Spiders

[AHNC]

I hadn't run the 23 for about 10 days. It has been sitting outside under a large walnut. I went over to it the other day to do some digging and was shocked at its condition. We have, as everywhere, a lot of spiders. It has been an especially big year for black widows. A couple weeks ago I went into the shed which I re-built, but haven't rewired yet, so it is dark in there. I opened the door, started to step in and pulled up short. The entire door opening was webbed and right about 4" off my nose was the largest Widow I have ever seen. I think it was the red hourglass that stopped me from walking right into her. But the tractor. the machine was webbed from the BH to the FEL. The wheels were webbed to the ground. I took a stick and began winding up the webbing, kinda like winding up cotton candy. You can tell a widows web because it actually crackles when you get into it and they are incredibly strong. Surprisingly I did not find any of the widows. Went over to do the digging at the neighbors and asked if he was seeing more than usual as I had been. I was on the tractor and he said, "you mean like that one?" and sitting on my knee was a beauty. Do your machines get webbed up like this?

 

[Industrial Toys]

We have seen some VERY large ones for around here. Scary! Body about the size of a dime and legs in total about the size of a Canadian Toonie, like a US silver dollar. That's BIG for here! Must be climate change.

 

[Thomas]

We have no BIG spiders but LOT good size snails this year.

 

[Thunder chicken]

yikes!!!!

 

[oosik]

Most all I have here are very small. Four across on your thumb nail. I can't remember ever seeing a Black Widow. But, then again, I don't go looking for them. Every once in a while a garden spider. About the size of a mini marshmallow.

What I have a lot of - Preying Mantis. This time of year they are light pastel green. Later in the summer they turn tan.

 

[rekees4300]

Do your machines get webbed up like this?

Yes it always occurs in late Summer. My machines are kept in an insulated shed. Yearly use 3 cans of Hot Shot Fogger to completely eradicate all spiders from the shed. Each can covers 2,000 cu ft of unobstructed space.

 

[Fuddy1952]

We're in Virginia. First picture one in living room. Red/black one I've never seen one like it. It would jump instead of walking.

 

[s219]

Spotted this one on my dock a couple years ago:

 

[JWR]

I'm not old, just grey and long in the tooth. I've seen astounding numbers of spiders over the years.

My previous home had black widows in the attic, seeming to own the place. Never able to get rid of them.
You may not know the most common black widow bites were (in past years) in the very tender parts because of outhouse seat configurations.
I've learned that brown recluse can leave flesh eating side effects and have seen one patient with both an arm and a leg tied up in bandages with no certain cure. Hideous!
Cutting fields in WV for years I have seen at least 3 or 4 types of spiders crawling on me every work day. None seem to matter.

By far the wildest thing I have found about spiders: There are well over 30,000 species and only a tiny fraction is even known as to whether they are poisonous or not !!!

 

[defranks]

I named this little girl "Fluffy". She lives in my barn and so far as I can tell causes no trouble at all. She's a brown fishing spider, I think.

The hornet curled up when it died, but I estimate it was about a foot long while it was flying! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


Edit= Not sure why, but my photos aren't uploading. Fluffy is so cute, too.

Edit #2- Now able to upload the pictures. I have no idea what happened.

 

[Smokeydog]

When we were kids we caught black widow spiders along the sidewalks at the house to give to Dad’s friend. He was an instrument machinist. He built equipment to hold the spider and reel the silk. Then use the silk to make optical reticles, cross hairs or grids for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The black widow silk being the best for that application.

More scared of the aggressive wolf spiders in the barn. Learned to watch out and look. Have had a few maybe spider bites. Never saw the spider. Take a long time to heal.

 

[caver]

Brown Recluse tend to make a really sloppy half-*** web. I've found the glue traps you fold into a little lean-to work very well for BR spiders.

 

[Smokeydog]

Black Widow Spider Silk in World War I and II | Owlcation

 

[Frankenkubota]

Of course we have all kinds of spiders and I have the bites to prove it. I walk the old logging trails every morning, no ones been out there for 30 years or lived here for over 100, bugs rule! You learn real quick to carry a long stick to bust thru the webs, nasty feeling, web across the face, first thing in the morning!

