, fumigating it to rid yourself of any stragglers, and repeating the process over a period of months to catch any late hatchings, all the while maintaining an airlock-enforced quarantine. They will come inside (especially when the weather gets cold) through ANY crack, chink, hole, space, etc, many of which are so small you can neither find nor see them. Only word of advice - you live in the country, mainly (I would guess) because it has peace, quiet, wildlife and natural settings, aside from any financial reasons. You can't have all of that and no bugs. The reason these things are less present (but certainly not non-existent) in the cities is wall-to-wall concrete, airtight buildings, widespread mosquito spraying (and other exterminator stuff) and no wild areas. Take your pick. Then learn to live with it.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), December 02, 2001.

dont kill the wolf spiders,,, they will kil the black widows,,,, and,,you have a new pet

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), December 02, 2001.

Michelle, you have my condolences! I will put up with black snakes in the house, but can't tolerate living with spiders, no way, no how!

Wal-mart sells an organic bug killer made from extracts of cloves for under 4 dollars, it comes in a spray and powder, it's called Biorganics, and I have used to kill earwigs this summer, works well on them, haven't tried it on spiders yet.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), December 02, 2001.

We had a problem with Black Widows, so I asked my brother about it. He is an exterminator for a national exterminating company. He said don't bother exterminating for spiders. They are extremely difficult to kill that way. Only squash the poisonous ones. The others are our friends!

-- Jo (mamamia2kids@msn.com), December 02, 2001.

There will always be spiders, and most of them are harmless. You, of course, realise your attitude isn't really rational. However, if you study up on them some - either find some sites on the web with good info, or even buy a book, or get one from a library - then you can probably moderate the irrational part of your feelings. Let's face it - you can either live in a world with spiders in it, or you can not live, but the spiders will always be there. That being the case, you might as well feel better about it, even if you still end up doing the same things.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), December 02, 2001.

this might help,,, you know those "daddy long leg" spiders,, which are actually beetles?? Those this are more venemous than a black widow,, BUT thay cant bite us,, their teeth/fange arent designed for that. Yet,,we let those things crawl all over us,,, wll,,I do anyways. Do you have a cat?? most cats are imune to arachnids

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), December 02, 2001.

Thanks all! I'm not only new to the Forum, but also Country living. I'm the typical "I don't like spiders or snakes" girl. Grew up in a small town, but still city to me. I know I made the choice to live amongst Nature's finest. Sometimes I forget where I'm at! Like when a Bobcat took my goose one night. Learned me quick, not to leave those guys run free at night! Anyway, thanks for the reality check. I've gotten used to snakes, although I haven't picked one up. And I know to leave the black widows alone outside as get used to the idea of these creatures sharing my space in my warm little house. Something I'll need to adjust to, as I know they are not going away! I probably bring alot of them in on the wood for the stove. Such is life. I guess I'll have to practice more of what I've always preached - us humans have got to learn to adjust to our environment, like the animals and earth does! Instead of trying to make our environment adjust to us. Mother nature ALWAYS wins! Take care all! Thanks for my first lesson on the forum. I will be back for more, I promise!!!

-- Michelle in NM (mtndwellers@sulphurcanyon.com), December 02, 2001.

Those wolf spiders are very intimidating, aren't they? I was told that I would always have spiders in the house because we're surrounded by woods, but those wolf spiders were the last straw. I hit one on concrete with a sledge hammer and had to hit it AGAIN before it was dead. At that point I decided the Orkin man was the lesser of two evils. His spray has never bothered our dogs, kills a bunch os spiders but there are always a few new ones too.

-- cathy in NC (planet10@gloryroad.net), December 02, 2001.

I don't like the Black Widows and will kill them as I don't want one of my kids being bitten by one.

The Wolf Spiders can get very big and usually we will just catch them and release them outside. Once we caught a momma one that was carrying her babies around on her back. We watched her for a while and then let her go - very interesting.

-- Anita in NC (anitaholton@mindspring.com), December 02, 2001.

