Black Widow Spiders

[Frank Sorbello]

While moving firewood into my basement yesterday, I came across some healthy Black Widows living in my wood pile. Any known way to get rid of these unwanted spiders?

Thanks
Frank

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

 

[mddorange]

Since you don't list your location in you profile I can't help much.

Here we have black widows turn up most everywhere that isn't moved often. Depending where I find them, I have different was to kill them but have't really discovered any sure way to prevent them.

 

[MossRoad]

I spray my firewood with insectide when I stack it because it's gonna sit for several years. All around the bottom rows about a foot up. I also spray the ground for carpenter ants before I stack the wood. I've never seen a black widow spider in our firewood. But then again, I've don't look for them either. They are native to this area. So, don't know if what I do helps or not.

When I bring the wood into the house, I don't see any insects. I bring in about 400 pieces at a time. About the only bugs I've ever seen are the occasional wood roach and always stink bugs.

 

[Deere Dude]

In my past I would find all kinds of critters in my woodpile, until I started spraying with a termicide kind of spray. Bifen IT. No spiders or ants or anything else after that. I spray my woodpile as I get a row up and then again after every new row of wood. 2ozs/gallon of water. Every year after a light spray over the top of the pile.

The directions say to not use on firewood though, but WTH. Works great in Tennessee.

 

[Diggin It]

I'm not sure I'd spray something I'll be burning inside my house.

I have laid granular pest products on the ground around the wood pile though.

 

[MossRoad]

I'd not use insecticide on firewood intended for cooking. But for the wood burner wood, well, I use it or I have the carpenter ants something awful.

 

[Bird]

I'm like MossRoad. We never burned wood to cook, so when we kept a pile of firewood for the fireplace, I sprayed it with insecticide so I never brought anything into the house that I regretted.

And I've always remembered when my paternal grandmother saw a black widow spider on the wall in the house and she just squashed it with her hand. She was an old farm wife and I don't think she was scared of anything. But that black widow got her, right in between the second and third fingers. For awhile she was afraid she was going to lose that hand, but it eventually healed except that she had a pretty good knot between those fingers the rest of her life.

 

[deserteagle71]

I have black widow spiders everywhere - basement, garage, barn, woodpile...I don't know of any way to get rid of all of them. But I kill individual spiders when I find their webs where they would be an immediate problem by giving them a quick spritz of WD-40. Just a tiny spray is needed and they die within a minute. Don't remember where I heard about this method but I believe I read that the oil penetrates and suffocates them.

 

[bcp]

I've used soapy water in a spray bottle for black widow spiders.

Bruce

 

[Oldoak]

I have black widow spiders everywhere - basement, garage, barn, woodpile...I don't know of any way to get rid of all of them. But I kill individual spiders when I find their webs where they would be an immediate problem by giving them a quick spritz of WD-40. Just a tiny spray is needed and they die within a minute. Don't remember where I heard about this method but I believe I read that the oil penetrates and suffocates them.

It won't keep new ones from coming in, but in enclosed areas like basements and garages, bug bomb sprays kill the existing insects including spiders. The kind of bug bomb spays that you set off and leave the area for an hour or two.

 

[/pine]

Introduce some wolf spiders to the area...they will eat the widow spiders...

in basements etc. wolf spiders will eat the other spiders and insects and they do no build webs...

 

[MossRoad]

I've heard the putting osage oranges around the perimiter of your basement sill will help repel spiders from coming in. Don't know if it's true or not. I figure is someone is going to be cleaning their basement and putting up hedge apples, that their basement is probably clean anyway and there's no cluttered places for spiders to hide anyway.

 

[Looking4new]

Captain Phab spider control, their factory is in Peterborough, Ontario
They claim to be able to kill ALL spiders. I have only used it on dock spiders and it kills them within 2 minutes. A website for you.
About us – Captain Phab

 

[Beltzington]

While moving firewood into my basement yesterday, I came across some healthy Black Widows living in my wood pile. Any known way to get rid of these unwanted spiders?

Thanks
Frank

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Cheap - Diatomaceous earth
Cheaper - 20 Mule Team Borax
Cheapest - White Vinegar and water

Most insects will find a less hostile environment with minimal persuasion. Oddly enough, the only time I was almost bitten by a black widow was one that was in my mail-box!

Good Luck

 

[oosik]

I THINK I saw a black widow around my outbuildings - loooong ago. I sure don't ever worry about them. More concerned about picking something up and having a hornet or wasp of some kind waiting there to sting me.

 

[Diggin It]

Brown Recluse spiders can be of more concern.

 

[joecoin]

I've heard the putting osage oranges around the perimiter of your basement sill will help repel spiders from coming in. Don't know if it's true or not. I figure is someone is going to be cleaning their basement and putting up hedge apples, that their basement is probably clean anyway and there's no cluttered places for spiders to hide anyway.

My basement is a mess. I use Osage oranges, never see spiders down there but I never look for them. Now I'm gonna have to go look.

 

[mapper]

My mother told me about encountering a black widow spider at her aunts ranch near Emmet Idaho when she was about twelve. It had built its web across the seat in the outhouse. My mother applied some extreme measures to get rid of it which included a certain amount of kerosene. Well kerosene and and a rather large quantity of crumpled up Montgomery Wards and Sears catalog pages mixed with you know what made for a rather persistent smoldering fire that required a large number of trips to the well for buckets of water. Her aunt later told her that SOP for black widow spider in the outhouse was a rolled up page of said catalog that was used to swirl around the seat gather web and spider then dropping the whole lot down the hole, if you sat long enough for the spider to climb back up and bite you, you were spending too much time in the outhouse.:laughing:

 

[Bird]

I never encountered a spider of any kind in the outhouse, but I guess I thought about it every time I went in there and sat down, wondering whether there might be one on the bottom side of the seat. And getting indoor plumbing and quitting the use of the outhouse was one of the happiest days of our lives.