black widow spiders, should i kill them?

i found a few outside the house, they are not doing any harm to me, should i leave them alone or kill them?

I think you can decide the best thing to do.

EEK! Are they poisonous? If so, I would say whatever is outside could always get in. Personally, being a typical spider-hating gal, I'd move!

Around here, black widows are venemous and very dangerous. All info I've read says go directly to the emergency room if bitten. Their bite affects the nervous system and can cause severe stomach cramps and pain at the site of the bite. Rarely fatal, but can be. No question what I'd do! LOL!

Kill them!!!!!!!

You can't kill all the spiders in the world. If you see one that is about to come in your house or about to crawl on you, kill it. But there are plenty of others out there.

And the vast majority of them are in my garden !

So, if we trap all of them so they can't get out of your garden and then go in and stomp them all, that would go a long way toward solving the problem, wouldn't it?

Vacuum cleaners are the perfect non-toxic tool for spiders. Next time your car needs cleaning, park it near the trouble spot and take care of it while you are there.
I have found that they like my foundation wall.and gate post. When I see their distinctively strong webs, I know its time to bring the car around back for vacuuming of it and the critters...

There are all of those non-venomus spiders that I do not disturb. Anything that can kill a grandkid....well, they have to go...

I have read somewhere that spiders hate the smell of eucalyptis (sp?). If your zone is right, maybe plant it around the foundation of the house or just buy some stalks and lay them around the foundation. Spiders as a general rule also loathe the smell of mint so planting some might also help keep them from getting too close, as well as being eco-friendly, of course!

mm, that is interesting, i do have some mints in a bottle of water, i am waiting for them to grow some roots first, i will plant some at that area.

those spiders probably kill some insects, that is why i didn't plan to kill them. Now i will.

I am so glad you said that about mint, britbrighton! I have it along the foundation on the other end of the house and come to think of it the only bugs that I've ever seen there are spider mites sucking on the mint. I haven't seen any other bugs there and I live in a forest full of them. That stuff is easy to transplant and I'll be sure to do that before winter comes.
Thanks again,
Nan

Glad I could help. To note; mice as well HATE mint so think of placing stalks in drawers, cupboards, attics and basements. Can you tell I live in an old home with all those nifty cracks and crevices that wildlife adores! The mint helped me immensely (just don't use peppermint extracts because they contain sugar which bugs and mice love.) Essential oils are all right. If keeping cut mint in drawers etc, they lose their potency rather quickly as they dry out so they should be replaced every month or so or freshened with peppermint essential oil. Perhaps freeze some for future use? I bought eucalyptis oil but I would rather have the stalks and I can't seem to find fresh stalks this side of the country! Good luck with your fall endeavors!

nanbernier, I just have to know......who changes the vacuum cleaner bag???

ROTFLMBO, growgirl! I was thinking the same thing. I used to suck up spiders in our garage with the shop vac then realized they were crawling back out. (some were those big 'ol wolf spiders) How paranoid is this - I started putting foil around the end of the hose and securing it with a rubber band.

BTW, we use those plug in ultra-sonic thingys in the garage now and they work great. No more wolf spiders!

OMG !!! I've just always assumed that they were killed by the wind and debris!!! AKKKK!!! Crawling back out!! 'Scuse me while I go empty the shop vac...

Who knows what evil lurks within your shop vac !!!

I know we're way off the original topic, but I had to throw this in. I had a wolf spider in garage that was so big that it wouldn't go up into the vacuum hose. It blocked the hole and the motor on vacuum was whining. I knew it wasn't good for the vacuum, but I didn't want to let him loose again in the garage (or I would NEVER go back in there). The cord wasn't long enough to go outside with him still sucked onto the hose, so I just screamed and dropped everything and ran out of the garage. My husband swears he was still on there when he went in, but I have my doubts. That was over a year ago, and I have only been in the garage twice since then. I'm pretty sure spiders hold grudges and that one has a HUGE one on me.

Yikes!! What non-toxic ways are there to kill them?

Whack 'em with a broom!

