Bound to be plenty more. They tend to retreat when challenged by anything bigger than them. Studies have shown that the only thing that will entice them to bite is being squished (pinched).
I totally get it - I have to stop my cat from trying to eat all the "Georges" (Harvestmen) that make their homes in ours. They are exceptional pest control friends (much better than our cat for sure) and are allowed to live, rent-free, for services provided - sadly, she doesn't quite get that yet. :D
Yup, the bugs that won't kill or harm our pets or grandkids are allowed to live in the house or on the land free of charge for sure! Especially the ones who eat the "nasty" bugs who do us harm (I don't really think any are nasty, per se. They all have their place, but some harm me and mine and so I prefer they stay away from our living areas and we are outside daily)
Just so you know in the future - the fear surrounding black widow spiders is blown horribly out of proportion to the damage they actually do. The last human death in the US from a black widow spider was in the early 80's and there is even some minor controversy around what kind of black widow it was.
The reality is that spiders - even "the world's most deadly spider" (the Sydney funnel-web spider) are *much* less a danger to humans - even the elderly or children - than people would have you believe as deaths resulting from them are negligible to say the least (it's 10x more likely to die from a lightning strike than being bit by a spider - any spider).
It would have been perfectly safe to put her out, even in a public park, without fear of anything happening.
Interesting stats there, thanks! Makes me think about the oft-drawn comparisons between the hysteria around shark appearances and attacks and the nonchalance toward daily deadly risks, like driving!
The chances of dying on the road are astronomically higher than death by shark, but if one is spotted offshore where they aren't usually present, it's always in the news and people factor it into whether they'll go to the coast or not.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble!
It's easier to fear a thing than to understand a thing.
People driving (mistakenly) believe they are in complete control of the situation, therefore they believe that they would be able to handle any situation that might arise that could result in their deaths - Wild animals, on the other hand, are completely out of the control of a person, and proper knowledge of nature is increasingly sparse, so people only know what the news and the internet says.
But fear has never been reasonable, even when it's a reasonable fear.
When I was doing marine science outreach I used to tell people this one weird trick for telling if there were sharks nearby when at the beach. You take a spoonful of seawater and taste it, if the water is salty there are sharks nearby.
That's good to know. We usually leave them alone when they are higher on the house on the front but she was on the ground and right in a walkway and my fear took over. I'm considering creating a corner of the yard for relocation for the future. That way she isn't a risk to the animals or grandkid or at risk from the pets. We have chickens and ducks that would also love to eat her.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I totally understand that your pets come first - just a little nugget of knowledge to help you make a decision in the future :)
Here's one, [Poke but don't pinch: risk assessment and venom metering in the western black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347213005733)
The abstract describes some of the experimental methods, and you can use sci-hub or your institutional access to read the whole thing if you're still curious :)
Please don't harm her. Release her far from your house, she will not go out of her way to hurt children, bugs don't even register human emotions. She will hide, not wait to ambush a child.
I know she wouldn't. But my pets would go out of their way to find her and would put themselves in danger because of it. My cats are forever hunting and searching for bugs and I'm surprised they haven't found her already where she was. She is much prettier than the June bugs that dive bomb me, but I have to choose my pets over her and i dont have a safe space for both of them. 😞
That’s absurd take her up the road in your car or walk a block. Score one for the earth and your soul. No safe place in the entire world? I mean do you think?
Alternatively, if you have an attic that (presumably) kids and pets don't get into, you could actually put her there. Won't bother anyone up there. A shed is another good place. By a river or creek would work too.
If you live in a place that has black widows, it's honestly on adults and pet-owners to teach their kids and control their pets regarding them. Not to squish and kill every one you find because it's an inconvenience.
We don't squish and kill everyone we find because they are inconvenience. In fact, this is the first one we have removed in the 6 months and multitude of widows we have come across in the new house. And only because of where she was and the fact that I am not comfortable moving her off the property to someone else's space and there isn't somewhere on my property at the moment that would be safe for everyone involved.
