(no subject)

[arethinn]

[Poll #1049164]

Myself, I generally leave them alone, unless they are right over my bed (catch and take outside), in the bathtub (which they can never get out of unaided, thus catching and taking outside is really saving them), or my mother has pointed them out (and she would kill them if I didn't take them outside). If they're anywhere else in the house I just say "hello, spider!"

Comments

[elf]

Depends on where and what kind of spider.
Black widows, and anything that looks remotely like them, get killed on sight. Zero tolerance for spiders with round smooth black bodies. Not even if they might be common grass spiders.

Wolf spiders get killed if they're in open areas that people move through. Wolf spiders are aggressive; they'll bite people who move too close to them.

Cellar spiders get killed if they're on the bed, tables or kitchen counters; if they stay to corners, under shelves and such, they're welcome to stick around. They only get killed (or even moved) if they're in an area that people actively need to be using. If they want to use the area between the lamps and the walls, that's fine with me.

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

We have black widow spiders in the Bay area?

[elf]

We have them; they're rare. The black widow found in the Bay Area is the shiny black Latrodectus mactans, sporting a characteristic red hour-glass-shaped mark on the underside of her abdomen.

Black widow webs are very strong; since their venom is strong enough to take down even wasps, their webs are strong enough to hold a large, struggling bug, unlike cellar spider webs that won't hold a full-grown fly.

And they're fairly non-aggressive, except for males during mating season. Which go hunting for mates away from webs, hence the "squish it if it looks like a black widow" policy. But even those are mellow compared to wolf spiders, which have a "bite first; decide what it was later" philosophy.

[glitterychaos.livejournal.com]

One of my biology teachers (with a fondness of spiders that I share) has done a few studies in the Bay Area and found that black widows were significantly more common than previously thought, and far from rare. The few cases of black widow bites is mostly because well, they aren't agressive. They'd much rather be left in peace and if bothered, tend to run first and bite only as a last resort.

Part of the problem lies in their IDing characteristics. Who's going to turn a spider over onto its belly to look for a red hourglass marking before squishing it?? Not many people. In any case, not all widows have that prominent, easily IDed red hourglass mark. There's also a widow spider common in California that's not even black (its brown, varying shades of it if I remember rightly).

In any case, they aren't dangerous to humans if you take the few simple precautions most spider sites recommend (most important is the wearing of gloves when handling non-frequented places outside): http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG369/notes/black_widow_spider.html

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

Whoa! I had no idea they were that huge. The biggest spider I've ever seen (aside from a tarantula), which was grey/brown and had set up shop in the ivy on our backyard fence, was bigger than 40mm legs stretched, but not by much. Most spiders in my house are 15mm tops.

[glitterychaos.livejournal.com]

They don't live out in the open. In fact, my prof had to crawl under houses before he found lots of them. So um, don't go crawling under your house? :)

I've a fairly big spider, with an abdomen of oh, maybe 30mm, maybe a bit more. Plus legs its definitely over 40mm. Its quite happy in its ginormous web outside my bedroom window, and doesn't mind the camera flash or flashlight, so I've had fun observing it web-spinning and eating and the like. But that's large, for a spider out in the open. I don't usually see them bigger than 10-30mm, legs and all, just hanging out in the open. And I usually am looking out for them too :)

[heartssdesire.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. They are quite common in rural areas and they do get pretty large. I've seen ones with bodies nearly the size of the pad of my thumb. Fortunately it is pretty uncommon to find them in houses unless it's been sitting vacant. They like dark, quiet places. You usually find them occuping the corners of sheds, spaces underneath people's decks or stairs, stuff like that. They're pretty distinctive even if you can't see the red hourglass; their bodies look very fat and very black and shiny like armor, and the legs are sharp and black and smooth, not hairy. They *look* like dangerous spiders. Also the webs they make are tougher, not cobwebby.

[rhiannasilel.livejournal.com]

I'm with you, depends on the kind of spider. I'd definitely add brown recluses to the instant death list. Fortunately, I don't have to deal with them anymore now that I'm back on the east coast.

Wolf spiders are crazy and they get death, too. I had one chase me across my bedroom in FL. I have to say that's the first time I've actively been chased by any animal.

[ninth-myth.livejournal.com]

same here. small and harmless - catch and put outside.
huntsman in an easy spot catch and put outside (call for help if around, i'm not good around spiders but i still want to throw up if i make it drop a leg and they have bad uncooperative legs) in a bad spot kill and hope like hell i know where it dies.
anything weird looking is usually poisonous around here so isolate and kill.

[ninth-myth.livejournal.com]

and on seeing some of your replies, average size of spider discovered in house is about 8 to 12 cm leg span (not stretched out even) or the little ~2cm whitetails. and i have a lot of 'stuff' and good spider hiding places hence the freaking out when they run. the freaky looking ones are usually smaller and more compact, about 5cm. spiders are firmly the boyfriend's domestic duty. i keep jars, cd spindle lids etc in most rooms. but i aim to keep a well sealed house (and car!) so i can just avoid the whole issue. i'm ok with them outside, just run in the opposite direction.
we have the world's giantest woodpile and my father likes to lay a new fire whenever the old one is burnt. and it's an open fire so perfect invasion potential. paranoid? not much.