Moon's Graden

Any one ever heard of black widow spiders being in the Raleigh, NC area?

I never heard of black widows being here, but I'm pretty sure I saw one
in my crawlspace where I keep my lawnmower (and other stuff).  It was
black and had the red hourglass on it.  I tried to spray in there,
because i don't want to be bitten.

-d

Widow spiders (Genus Latrodectus) are the best known and largest of the
Cobweb Weavers (Family Therididae). All widows are venomous. Black Widows
comprise about 6 species and inhabit most warmer regions of the world to a
latitude of about 45 degrees N.

The species L. hesperus is common in the western US and is the Black Widow
found in the North American deserts. L. mactans is the Black Widow common in
the eastern and central US. The Brown Widow Spider, L. geometricus, is also
found in the US.

Widow spiders (Genus Latrodectus) are the best known and largest of the
Cobweb Weavers (Family Therididae). All widows are venomous. Black Widows
comprise about 6 species and inhabit most warmer regions of the world to a
latitude of about 45 degrees N.

The species L. hesperus is common in the western US and is the Black Widow
found in the North American deserts. L. mactans is the Black Widow common in
the eastern and central US. The Brown Widow Spider, L. geometricus, is also
found in the US.

Joe Zawadowski

--
"Freedom begins between the ears."
Edward Abbey

"Which ever way your pleasure tends,
if you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind"
Hunter

http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/THERIDIIDAE.html

John Sloan

According to an article by arachnologist R. G. Breene, Phd, there are 5
species in North America:

The Southern Black Widow -  L. mactans
The Western Black Widow - L. hesperus
The Northern Black Widow - L. variolus
The Red Widow - L. bishopi
The Brown Widow - L. geometricus

Here's a link to the article, which includes geographic ranges in the US and
life histories for each of these species.  Very good reading.

http://www.cviewmedia.com/Articles/AM01_WidowSpiders.html

John Sloan

The best method for controlling any animal is to attempt to make the area as
undesireable for them as possible. For widows this means clearing out any areas
that would allow them to tuck a web someplace out of the wind and rain
(dismantle debris, wood piles, etc.) and try to remove as much potential insect
food as possible, lowering the avaliability of prey. If you're looking to lower
the numbers in and around the house/garage/shed it basically comes down to
keeping dog and cat food, human food, bird seed or any other obviously edible
substances sealed at all times. You can't totally eliminate the prey of course,
or the spiders but you can make it less likely that they'll wander by and stay.
As another poster noted, they're also not an active or agressive species- don't
stick your hands anyplace you can't see and you should be fine.

It does hurt a bit though... kind of a "Stick a red hot needle in your arm,
then think of the worst flu you have ever had and add that feeling from the
morning  after you push yourself way too far physically and everything aches"
but it's not usually fatal in healthy ***s. Usually.

-Seamus Haley
"Genes, like Leibnitz's monads, have no windows; the higher properties of life
are emergent... And once assembled, organisms have no windows." - Edward
Wilson, Sociobiology