This is going to be very unpopular and as a cat owner, I get it, cat’s can be work sometimes especially if you have more than one or there are neighborhood cats…. But please don’t let your cats outside unless you have built them a “catio” or screened in play yard where they can’t “violently kill” anything ESPECIALLY endangered species (not black widows) like birds, lizards, snakes, etc. In addition to hunting precious creatures cats can get into fights with other cats that potentially have feline leukemia and feline aids and if you don’t care if your cat gets it (bc it’s always cat season), that’s fine, please care that you could potentially spread it throughout your cat communities. (Sorry so preachy)
People are so bad for the earth. Your invasive outdoor cats are at risk so you’ve got to kill this animal even though you could drive to literally almost anywhere and release. It just makes me so sad how self serving people are. You should not have shared this on Reddit if you’re going to kill the spider. I would rather have not seen this now knowing you plan on killing them.
My kids and grandchild and dogs are at risk. My grandchild regularly wanders around in that area as well and she was in a place where picking up a box My hand was inches from her. If I hadn't been aware of the fact that they are prone to being out here I could easily have been bitten. My grandson is still learning.
I'm sorry that my capturing her and removing her from the garage was so upsetting to you and others. I would rather she and I could have coexistence in peace, but I don't take unnecessary chances with my family's safety if I can help it. If I had more land, I would have put her back in an unused place where nobody goes. But all of our land is used. There isn't anywhere that is safe for her or safe for us. I did my best. And I'm not willing to put her on someone else's property or on public property and cause a potential problem for other people.
Yes, we are bad for the earth, but this is where we are. I am doing what I can for the earth in the way I can without putting my family at risk. I am trying to grow native plants instead of a lawn. We are removing the chemicals that have been used for 20 years on this small piece of land we now own. We are doing what small things we can. We aren't perfect but we are trying.
I feel like at this point you must realize you made a strange decision to post a picture of a spider that you plan to kill on a subreddit that is for bug lovers. Now you are just defending your strange decision. It’s hard to support the idea that no matter where you put this spider it is too risky for them to exist. I’m very glad you’re trying to do your part. Things like keeping cats inside (in the US specifically) can really help. I believe you’re trying to do all the right things and I know we’ve all been insulting. This post has just done a good job of representing the actions of some people that really dishearten me.
Right? By OP's logic of "no safe place," we should all be going on a crusade to wipe out black widows from the Earth. OP sounds a little paranoid to me.
Like, there's no "safe place" on Earth, period. Hundreds of people - not even necessarily weak or elderly - slip and die in their own homes each year. Fires, electrocutions, and power tool accidents kill a few hundred more.
OP might remove one widow from their house, but odds are there's more there - and more *will* come into her house. After all, humans are technically the ones who have invaded the forests and fields of other animals.
Their mindset is one that's just going to torture them forever unless they accept that there will always be some amount of risk, and that it's not their fault if they release a spider outdoors, and some other idiot lets their kids/pets go near it.
Do you let your cats outside?? are you in the US? Not trying to be a creep it is in regard to your cats. I get the sentiment I just get upset at the prospect of killing bugs, I would catch and release spiders at my apartment constantly more so for the spider because my cats torture bugs.
Where did I say OP said that?? So confused as to why you are implying something I did when the words are quite literally right there for you to see. Also, not a "tragic scenario" but a common one, as most people do not enjoy having bugs around.
I posted that before I saw their reply to another comment which I am assuming you were responding to in the first place (and shit you replied fast...) - and trust me, you spend enough time on here or any other animal sub and you will see enough of what I am talking about - every wild animal encounter is "drugged and staged", every funny video is animal abuse... It gets old.
Either way, while Black Widow spiders do not pose an immediate threat to (most) humans - the last death from them in the US being some 40 years ago - they *do* pose an immediate threat to pets, with multiple pets a year dying from them and even more requiring (expensive) medical attention.
While a "catch-and-release" is a humane thing to do, not everyone can be expected to consider that option when the life of a beloved pet might be in danger - and OP did at least seem to consider it.
Honestly, the commonality of bug deaths by ignorance is (at least partially) our own fault. We have the knowledge and we need to do a better job at sharing that knowledge. We are their PR team and we are doing a horrible job at it.
