Wear Those Gloves!

April 26th, 2009 by David LaFerney Leave a reply »

While building a fence I picked up a post and look what was clinging to the bottom of it…

Yes, that is a Black Widow, no its not photo shopped.  Usually the red marking is shaped like an hour glass - but this one being extrememly large and fat has a heart shaped marking instead.

Yes, that is a Black Widow spider, no it's not photo shopped. Usually the red marking is shaped like an hour glass - but this one being extremely large and fat has a heart shaped marking instead.

Black widow spiders as everyone knows are poisonous, and not at all uncommon in the South East.  You usually don’t find them in houses fortunately, but it isn’t at all uncommon to see them in unheated garages.  Usually they will be under a rock or other debris, but I have seen them nesting 8 feet above the ground in the open – inside of my garage.  Usually you will run across these things in late spring and early summer.

Be careful where you put your hands, and teach children to be careful as well.  If bitten, don’t panic, but seek medical help.  If possible always catch the spider and take it with you (especially if you think you have been bitten by a brown recluse) for positive identification.  However, with it’s distinctive bulbous body and glossy black and red paint job nothing else looks anything like a Black Widow spider.

Usually the red mark will be on the bottom side of the spider and will be shaped somewhat like an hourglass, but as you can see when they get big the markings get stretched out of shape and move around – just like most of those tattoos you see on the young folks nowadays probably will.

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17 comments

  1. Daniel says:

    Do NOT try to catch the spider for “positive identification”. You waste time and you might get bitten again. Hospitals can test the venom left on the bite site (don’t wash the site… just bandage!) for proteins which identify the venomous creature that bit you. Add to that the visual description you can give them, and you’ll be fine.

  2. Christian says:

    that is a toy… u can see the screws on its legs…

  3. Amy says:

    Family went camping at Mammoth Cave in ’96. Found one of these inside our tent our last morning (came in overnight) and three under the rainfly. All the black widows had three red hearts going down the abdomen (small medium large). Beautiful…and unnerving! Will never forget their deadly beauty.

  4. MIKE LUCAS says:

    Was fishing with my son he says hey dad look at this spider , my son was in a paddle boat by himself he then comes over to me with the spider still alive. sure enough its the black spider with hearts and a line down its back . we live in Delaware so not used to seeing things like this . now we look for everything .so watch out in Delaware

  5. Jeremy says:

    I live in Tennessee also and we find these things all the time. Beautiful, creepy, and dangerville! Smart post, lots of people really don’t know or realize the dangers. These babies love to hang out in gardens too so watch where you put your hands and use gloves as much as possible. Love the website!
    My wife and I are in the process of moving to Nevada and setting up a permaculture farm and Earthship home to live simple, take care of ourselves, help save the planet, and teach others how to live sustainably. Your site will definitely be a big help. Keep up the good work.

  6. Willis Rav says:

    Do you really think this is true?

  7. Em says:

    I think that type is called a “Southern Belle” because of its heart markings.

  8. Fuzzy Wolf says:

    You could probably make money selling that one to a casino. Heart and Diamond on a black widow. I have been bitten by them, and yes they can be deadly to some. The first time it almost killed me, the second time it made me sick and the last time (a week ago) it made an irritated spot that lasted for a couple days. Just like bee stings some are more sensitive than others.

  9. len says:

    we have the red back spider over here as far as i know they are related, venomous but not deadly that i have ever heard more like make certain people very sick.

    the red heart shaped markings are somewhat attractive hey?

    our method is to use a bit of stick or twig wind the web and spider and eggs all up together like you would candy floss and then burn the insect and its web using a lighter or match. with care of course.

    surface spray don’t work, tried it once and kept watch on the spider about a week later she was ready to move off so she got the heel treatment.

  10. Dave says:

    Dangerous little buggers. I found one of them last year in a pile of rock. The like those wood piles and rock piles!

    • Melissa says:

      It is not fake. My husband just killed one that was in the underbelly of our camper in OK. Not sure if it rode with us from LA? Very strange looking. I am allergic to normal spiders so he killed it immediately. That’s why I pulled up this site to see what it was.

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