Spider Catcher

[Moakmeister]

yes i am sorry its just i think its less dangerous to own a black widow than a old world tarantula in my opinion

i would rather get but by my black widow then my P metallica

I would rather go through a few days of awful pain than the slow torture of my nervous system shutting down and my eventual death, possibly. And of course you're more likely to be bit by the P. metallica, because the pokie is a fast active hunter while the widow is a sedentary spider that sits in its web and doesn't run up the tongs to bite you.

 

[Venom1080]

true BUT a P metallica would be much more painful then a black widow and in my opinion i would rather get but by my black widow then my P metallica

Lactrodectus have killed people, Poecilotheria have not. seems like a clear choice to me.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

The LADbible? What's that supposed to stand for??

It's some waste Facebook page that originally used to parody "the bro code", its main demographic is the sort of people whose IQ goes up a few points when they step in dog ****.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

why would you kill them their are tarantulas in this hobby that are way more dangerous than a black widow i am 10 times more scared and likely to get bit by m P metallica than my black widow their venom is pretty weak and their are not aggressive or defensive 90 percent of the time. respect them don't kill them you clearly don't know a lot about lactodectus

Loved the comment, man.

The (genus) Latrodectus we have here in Italy in the 'Cinque Terre' area located in Liguria region (but also in Toscana, central Italy) aka L.tredecimguttatus, but in Italy knowed by the name 'malmignatta' (translation in English from rough but accepted Italian is: 'Evil Whore') caused a good four fatalities in the late' 80, and their venom is supposed (supposed I've said) by the arachno-venom-pundits 'mob' as less potent than their yankee 'cousin', L.mactans aka 'Black Widow'.
I remember well those deaths, the news were crazy about, ah ah.

Granted, they aren't defensive at all, especially if compared to an adult female P.ornata, indeed... on that sense they are just like an old perverted rapist man that, out of Viagra, seek to sex assault a Lady. Still a menace, even if low, lol :-s

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I would rather go through a few days of awful pain than the slow torture of my nervous system shutting down and my eventual death, possibly. And of course you're more likely to be bit by the P. metallica, because the pokie is a fast active hunter while the widow is a sedentary spider that sits in its web and doesn't run up the tongs to bite you.

P.metallica temperament and 'defensiveness' attitude are IMO extremely exaggerated in a offensive way. I've cared the 'Pokies' of friends in the past (hint: this is why I don't own nor like 'Pokies', even if I appreciate the color & patterns) and they acted like a AIDS heroin addicted on Prozac, except for P.ornata, btw this last not even near a S.calceatum.

A "vulgar" P.irminia in her good day is 1000 times 'fun' than a 'Pokie', bunch of shy run & hide T's

 

[Ratmosphere]

If I see spiders in my house I usually let them be or just take them outside. I like this product though!

 

[RTTB]

The venom of an L mactans is far from weak. Read up on accounts of envenomations and you will see that the consequences of being bitten are very serious.

 

[Crone Returns]

I've never seen a widow in person, because I live in urban areas that use pesticides. If I ever did see one I'd purchase some predatory insects and release them in my backyard.

Why?

 

[Moakmeister]

Why?

Well I don't wanna die

 

[Crone Returns]

Well I don't wanna die

Don't mess with the spid and she won't even know you exist. The only time they're defensive is when there's an egg sac.
I've had black widows around me for many years, and never have been bitten. Neither have any of my dogs.
I must admit though that my terrier
ate a black widow. He's still alive, and has never bothered an arthropod since. It really didn't make him ill because the venom was ingested, not punctured into his skin: and then only if she nailed him on the nose.
Wear gloves if you're reaching into a wood pile or dense brush etc.
She'll probably wink at you. Lol

 

[Moakmeister]

Don't mess with the spid and she won't even know you exist. The only time they're defensive is when there's an egg sac.
I've had black widows around me for many years, and never have been bitten. Neither have any of my dogs.
I must admit though that my terrier
ate a black widow. He's still alive, and has never bothered an arthropod since. It really didn't make him ill because the venom was ingested, not punctured into his skin: and then only if she nailed him on the nose.
Wear gloves if you're reaching into a wood pile or dense brush etc.
She'll probably wink at you. Lol

I know that Widows aren't out to get me. But if I have an infestation of them then they could just get everywhere. If I'm not completely cautious every time I do something, one single mistake could lead to my death or the death of one of my family members. The Australian Youtuber leokimvideo has an infestation of Redback spiders, a close relative of the Widow, and my word it's terrifying just how many there are everywhere he looks. Go check it out.