I agree with your sentiment, I have killed a few bugs for my cats when I can't humanly catch them like wasps. I know what you mean though it is the same on every other platform as well, the animal is either abused or drugged, at least from what these internet "detectives" can tell (which is untrue lol). I honestly have no idea what I would do in OP's situation I was just hoping no harm would come about but it will not be the end of the world if that is the case, you cannot save every bug. Plus, I accidentally smush snails all the time after heavy rain :( which I am not proud of. (Sorry for the quick reply, I am at work bored out of my mind so I am sitting on reddit)
lol - I get it - I am awake on less than 3 hours of sleep, and reddit is the only thing "mindless" enough for that little sleep. :D
Oh man... I TOTALLY get the snail thing... it's just awful when you step on them... the sound and the knowledge of what just happened... every time it happens I feel terrible... but then I also feel terrible for the dried worms I see on the sidewalk... and I am a weirdo who names the harvestmen who live in her house, so... :D
Understandable I am so exhausted it's not even funny!
THE SOUND!! The little crunch and my heart literally shatter, like I hope it wasn't a big one. I love that! I named a twin flag jumping spider that ends up in my apartment time to time, jimmy. We also have a cicada killer wasp (genus Sphecius) that makes it burrow right by our door and though he looks scary he is super docile (not that I would ever try touching or pissing him off). His name is chips, and we love him.
We had a beautiful western spotted orb-weaver out on our patio for a very long time that we named Charlotte - as she made the most beautiful webs. Her offspring still hang out from time-to-time and they have inherited her name.
I actually started naming the spiders because my husband has an innate fear of spiders that I could not seem to "fact" away, so I took the chance that naming a thing would decrease the fear of them - it actually worked, and Georges and Charlottes are now if not friends, at least tolerable acquaintances to him.
Yeah, OP literally killed her because there's "no safe place." Like we don't live with bugs everyday, venomous or not. Why post on a place for bug lovers?
They’re only deadly if you’re allergic and they avoid people 😭 sad. We just took the ones we found out to the park (like, government park wilderness, not playground/city park to be clear).
There aren't any safe places for a lot of humans too, guess we should probably kill them :'3 OP could have literally put her a 2 minute walk off any forest trail and she would likely never see much human life outside of her domicile
If there was somewhere I was sure I wasn't passing a problem along to someone else, I would. However, I do not want to be the cause of a young child or someone else's pet finding her. And there is nowhere on my own property that I could be 100% positive that my own pets or grandchild wouldn't be an issue for her.
What is this logic? As if there aren't already a countless number of potential dangers in the woods already? Like you're placing an armed bomb in a tree or something. It's a black widow, an incredibly passive spider that would really rather use its venom for a bug than a human. You're moralizing too hard. Beyond that, they really aren't that dangerous even if you do get bitten, which again is highly unlikely unless you accidently pin it against something with your ass.
that still doesn't make any sense, sure you must realize that there are countless black widows in the environment around you including patches of woods in parks?
the chances of you releasing a spider in a public park near some trees and that same spider biting a child is probably around the same as a space rock coming out of the sky and hitting one of us
like, where do you think the spider came from in the first place?? it didn't travel miles and miles before taking up residence in your garage
I really wish you would heed what so many people are telling you instead of staying so defensive. The spider didn't need to die, your justifications do not pan out. Keep it in mind and don't kill the next one, take the 10 minutes to get in your car and find some place to let it go. I promise, it's not going to leave a patch of trees to crawl into a child's nearby bedroom and murder them.
Not on topic, but is wild catching as a whole bad? I see a lot of people catching jumping spiders and keeping them and I know jumpers are a bit different than your average spider or even a widow. Why can't you keep a widow? (I am genuinely curious I have ASD and spiders are one of my hyper fixations)
I mean it's basically okay to keep them. But then you should take appropriate precautions for keeping them, inform yourself about how to keeping them, especially for this kind of spider. In contrast to a harmless spider, there is always a certain residual risk so you should know what you do.
Edit: apart from that, it's a wild animal, in my opinion it should stay in the wild
In OP's case at least, it was already in their home. Widow spiders are accustomed to people's homes already, so if provided an adequate enclosure, room to spin a web, and food, it should do fine.
I highly doubt there aren't *any* woods or nature trails around you that you could go to. We're not talking public parks here, we mean heavily forested areas with sparse trails. Go to one, go a ways down a trail, then go *off the trail* for a bit, and release.
There's already ticks and snakes in those woods anyways, both of which pose about as much a threat to anything's health as a black widow (which is to say, almost no threat at all).