While clearing the logging trails, look what I found, mother natureç—´ spider exterminator. I致e also got a family of wrens nesting in my rtv so, it has not moved for 3 weeks, 1 more week to go, never again! I致e been fascinated by how mr and mrs wren feed the babies, what a team! They eat spiders and lots of them! I致e heard that å*µuinea hens are good for bugs but nothin else. How are those hens with ticks? In 3 months I know I致e picked off 100 ticks at least. Im award the dangers associated with ticks, I can either do the best I can re the ticks or, walk away. Neighbor said Irish spring soap keeps ticks off you. Didn稚 work in my case but nice smell, better than normal!

The cameras in these phone are something.

Rain stopped, goin on 20 hours of dry weather!

 

[kenmbz]

Here is a tree spider with egg sack, they are pretty harmless but they get big like this. Have lots of wolf spiders, interesting to watch them hunt.
When we were in Massachusetts we had a spider in our front barn window that was almost the size of my hand. That part of the room was his!

 

[joefromga]

These come out nightly around the lights and are mostly gone in the morning.

 

[Dwellonroof]

The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings palaces. Proverbs 30:28

 

[Frankenkubota]

Spiders! And the stories about ww2.

Reminded me....

I was lucky I was able to meet with and work with scientists and professors both in electronics and medicine. I was in the real world so I got a taste of the private sector and Ivy League life, no comment.

At least 10 years ago, At one of the many trade shows I attended, I was talking to a friend, an ag prof at tx a&m, big time ag school, genetic engineering. He said they had developed a beef cow with a complete extra set of muscles. That’s $. He went on to say he could make a pig grow a hind leg from any of it vertebrae, ham, $.

All this stuff kinda creeps me out but, it’s been going on for 10000 years.

Spiders....He went on to tell me that either a&m or someone, isolated the gene from a certain spider that makes the web, introduced it to a dairy cow, and the milk produced, when refined etc is one of those super materials your hear about. Can’t break it, light as a feather, cheap......etc etc

These are the days of miracle and wonder

 

[Hay Dude]

I suffered a black widow bite about 4 years ago on my chest. It was really gross. Lots of bruising and necrotic flesh wound. Did not see it bite me, but noticed them in the hay barn here & there.

I hate biting bugs. They creep me out and I have to put up with them constantly.

 

[miscjames]

Of course we have all kinds of spiders and I have the bites to prove it. I walk the old logging trails every morning, no ones been out there for 30 years or lived here for over 100, bugs rule! You learn real quick to carry a long stick to bust thru the webs, nasty feeling, web across the face, first thing in the morning!

While clearing the logging trails, look what I found, mother natureç—´ spider exterminator. I致e also got a family of wrens nesting in my rtv so, it has not moved for 3 weeks, 1 more week to go, never again! I致e been fascinated by how mr and mrs wren feed the babies, what a team! They eat spiders and lots of them! I致e heard that å*µuinea hens are good for bugs but nothin else. How are those hens with ticks? In 3 months I know I致e picked off 100 ticks at least. Im award the dangers associated with ticks, I can either do the best I can re the ticks or, walk away. Neighbor said Irish spring soap keeps ticks off you. Didn稚 work in my case but nice smell, better than normal!

The cameras in these phone are something.

Rain stopped, goin on 20 hours of dry weather!

View attachment 661070

Frank get you some Permethrin and spray your boots and cloths that you hike in, Let the cloths dry. The cloths will be good for 30 days or 5 washings. you can either get the Sawyer Permethrin Pump Spray. Or get Permethrin from your local agi store and mix it yourself ( i have kids so i get the agi store concentrate and mix it in a 1 gallon sprayer). You will not have anymore issues with ticks. ( DO not spray it on you BODY). I guess i need to make a video of this. as i hear more and more people with tick trouble.