Spider advice needed!

I love my fall orb weavers and look forward to their arrival every August (or at least that's when they get brazen enough to spin huge webs near my front and back porch lights every night). This year is the first that I lost one of my "Charlottes," eaten by a praying mantis. :( I love mantises, so I hummed a bit of "Circle of Life" and moved on.

I still have a huge and beautiful girl whose web is across my back door. My issue is that I have a crew coming to pressure wash my entire house (HOA requirement with no wiggle room to wait 'til after she says goodbye later in the fall), and I don't know what to do to keep her safe. Will I traumatize her if I try to catch her in a container for a few hours and then release her when they're done? Suggestions are most appreciated. They're coming tomorrow morning, so I'd like to have a plan before they arrive.

Thanks!

Orb weavers typically scurry off to their daytime 'retreat' when their web is disturbed, so it may be a bit tricky to get one into a container. I suggest finding a fairly long stick/branch that has a wide fork (at least a foot between the tips of the fork) and see if you can then detach the portion of web occupied by the spider and then take her to a safer place. I have had my own issues with HOAs in the past...

It is so nice to find people who do not kill spiders. I think your idea seems reasonable. She may find a different spot to build her web after you release her, but I think that is the worst that would happen.

What is the point of pressure washing a house? I never heard of this, so I am curious.

Do you know what type of orb weaver? Is it an arigiope/writing spider? Those are our prettiest with their yellow and black markings.

I was slow in posting, but Flapdoodles idea sounds good. If I had to move a spider, I would have put it into a container.

Thanks for the suggestions! I love my spider friends (and every other visitor in my yard - I feel very protective of them and my neighbors think I'm nuts, which is fine by me). Not sure what type of spider she is. I'll try to get a decent photo of her and post it here. Thanks!

I scared her so I didn't get her at her best angle, but here she is. In the photo showing the fence, there's a tiny white thing that is right at the center of her web, right by where she typically stations herself. Is that an egg casing? I want to be sure I don't separate her from her babies during my brief kidnapping tomorrow. Would a rake work to lift the web? I don't have anything that has a ton of distance between the tines, like a hay fork or anything.

Almost impossible to get a positive i.d. from these images, but Neoscona crucifer would be a good possibility IMHO. See http://www.spiders.us/species/neoscona-crucifera/
I doubt very much that the white object is an egg sac, more likely the remains of a previous meal; their egg sac usually is hidden away from the capture web, often in a curled up leaf or similar object...

I am new here. I have a yellow and black garden spider. she produced an egg sack and it hung under the railing of my fence. It hung maybe 4 days, today I found it on the ground. Mama is still in her web. What do I do? Should I leave it, pick it up and place it somewhere?? any help would be appreciated.

thanks.

I would try to hang it back up as close to where it was placed originally. BTW, it would be best to start a new thread on this topic rather than attaching it to an existing one...

thanks. I am really not sure how to start a new thread. have never been on a forum of any kind. i will try to rehang today would it be sticky enough to rehang or how would i do this? Place it in the web maybe?.

You could try either placing it in the web, or use a sewing needle and thread to attach it to a nearby bush or shrub...
Also note that there is a button reading "START A NEW THREAD" near the top of this forum.

This message was edited Sep 21, 2016 9:33 AM

Oh yeah, you should though, but be careful else you get in touch with a camel spider, they are very dangerous.