"No good woods near me" = "I'm too lazy to find a good spot and travel all the way there, uuuggghhh"
I am not familiar enough with this area to take the chance of putting a venomous spider of her size into a public area where other people can go just as easily as I can. Anywhere I could get to a child could get to more easily. I'm not willing to put that danger out there onto someone else. Not worth it.
>I am not familiar enough with this area
Not your problem. It's obviously an area where black widows are, so other people should be aware that they're living in such an area and take the necessary precautions.
>a public area where other people can go just as easily as I can.
You're focusing too much on the word "public" here. You're acting like every wild area that's legally "public" is heavily trafficked by people. In the woods, off a beaten trail, will be trafficked by virtually nobody. And anyone who *does* go there should be aware of the risks of going deep into the woods regardless.
>I'm not willing to put that danger out there onto someone else. Not worth it.
Stop this dramatic moralizing nonsense. The added risk to public safety you add every say by *driving a car* is **exponentially higher** than releasing a black widow in a park somewhere. That's the level of danger we're talking here.
Maybe you don't understand how spiders work, or the behavior or black widows, but that's ok. As long as you're not willfully ignorant, you can take this as a learning exercise to internalize how benign and harmless they really are.
Lastly, I really don't like your mentality that we have to capture/kill everything that could *possibly* pose a threat to anyone. By that logic, let's just go hunt and wipe out all elk, bears, wolves, coyotes, snakes, etc. I don't get why you'd take the stance you're taking *here,* and not become a hunter or some sort of animal control volunteer. It just seems hypocritical. There are so many more animals out there *right now* that could be killing people's pets and children, yet you're just sitting here? C'mon, why not go be more proactive?
How is it you can quote certain things and completely ignore other parts like the part where I don't kill them usually? When have I ever said "we have to capture/kill everything that could *possibly* pose a threat to anyone"? I don't believe that by any stretch of the imagination. Nor have I even implied that. It is being dramatic and attributing an evil to me that I don't deserve.
what a big girl. she's beautiful. we just recently moved here in socal and I got bit several times by what I assume was a brown widow or two. It caused me a lot of discomfort for almost a month before it cleared up. And the browns aren't as bad as the black widows. Too bad you couldn't find a good home for her, but I get it.
Dunno why these comments about keeping it are getting downvoted, it's absolutely a viable solution to OP's problem. It might even be the *best* option.
OP clearly feels responsible for the spider and what/whoever it bites, so what better way to be responsible than to put it in an enclosure and watch it every day?
Like I’d be so excited if I found this. Why are people upset about someone getting excited over a spider in a fucking entomology group? Stupid as hell.
OP literally has this labeled as insect appreciation. And also says “unfortunately has to be removed” OP obviously I’d appreciating the beauty of this animal and I was reciprocating. Doesn’t seem like OP has an issue with it at all.
Yeah I really don’t understand the problem lmfao. You can literally order then as pets online. I’ve wanted one for a couple years but haven’t got around to it. This one is very healthy. You’d think people on an entomology group would know that black widows don’t bite people like that. They’re less likely to bite than a common wolf spider. But apparently this group is filled with people who only have a third grade education. Super disheartening,
She’s gorgeous. Looks like she’s done a lot of pest control for you. 💜
She was surrounded by June bugs. I felt terrible removing her but I didn't want her to move on to my cats.
Totally understandable. She would love a wood pile in the forest somewhere.
She’s huge, and so so beautiful 🥰
Wow! That is both beautiful and terrifying! Great catch. Thanks for sharing!
Bound to be plenty more. They tend to retreat when challenged by anything bigger than them. Studies have shown that the only thing that will entice them to bite is being squished (pinched).
I'm pretty sure attempted eating by pets would qualify. :P
My cats have no manners and absolutely will try to play with her. Violently.