P.S. But watch out - Wolf Spiders carry their babies on their back. I killed one once and hundreds of tiny babies went scattering everywhere! It took a lot of stomping to kill them.

EEEEEWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

I spied a beautiful black widow on a zucchini plant I was yanking up and out this summer. I set the plant down, let her scamper off, and then disposed of the plant.

In my house, she would not have been given the same treatment. Bugs and spiders are not welcome, and will be killed on sight.

Living in the South, we're prone to finding brown recluse spiders indoors. I don't like toxins, but I have my house commercially sprayed once a quarter. Before we started a regular spraying service, we found some really big (and non-reclusive) brown recluses wandering around--not good.

But wolf spiders are good guys - great guys!!! No way would I kill one of them. They hunt down insects. If I find them in my house, I place a jar over them, and then carefully slide an index card under them, flip the jar over, and then take them outside. I leave them alone in the garage - they'll find their way back outside.

Brown recluses and black widows, on the other hand, are not welcome.

I am also not a spider killer. Most spiders inside the house get a free trip outside in a plastic cup. I used to allow black widows to live in my yard until I started finding them everywhere. I can find at least three per day while doing my normal gardening chores. I've also noticed a lot of spiders that are similar in shape to the black widow but not quite the right color or markings like the one I photographed below. So I searched the internet and found that I had even more black widows then I previously thought, it's just that they were males and juveniles! Now, it's sad to say, I dispose of any spider that is clearly a black widow. Wolf spiders, crab spiders and argiopes are still welcome :)

Non-characteristics black widow pics: http://www.kaweahoaks.com/html/latrodectus_hesoerus.html

I would just DIE if I saw that in my yard.

I was on vacation in Florida and I was bitten on the mouth by a black widow! I had to go to the emergency room 3 or 4 times. I had very high temps, swelling the size of a basketball, vomiting and lots and lots of pain (especially, on the airplane when returning home). They tried their best to admit me to the hospital...but I was on vacation ;o)) The doctor ordered: no swimming, no sunning, no alcohol and not to over heat. Needless to say, my vacation was not much fun.

People have asked me how I managed to be bitten on the mouth...my response..."That is what I get for kissing a spider." LOL Actually, the doctor thought the spider either crawled on my pillow and I rolled over on it or it was on my pajamas and I brushed up against it.

I am not a spider killer, as a rule. But, if one is in the house, I must kill it. The doctor told me that if I were ever bitten again, I would have a much worse reaction...no thanks.

Holy crap... I will assuredly have nightmares tonight.

I have many widows @ my house...some live some die:)

I don't worry about it, I just get the grandkids every other week and since they are fiercely afraid of spiders they go on a hunt inside and out with the flyswat and feather duster and maybe even a stick now and then. Walaa no more spiders lol

LOL May I borrow them? LOL

I live in Ellendale, Delaware. My acre is full of black widows. They especially like moist areas near the downspouts around the foundation of the house. They also can be found under any rock, brick, or piece of wood outdoors. We kill them instantly. Their babies' nest looks like a large "Kix" piece of cereal. Crush it. Wear gloves if anticipating any encounters with such critters.

Sure duckmother they are as good as the Ghost Busters lol

You could do what one of my nephews used to do in Memphis, he went around and checked the neighborhood water meters at night and caught the black widows. Then he carried them to a pharmacutical company and sold them.

Having lived in Fl. for over 25 yrs. I too have run into blackwidows. They show up in spring and linger trough the summer. Most comonly seen afer dusk in darker corners of night clubs. If encountered by one buy the widow a drink, smile, then run like hell. I 've not been bitten using this technice ,and it is a nontoxic means to deal with the problem. I enjoyed butting in and hope to ofen no one!

Jim,

I am with you Ceejay...wolf spiders do far more good than bad....they kill other spiders too. Black widows, brown widows and brown recluse all have a bounty on them here, but everything else gets to stay...just not inside.

eeew...I don't like spiders and snakes
only spiders around my house are jumping spiders

Gee Lynnie, sounds like a song there......grin

*grin*