Black widows generally wont be found in houses- they prefer ver damp dark places (like the bottome row of wood piles, under car wheels lying on their side, too). My fix (I found 19 black widows in the wood pile while building a log cabin 3 years back): when you pick the wood up, do it gently rolling it over first. When you get the wood near the door, have a smaller wood pile on a deck or raised platform. Bang the wood around before bringing it in for burning. Dont bring anymore in than you will immediately put in the stove. I HATE black widows, but have befriended several fuzzy jumping spiders- even to the point of naming them. I once watched one jump 4 feet of open air to catch a fly on wing- from then on, he was an honored guest. Wilf spiders are also slightly poisnous and are agressive. I like them from the stand point that they dont web up the barn or house, but they are ugly!! I wont step on them unless they refuse to be ushered outside when I find them scurrying around the house... although, I have been ignoring them here recently and letting them roam. Want to do something really neat? Get a flashlight and go outside when its not real dewy. Hold the flashlight up against your temple and adjust the light so it is parelling you sight line. (you might get odd comments from the nbeighbors!). Now go spiderhunting- their eyes are emerald green and reflect off the flashlights beam. Once you get good at paralleling the beam to your vision, you will see hunderds of them- once I saw like 25 on one log! This is not a joke, it really does work.

-- Kevin in NC (vantravlrs@aol.com), December 02, 2001.

If you infuse lemongrass essential oil in your home, you will have no spiders.... and a pleasant fragrance, too!

-- Danni in NV (IMDT@hotmail.com), December 04, 2001.

I also hate Black Widows and kill them whenever I see them. A co- workers mother is presently in the hospital because one got in her shoe and when she put the shoe on, she was bitten between the toes. There is a possibility that they will have to amputate several toes due to the tissue or nerve damage. You have good cause to fear these spiders.

Kevin, glad to see that I'm not the only one who plays with spiders. I have a "pet" spider who's web is right to the side of our porch. Sometimes I catch crickets or moths and put them in his web, and then watch him go! He is a very efficient predator, and quickly runs up to the prey and bites it. Then he wraps it up in webbing until it looks like a cacoon. Sometimes he dines right away, other times he'll leave it, but within a few days, all traces of his snack is gone. I don't know how long they live but this dude (or another who looks just like him) has been in the same spot for 4 or 5 years, helping to keep the bug problem down at our house.

-- Mark M in NC (MagicMark85@aol.com), December 05, 2001.

When we first moved into this house last year, we had some neighbors that were junk-aholics...their backyard was PILED up with so much junk, most of it useless. Besides our having to look at it all the time (we moved closer to town, on the edge, and although we still have a half acre next to a green belt/ gully/open area, we are more "townie" than we've been in 7 years!) Anyway, besides being an eyesore, it was a haven for spiders, ESPECIALLY black widows! I can tolerate most spiders to a degree, but ONE black widow is intolerable to us--much less having them EVERYWHERE, at every entry, totally overtaking the garage and woodpile. One morning, I went to clean out a 135 gallon water trough, and when i flipped it over, I counted 9 black widows and three egg sacks. And, while I was counting, a b.w. the size of a quarter ran up my bare leg (it was summer, shorts, ya know)!! EEEEEEWWW! Man, that was the last straw! If these rude townies next door weren't going to do anything about their "spider haven, I was gonna do something on MY turf!!

My hubby got some stuff called "Home Defense". It's an all purpose bug killer (liquid, use in a sprayer), I think it's Ortho, but not sure. Anyway, with dogs, horses and kids around, I was uneasy. I'm usually all for natural methods, but this stuff proposed to kill ALL spiders DEAD, while being safe around people, animals etc. You know what? It not only killed the black widows, it routed out the ones in hiding, and the earwigs came out with 'em! they ALL died! And, two weeks later, I guess it had a residual effect, because we were STILL finding dead spiders and earwigs in new spots!

this far down the road (2 months) I haven't seen any new b.w.'s, but it *is* winter, and the cold tends to do a job on 'em too. fortunately, the old neighbors moved, and took all their crud with 'em.Unfortunately, it's a renatl: the landlord cleaned the place up real nice, fixed up the house, and what moved in? MORE JUNK- AHOLICS!! the landlord lives right across the road, and swore he wouldn't rent to junk collectors again, but sheesh! this guy is not pickin' winners!! We're puttin' up a fence soon, so we don't hafta look at all the NEW junk! you know what they say, "Good fences make good neighbors!" Well, at least the spiders are gone. So, try Home Defense, it's really one non-natural bug-killer I haven't had trouble with , that actually WORKS on the critters I'm lookin' to eradicate!

-- Laurie S.,Tehachapi,Ca (imaginationranch@yahoo.com), December 07, 2001.