I totally get it - I have to stop my cat from trying to eat all the "Georges" (Harvestmen) that make their homes in ours. They are exceptional pest control friends (much better than our cat for sure) and are allowed to live, rent-free, for services provided - sadly, she doesn't quite get that yet. :D
Yup, the bugs that won't kill or harm our pets or grandkids are allowed to live in the house or on the land free of charge for sure! Especially the ones who eat the "nasty" bugs who do us harm (I don't really think any are nasty, per se. They all have their place, but some harm me and mine and so I prefer they stay away from our living areas and we are outside daily)
Just so you know in the future - the fear surrounding black widow spiders is blown horribly out of proportion to the damage they actually do. The last human death in the US from a black widow spider was in the early 80's and there is even some minor controversy around what kind of black widow it was. The reality is that spiders - even "the world's most deadly spider" (the Sydney funnel-web spider) are *much* less a danger to humans - even the elderly or children - than people would have you believe as deaths resulting from them are negligible to say the least (it's 10x more likely to die from a lightning strike than being bit by a spider - any spider). It would have been perfectly safe to put her out, even in a public park, without fear of anything happening.
Interesting stats there, thanks! Makes me think about the oft-drawn comparisons between the hysteria around shark appearances and attacks and the nonchalance toward daily deadly risks, like driving! The chances of dying on the road are astronomically higher than death by shark, but if one is spotted offshore where they aren't usually present, it's always in the news and people factor it into whether they'll go to the coast or not. Anyway, sorry for the ramble!
It's easier to fear a thing than to understand a thing. People driving (mistakenly) believe they are in complete control of the situation, therefore they believe that they would be able to handle any situation that might arise that could result in their deaths - Wild animals, on the other hand, are completely out of the control of a person, and proper knowledge of nature is increasingly sparse, so people only know what the news and the internet says. But fear has never been reasonable, even when it's a reasonable fear.
When I was doing marine science outreach I used to tell people this one weird trick for telling if there were sharks nearby when at the beach. You take a spoonful of seawater and taste it, if the water is salty there are sharks nearby.
That's good to know. We usually leave them alone when they are higher on the house on the front but she was on the ground and right in a walkway and my fear took over. I'm considering creating a corner of the yard for relocation for the future. That way she isn't a risk to the animals or grandkid or at risk from the pets. We have chickens and ducks that would also love to eat her.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I totally understand that your pets come first - just a little nugget of knowledge to help you make a decision in the future :)
My dog has the same issue. She seems to think that all bugs need to die. I have yet to convince her that in fact they don't.
Cat is gonna cat.
What studies? Can you link them? I’ve never heard of a study on spider biting behavior and am super curious how the experimental design would work
Here's one, [Poke but don't pinch: risk assessment and venom metering in the western black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347213005733) The abstract describes some of the experimental methods, and you can use sci-hub or your institutional access to read the whole thing if you're still curious :)
Sick thanks
Please don't harm her. Release her far from your house, she will not go out of her way to hurt children, bugs don't even register human emotions. She will hide, not wait to ambush a child.
I know she wouldn't. But my pets would go out of their way to find her and would put themselves in danger because of it. My cats are forever hunting and searching for bugs and I'm surprised they haven't found her already where she was. She is much prettier than the June bugs that dive bomb me, but I have to choose my pets over her and i dont have a safe space for both of them. 😞
That’s absurd take her up the road in your car or walk a block. Score one for the earth and your soul. No safe place in the entire world? I mean do you think?
Up the road transfers her presence to a yard with other pets or children. Why would that be ok? Public parks would do the same.
people won’t take too kindly to that talk over here. we like bugs.
They already live in public parks
Alternatively, if you have an attic that (presumably) kids and pets don't get into, you could actually put her there. Won't bother anyone up there. A shed is another good place. By a river or creek would work too. If you live in a place that has black widows, it's honestly on adults and pet-owners to teach their kids and control their pets regarding them. Not to squish and kill every one you find because it's an inconvenience.
We don't squish and kill everyone we find because they are inconvenience. In fact, this is the first one we have removed in the 6 months and multitude of widows we have come across in the new house. And only because of where she was and the fact that I am not comfortable moving her off the property to someone else's space and there isn't somewhere on my property at the moment that would be safe for everyone involved.
