I was about to go and do some Qi Gong tonight after I answered some comments on the site, when a spider ran over my foot. I looked down to see the picture to the right -- a female Hobo Spider. Although I normally catch and export all "Bobs" (The Wife calls all spiders Bob) from the house, I kill these. It feels weird to kill spiders, I've never done it much, but these can give very serious bites so off they go. Here is some info on the bites (warning, the image is not for the weak-stomached) from a Hobo Spider website.
Although I kill individuals I find, I do not attempt to trap these guys because the traps are indiscriminate and may kill other important spider species. Don't get caught in the hype (normally propagated on the trap packaging), bites are indeed rare and it's not worth decimating your spider population to avoid the possibility. They do like indoors, and tend to be on the ground. They're not small, with leg-spans easily larger than a quarter, into the half-dollar size. Only the males (second picture) have the big, obvious palps, which look like black boxing gloves. Males are easier to identify, so know the female look too.
Sleep tight,
Bp
8 comments:
Thanks! How'd you find it?
those are the ones that invade my apartment every fall. They've become a favourite snack of Merlin's, so I don't have to worry about killing them. Course, then he reacts to them and licks a bald patch in his tummy from itchiness. Can't win >.<
A good 8 or 9 years ago now, when i first moved down into the basement, i was asleep (and my bed was on the floor) when in the night i stretched it seems and caught a big, black wet looking spider with my elbow that was living underneath my pillow, it bit me, and i woke up because my arm felt like it was on fire. So, this sensational lasted about 2 hours and a small pump appeared on my albow which had 2 largish bruised holes in it. (this is the fun part) one of the holes had a hard white head on it.. when i tried to pop it (like a pimple) it elongated a bit, but made my forarm twitch. I Grabbed tweezers, and pulled. out came about a foot long elastic white core..
Went to the doctor next day, looked me over, looked at the spider, looked at the core, shrugged and told me to get a bed frame :P
Poor Merlin, it's just one thing after another for that little guy.
Yuck Bentley, just yuck.
Hahah i know ><
i now have a rather large fears of spiders thanks to this..
ya that was kinda gross, i am a big fan of spiders, but i also have a healthy respect of them. as a child growing up in southern oregon, we had black widows, and i was bit by one. had to go to the hospital and have the poison drawn out . but i still really like the critters
We had lots of spiders in Missouri, and I learned what a black widow and a brown recluse looked like. I have to admit I kill even garden spiders if they're big enough, cause I just freakin' hate 'em. Remember my story about Terrokarantula, I still have nightmares.
I love spiders for the most part. In san diego I grew up with "daddy long legs" everywhere. Not sure if that is the name of them. but they have a tiny body and the longest legs I've seen on a spider yet. They are like having nice little friends around. They don't do much but try to scale the walls with them legs.
Then i moved to Oregon and was introduced to black widows when the cats were fixated on something near the couch....that's when the fear of spiders began!
We have spiders in our house and I don't mind them at all. but I know the black widows live in the garage and so I rarely go in there.
Post a Comment