Mixed feelings about spider on Zkittlez clone

ltecato

Well-Known Member
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On one hand I'm glad to have someone guarding the plant. On the other hand, that is one scary looking spider. This is in LA County.
 

ltecato

Well-Known Member
I know there's black widows under ever old board and bucket in my back yard but I'm glad I don't have to deal with Australian spiders. Because I read that they are nasty nasty eight-legged poison factories that you don't want to mess with ever. Tunnel web spiders or something.
 

Sithlord88

Well-Known Member
I feel the same way!! I kill at least half of em. I do try to leave them, cuz if they are there, bugs are there. Only bad thing is seeing random little strings of web then spending 15 min looking for potential spider mites.
 

ltecato

Well-Known Member
That spider you've got appears to be a brown widow. I'd leave her be, they tend to outcompete black widows for territory.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus_geometricus
Now that is interesting. Less toxic than a black widow but they are very aggressive to black widows. I have been amazed at how many black widows I see in Southern California. They tend to hang out in piles of junk and trashy areas, dirty sheds and dusty garages, in people's back yards under old boards or rocks. I think I read somewhere that you can identify a black widow web by the fact that it's kind of built sloppy compared to other spider webs, not symmetrical. I guess if you're a femme fatale you can be a little careless about your housekeeping. :lol:
 

socaljoe

Well-Known Member
Now that is interesting. Less toxic than a black widow but they are very aggressive to black widows. I have been amazed at how many black widows I see in Southern California. They tend to hang out in piles of junk and trashy areas, dirty sheds and dusty garages, in people's back yards under old boards or rocks. I think I read somewhere that you can identify a black widow web by the fact that it's kind of built sloppy compared to other spider webs, not symmetrical. I guess if you're a femme fatale you can be a little careless about your housekeeping. :lol:
Fun fact, the toxin itself is of the same potency as that of the black widow, but the brown dispenses a lesser amount, reducing the overall severity.

I don't personally consider black widows to be a major threat. Generally they want even less to do with you than you with them. I take care not to go sticking my hands in blind openings and under tables and chairs without inspecting first, but that's about as far as that goes.

Also, if you've ever gotten a spider web stuck to you that feels especially sticky and extra tough, it's probably a black widow web.
 

Sithlord88

Well-Known Member
Up in the pnw the brown recluse is what you gotta watch for. My boy had one make its home in his flowering jawgoo(cant spell). The make huge crazy funnel webs. Like little tornadoes of death. It took the two of us 20 min to find and remove the little fucker. Then a long time to clean the web. Scary spiders...
 

ltecato

Well-Known Member
Up in the pnw the brown recluse is what you gotta watch for. My boy had one make its home in his flowering jawgoo(cant spell). The make huge crazy funnel webs. Like little tornadoes of death. It took the two of us 20 min to find and remove the little fucker. Then a long time to clean the web. Scary spiders...
Funnel web! I thought it was tunnel web! Doh!bongsmilie
 

Sir Napsalot

Well-Known Member
I think I read somewhere that you can identify a black widow web by the fact that it's kind of built sloppy compared to other spider webs, not symmetrical.
That's true- I lived in Phoenix for a couple of years and there were black widows everywhere
 

socaljoe

Well-Known Member
Up in the pnw the brown recluse is what you gotta watch for. My boy had one make its home in his flowering jawgoo(cant spell). The make huge crazy funnel webs. Like little tornadoes of death. It took the two of us 20 min to find and remove the little fucker. Then a long time to clean the web. Scary spiders...
Take this for what it's worth...

The brown recluse's range doesn't extend anywhere near the Pacific Northwest. This is a distribution map of the brown and different species related to the brown recluse:
colorloxmap.gif

In addition, they don't build huge funnel webs like you're describing. The brown recluse builds webs in out of the way, hidden locations generally.

Don't take my word though, all my info comes from a recognized arachnologist from the University of California Riverside.

http://spiders.ucr.edu/brs.html
 

Sithlord88

Well-Known Member
Perhaps not. They dont "live" here but they are rare here. But we took out this big 4-6" funnel web with a big ugly similar looking spider. I guess it may not have been a recluse. Growing up i was taught thats what they were.
 

socaljoe

Well-Known Member
There's a lot of misinformation and hysteria about the brown recluse (especially here in California), just trying to offer a bit of clarity.

2016-03-07-1457387813-3802365-PHOTO2-thumb.jpeg
 

too larry

Well-Known Member
I was hiking yesterday and this song came around on the mp3 player. I thought of this thread.


btw, since most of the trails I hike see very little traffic, I do lots of silk blazing. Spiderwebs in the face are always new and exciting, no matter how many times it happens.
 
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