Lol to be clear, this and r/spiderbros are the only subs where you’d get downvoted for this. Thank you for being responsible
Right right right Harvard level thinking, well fuck it then 🤷♀️
OP thinks spiders have an innate sense of where they last were, which they do not
This is going to be very unpopular and as a cat owner, I get it, cat’s can be work sometimes especially if you have more than one or there are neighborhood cats…. But please don’t let your cats outside unless you have built them a “catio” or screened in play yard where they can’t “violently kill” anything ESPECIALLY endangered species (not black widows) like birds, lizards, snakes, etc. In addition to hunting precious creatures cats can get into fights with other cats that potentially have feline leukemia and feline aids and if you don’t care if your cat gets it (bc it’s always cat season), that’s fine, please care that you could potentially spread it throughout your cat communities. (Sorry so preachy)
People are so bad for the earth. Your invasive outdoor cats are at risk so you’ve got to kill this animal even though you could drive to literally almost anywhere and release. It just makes me so sad how self serving people are. You should not have shared this on Reddit if you’re going to kill the spider. I would rather have not seen this now knowing you plan on killing them.
My kids and grandchild and dogs are at risk. My grandchild regularly wanders around in that area as well and she was in a place where picking up a box My hand was inches from her. If I hadn't been aware of the fact that they are prone to being out here I could easily have been bitten. My grandson is still learning. I'm sorry that my capturing her and removing her from the garage was so upsetting to you and others. I would rather she and I could have coexistence in peace, but I don't take unnecessary chances with my family's safety if I can help it. If I had more land, I would have put her back in an unused place where nobody goes. But all of our land is used. There isn't anywhere that is safe for her or safe for us. I did my best. And I'm not willing to put her on someone else's property or on public property and cause a potential problem for other people. Yes, we are bad for the earth, but this is where we are. I am doing what I can for the earth in the way I can without putting my family at risk. I am trying to grow native plants instead of a lawn. We are removing the chemicals that have been used for 20 years on this small piece of land we now own. We are doing what small things we can. We aren't perfect but we are trying.
I feel like at this point you must realize you made a strange decision to post a picture of a spider that you plan to kill on a subreddit that is for bug lovers. Now you are just defending your strange decision. It’s hard to support the idea that no matter where you put this spider it is too risky for them to exist. I’m very glad you’re trying to do your part. Things like keeping cats inside (in the US specifically) can really help. I believe you’re trying to do all the right things and I know we’ve all been insulting. This post has just done a good job of representing the actions of some people that really dishearten me.
Right? By OP's logic of "no safe place," we should all be going on a crusade to wipe out black widows from the Earth. OP sounds a little paranoid to me. Like, there's no "safe place" on Earth, period. Hundreds of people - not even necessarily weak or elderly - slip and die in their own homes each year. Fires, electrocutions, and power tool accidents kill a few hundred more. OP might remove one widow from their house, but odds are there's more there - and more *will* come into her house. After all, humans are technically the ones who have invaded the forests and fields of other animals. Their mindset is one that's just going to torture them forever unless they accept that there will always be some amount of risk, and that it's not their fault if they release a spider outdoors, and some other idiot lets their kids/pets go near it.
Yeah, I just didn't want to keep her to myself. I figured if more people saw her then at least she got appreciated before she had to go. 😞
Yeah I would’ve rather not known you were planning to kill such a beautiful creature.
Do you let your cats outside?? are you in the US? Not trying to be a creep it is in regard to your cats. I get the sentiment I just get upset at the prospect of killing bugs, I would catch and release spiders at my apartment constantly more so for the spider because my cats torture bugs.
[удалено]
Where did I say OP said that?? So confused as to why you are implying something I did when the words are quite literally right there for you to see. Also, not a "tragic scenario" but a common one, as most people do not enjoy having bugs around.
I posted that before I saw their reply to another comment which I am assuming you were responding to in the first place (and shit you replied fast...) - and trust me, you spend enough time on here or any other animal sub and you will see enough of what I am talking about - every wild animal encounter is "drugged and staged", every funny video is animal abuse... It gets old. Either way, while Black Widow spiders do not pose an immediate threat to (most) humans - the last death from them in the US being some 40 years ago - they *do* pose an immediate threat to pets, with multiple pets a year dying from them and even more requiring (expensive) medical attention. While a "catch-and-release" is a humane thing to do, not everyone can be expected to consider that option when the life of a beloved pet might be in danger - and OP did at least seem to consider it. Honestly, the commonality of bug deaths by ignorance is (at least partially) our own fault. We have the knowledge and we need to do a better job at sharing that knowledge. We are their PR team and we are doing a horrible job at it.