 

[Crone Returns]

I know that Widows aren't out to get me. But if I have an infestation of them then they could just get everywhere. If I'm not completely cautious every time I do something, one single mistake could lead to my death or the death of one of my family members. The Australian Youtuber leokimvideo has an infestation of Redback spiders, a close relative of the Widow, and my word it's terrifying just how many there are everywhere he looks. Go check it out.

Yeah Moak, I checked it out. Pretty disgusting.
But the bottom line is that you're more likely to get bit by your dog, cat, parrot or T then get it by a black widow. Look up the spiderzrule website. Glen has an article about an Aussie outback guy who went into his wooden outhouse and got bit 21 times by a ticked off redback that he sat on. Yes. On his bum.
He was rushed to the hospital, given gallons of antivenom for many days. He made it through this experience with the knowledge that: NEVER sit in a wooden outhouse without checking first. Lol.
Look, I probably won't change your mind, but I've had 6 or so momma black widows hanging out behind the bamboo thicket, and guess what? Only saw a couple juvies. Winter froze the eggs, nature took care of the abundance.
Just watch where you sit, don't reach bare handed into any place you can't see, and teach your kids respect, not fear.

 

[Moakmeister]

Yeah Moak, I checked it out. Pretty disgusting.
But the bottom line is that you're more likely to get bit by your dog, cat, parrot or T then get it by a black widow. Look up the spiderzrule website. Glen has an article about an Aussie outback guy who went into his wooden outhouse and got bit 21 times by a ticked off redback that he sat on. Yes. On his bum.
He was rushed to the hospital, given gallons of antivenom for many days. He made it through this experience with the knowledge that: NEVER sit in a wooden outhouse without checking first. Lol.
Look, I probably won't change your mind, but I've had 6 or so momma black widows hanging out behind the bamboo thicket, and guess what? Only saw a couple juvies. Winter froze the eggs, nature took care of the abundance.
Just watch where you sit, don't reach bare handed into any place you can't see, and teach your kids respect, not fear.

The dog analogy is flawed because even though, yes, I am much more likely to be bitten by my dog, I am also more likely to be bitten by my harmless G. pulchripes. But my dog and Regina have one thing in common: I won't die from it. If my dog became wild and attacked me with intent to kill, she's small enough for me to wrestle her down and overpower her. Regina's venom is harmless to me. But a Black Widow can bite me without me realizing it, as most victims report. I would feel no pain. Then awhile later my skin would become swollen, my eyelids would shut, and my respiratory system would fail. I would be unable to breathe or move. And that is why I'm afraid of Black Widow spiders. Not because the risk of being bitten is high, but because if I do get bitten, I'd probably be screwed. I don't want any chance of it happening.

 

[BobBarley]

Another thing to consider regarding Latrodectus....

Almost all the bites are from people accidentally messing with them with bare hands or maybe putting on clothes and the spider gets caught between your skin and the clothing. I'd be willing to bet that almost every bite from a Latrodectus is from a specimen that's in the wild. In captivity, the risk of being bitten, from what I've experienced is astronomically low.

 

[Crone Returns]

The dog analogy is flawed because even though, yes, I am much more likely to be bitten by my dog, I am also more likely to be bitten by my harmless G. pulchripes. But my dog and Regina have one thing in common: I won't die from it. If my dog became wild and attacked me with intent to kill, she's small enough for me to wrestle her down and overpower her. Regina's venom is harmless to me. But a Black Widow can bite me without me realizing it, as most victims report. I would feel no pain. Then awhile later my skin would become swollen, my eyelids would shut, and my respiratory system would fail. I would be unable to breathe or move. And that is why I'm afraid of Black Widow spiders. Not because the risk of being bitten is high, but because if I do get bitten, I'd probably be screwed. I don't want any chance of it happening.