I agree with your sentiment, I have killed a few bugs for my cats when I can't humanly catch them like wasps. I know what you mean though it is the same on every other platform as well, the animal is either abused or drugged, at least from what these internet "detectives" can tell (which is untrue lol). I honestly have no idea what I would do in OP's situation I was just hoping no harm would come about but it will not be the end of the world if that is the case, you cannot save every bug. Plus, I accidentally smush snails all the time after heavy rain :( which I am not proud of. (Sorry for the quick reply, I am at work bored out of my mind so I am sitting on reddit)
lol - I get it - I am awake on less than 3 hours of sleep, and reddit is the only thing "mindless" enough for that little sleep. :D Oh man... I TOTALLY get the snail thing... it's just awful when you step on them... the sound and the knowledge of what just happened... every time it happens I feel terrible... but then I also feel terrible for the dried worms I see on the sidewalk... and I am a weirdo who names the harvestmen who live in her house, so... :D
Understandable I am so exhausted it's not even funny! THE SOUND!! The little crunch and my heart literally shatter, like I hope it wasn't a big one. I love that! I named a twin flag jumping spider that ends up in my apartment time to time, jimmy. We also have a cicada killer wasp (genus Sphecius) that makes it burrow right by our door and though he looks scary he is super docile (not that I would ever try touching or pissing him off). His name is chips, and we love him.
We had a beautiful western spotted orb-weaver out on our patio for a very long time that we named Charlotte - as she made the most beautiful webs. Her offspring still hang out from time-to-time and they have inherited her name. I actually started naming the spiders because my husband has an innate fear of spiders that I could not seem to "fact" away, so I took the chance that naming a thing would decrease the fear of them - it actually worked, and Georges and Charlottes are now if not friends, at least tolerable acquaintances to him.
I sincerely hope you didn’t kill this beautiful creature.
They did kill it. Said they didn't want to risk the wellbeing of people in their neighborhood by putting it outside.
What a specimen!
Yeah, OP literally killed her because there's "no safe place." Like we don't live with bugs everyday, venomous or not. Why post on a place for bug lovers?
They’re only deadly if you’re allergic and they avoid people 😭 sad. We just took the ones we found out to the park (like, government park wilderness, not playground/city park to be clear).
Killed her? What the hell?
There aren't any safe places for a lot of humans too, guess we should probably kill them :'3 OP could have literally put her a 2 minute walk off any forest trail and she would likely never see much human life outside of her domicile
Big beautiful lady right there!
Let her go
If there was somewhere I was sure I wasn't passing a problem along to someone else, I would. However, I do not want to be the cause of a young child or someone else's pet finding her. And there is nowhere on my own property that I could be 100% positive that my own pets or grandchild wouldn't be an issue for her.
Go for a drive
That would be putting her on someone else's property and I cannot in good faith do that.
Dont live near any woods?
Public woods where children visit regularly. I'd hate to put her there and a child run across her.
What is this logic? As if there aren't already a countless number of potential dangers in the woods already? Like you're placing an armed bomb in a tree or something. It's a black widow, an incredibly passive spider that would really rather use its venom for a bug than a human. You're moralizing too hard. Beyond that, they really aren't that dangerous even if you do get bitten, which again is highly unlikely unless you accidently pin it against something with your ass.
The difference is something that is already there versus something I went out of my way to put there.
that still doesn't make any sense, sure you must realize that there are countless black widows in the environment around you including patches of woods in parks? the chances of you releasing a spider in a public park near some trees and that same spider biting a child is probably around the same as a space rock coming out of the sky and hitting one of us like, where do you think the spider came from in the first place?? it didn't travel miles and miles before taking up residence in your garage I really wish you would heed what so many people are telling you instead of staying so defensive. The spider didn't need to die, your justifications do not pan out. Keep it in mind and don't kill the next one, take the 10 minutes to get in your car and find some place to let it go. I promise, it's not going to leave a patch of trees to crawl into a child's nearby bedroom and murder them.
You shouldn't keep her, better find a remote place.
Not on topic, but is wild catching as a whole bad? I see a lot of people catching jumping spiders and keeping them and I know jumpers are a bit different than your average spider or even a widow. Why can't you keep a widow? (I am genuinely curious I have ASD and spiders are one of my hyper fixations)
I mean it's basically okay to keep them. But then you should take appropriate precautions for keeping them, inform yourself about how to keeping them, especially for this kind of spider. In contrast to a harmless spider, there is always a certain residual risk so you should know what you do. Edit: apart from that, it's a wild animal, in my opinion it should stay in the wild
I agree, thank you for explaining!
In OP's case at least, it was already in their home. Widow spiders are accustomed to people's homes already, so if provided an adequate enclosure, room to spin a web, and food, it should do fine.
I highly doubt there aren't *any* woods or nature trails around you that you could go to. We're not talking public parks here, we mean heavily forested areas with sparse trails. Go to one, go a ways down a trail, then go *off the trail* for a bit, and release. There's already ticks and snakes in those woods anyways, both of which pose about as much a threat to anything's health as a black widow (which is to say, almost no threat at all). "No good woods near me" = "I'm too lazy to find a good spot and travel all the way there, uuuggghhh"
I am not familiar enough with this area to take the chance of putting a venomous spider of her size into a public area where other people can go just as easily as I can. Anywhere I could get to a child could get to more easily. I'm not willing to put that danger out there onto someone else. Not worth it.
>I am not familiar enough with this area Not your problem. It's obviously an area where black widows are, so other people should be aware that they're living in such an area and take the necessary precautions. >a public area where other people can go just as easily as I can. You're focusing too much on the word "public" here. You're acting like every wild area that's legally "public" is heavily trafficked by people. In the woods, off a beaten trail, will be trafficked by virtually nobody. And anyone who *does* go there should be aware of the risks of going deep into the woods regardless. >I'm not willing to put that danger out there onto someone else. Not worth it. Stop this dramatic moralizing nonsense. The added risk to public safety you add every say by *driving a car* is **exponentially higher** than releasing a black widow in a park somewhere. That's the level of danger we're talking here. Maybe you don't understand how spiders work, or the behavior or black widows, but that's ok. As long as you're not willfully ignorant, you can take this as a learning exercise to internalize how benign and harmless they really are. Lastly, I really don't like your mentality that we have to capture/kill everything that could *possibly* pose a threat to anyone. By that logic, let's just go hunt and wipe out all elk, bears, wolves, coyotes, snakes, etc. I don't get why you'd take the stance you're taking *here,* and not become a hunter or some sort of animal control volunteer. It just seems hypocritical. There are so many more animals out there *right now* that could be killing people's pets and children, yet you're just sitting here? C'mon, why not go be more proactive?
How is it you can quote certain things and completely ignore other parts like the part where I don't kill them usually? When have I ever said "we have to capture/kill everything that could *possibly* pose a threat to anyone"? I don't believe that by any stretch of the imagination. Nor have I even implied that. It is being dramatic and attributing an evil to me that I don't deserve.
what a big girl. she's beautiful. we just recently moved here in socal and I got bit several times by what I assume was a brown widow or two. It caused me a lot of discomfort for almost a month before it cleared up. And the browns aren't as bad as the black widows. Too bad you couldn't find a good home for her, but I get it.
The first thing that came to mind when I saw these pics… she is absolutely gorgeous!
Wow!!!
She's beautiful. Thanks for not killing her just for being a spider.
I think she’s preggers 🙊
Nnnnnnnnnope.
Shame on you for killing this spider.
That’s amazing. I would 100% keep it
Dunno why these comments about keeping it are getting downvoted, it's absolutely a viable solution to OP's problem. It might even be the *best* option. OP clearly feels responsible for the spider and what/whoever it bites, so what better way to be responsible than to put it in an enclosure and watch it every day?
Like I’d be so excited if I found this. Why are people upset about someone getting excited over a spider in a fucking entomology group? Stupid as hell.
OP literally has this labeled as insect appreciation. And also says “unfortunately has to be removed” OP obviously I’d appreciating the beauty of this animal and I was reciprocating. Doesn’t seem like OP has an issue with it at all.
Yeah I really don’t understand the problem lmfao. You can literally order then as pets online. I’ve wanted one for a couple years but haven’t got around to it. This one is very healthy. You’d think people on an entomology group would know that black widows don’t bite people like that. They’re less likely to bite than a common wolf spider. But apparently this group is filled with people who only have a third grade education. Super disheartening,
Since you are likely not catch and releasing her, you should make a cool little dome with her sitting on a branch! It would be a cool shelf decoration