You forgot "things would turn black and slough off." Lol. If you have a chronic condition, then I can see why you're scared. But again I reiterated: don't go messing with them and they won't mess with you. Remember, they're spiders, with little spider neurons. They don't wake up and say, "Hey! It's a good day to put the bite on Moak!"
One and 1/2 yrs ago I was absolutely terrified of spids. I was in your space mentally ( pretty scarey thought). I know where you're coming from. Slowly I worked on it because I have really cool wild spids, including the evil black widow. I decided I wanted a T, a slow, docile T. So I got my Brachypelma albopilosum, the world famous Bratty Sue.
I am no longer scared, but I know my limits. Will never have OWs. Too much speed and heavy venom.
This has been a great discussion.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Another thing to consider regarding Latrodectus....

Almost all the bites are from people accidentally messing with them with bare hands or maybe putting on clothes and the spider gets caught between your skin and the clothing.

I vaguely remember reading a couple of years ago about a small study (with 40-50 spiders) done on what it took to get one to bite.

If I remember correctly, they tested prodding once, multiple prods and gently pinching the spider using a gelatin prosthetic.

- None bit for a single prod, a small number flicked silk at the prosthetic, most walked away or played dead.
- Only one bit when prodded multiple times, the vast majority flicked silk at the prosthetic.
- 2/3 of them bit the prosthetic when pinched, a few tried to play dead or flick silk.

**EDIT**

Found it referenced in an article.

Nelsen, D. R., Kelln, W., & Hayes, W. K. (2014). Poke but don’t pinch: risk assessment and venom metering in the western black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus. Animal Behaviour, 89, 107-114.

 

[Moakmeister]

You forgot "things would turn black and slough off." Lol. If you have a chronic condition, then I can see why you're scared. But again I reiterated: don't go messing with them and they won't mess with you. Remember, they're spiders, with little spider neurons. They don't wake up and say, "Hey! It's a good day to put the bite on Moak!"
One and 1/2 yrs ago I was absolutely terrified of spids. I was in your space mentally ( pretty scarey thought). I know where you're coming from. Slowly I worked on it because I have really cool wild spids, including the evil black widow. I decided I wanted a T, a slow, docile T. So I got my Brachypelma albopilosum, the world famous Bratty Sue.
I am no longer scared, but I know my limits. Will never have OWs. Too much speed and heavy venom.
This has been a great discussion.

But I'm not afraid of spiders., I just know that a widow could be in my shirt and it could bite me out of fear for its life. I'm not afraid of spiders, nor am I afraid of heights. I'm afraid of hitting the ground.

 

[Andrea82]

But I'm not afraid of spiders., I just know that a widow could be in my shirt and it could bite me out of fer its life. I'm not afraid of spiders, nor am I afraid of heights. I'm afraid of hitting the ground.

Well...according to that logic, you can step out of your yard and get
hit by a bus....
Doesn't stop you from going outside though does it?
It is good to be aware of any risk (to continue the analogy, it is smart to watch the road for buses), but to say you'll have to kill any widows to stay safe is a bit over the top, I think.

 

[The Snark]

With people who are afraid of spider bite deaths... why aren't they 300,000 - 400,000 times more afraid of motor vehicles? Yups. For every death attributed to all spiders in the entire world each year, that many people are killed in vehicle accidents. Arachnophobes, your fear is just slightly misguided and irrational.

 

[HybridReplicate]

With people who are afraid of spider bite deaths... why aren't they 300,000 - 400,000 times more afraid of motor vehicles? Yups. For every death attributed to all spiders in the entire world each year, that many people are killed in vehicle accidents. Arachnophobes, your fear is just slightly misguided and irrational.

It may be instinctual to some extent, something about their legginess, angularity & skittering triggers a primal response in some people. Twin studies demonstrated similar levels of innate spider fear & it seems reasonable that an innate aversion would exert a positive effect on survival in primitive humans.

Anecdotally my mother is highly arachnophobic, collapsing in paroxysms even in the presence of jumping spiders, I have never been even slightly effected by it. I think Lactrodectus sp. are gorgeous, like living jewelry.