black widow placed web on telephone pole and side walk

[pythontricker]

what should I do in this senario?

[mischevious21]

As much as I love spiders (I really do), I said kill it. BUT- dont just walk up to it and try to smach it, because you do NOT want to get bit!!

I was down inTexas a few years ago and got bit by a recluse- and that was not exactly the best time of my life...

I would say to get close to it- and spreay it with hair sprey till it can no longer move- then kill it.... I know- it sounds dumb- but thats what Ive done to a few centipeads before and it worked... (Im DEATHLY afraid of centipeads- and there was a few incidents where I was in the bathroom and they were on the wall, floor, etc and yea.. point is it worked. lol.)

[Street Killer]

call the cops.

haha, j/k.

i voted safely move it, but i don't know the first thing about black widows, or how one would go about safely moving one.

[calibp]

I say kill it. Black widows are poisonous, and if there are children playing in the area, a bad scene could happen. Just smash the thing, and flush it.

[tigerlily]

I think it's odd that I'm saying this, but I'd vote to move it safely to another location. (I do NOT like spiders) These spiders aren't going to jump and attack you the moment you get near.

If it where a rattlesnake would you kill it and dispose of it? It'd be a lot more difficult for me to move that, but I'd find a way to do that too. (even if it meant calling someone more able to accomplish it)

[littleindiangirl]

Leave it alone. Why are children playing with a telephone pole? How did the black widow make a web using the telephone pole? Just an odd scenario. Only place I ever saw a black widow was in the grape fields... Dont go killing or removing it. If it it so out in the open (on the side of a telephone pole), a bird very well could get it.

[wolfy-hound]

IF you decide to try to move it, I reccomend wearing latex gloves, maybe even dishwashing gloves with longer 'sleeves' on them. Be safe. A flat bit of cardboard to shoo it into a cardboard box might work. Spiders sometimes will rush into the box to hide, as long as the box is still, and the shoo is vigerous. LOL.
If kids are nearby, then yes, it's possible for one to be bitten. Or an adult could see the spider, decide to smush it, and be bitten(not to mention the spider getting killed too).

[Michelle.C]

Black Widows are generally pretty docile little spiders. She's not going to jump at you and attack.

We have them all over the place out here. I either move them or leave them, depending.

If you want to move her, take a broom and collect her on the end. Take her to the woods and lay the broom down or give it a little shake to make sure she gets off.

[edie]

black widows actually aren't as bad as most people believe (they're non-aggressive, don't kill as many people as most people like to believe) but i know the average person shouldn't just walk up and try to relocate one because thats one of the ways these spiders get bad reps.

arachnids are a big part of my life, and i would never kill one, but if you're really worried and you are too afraid to relocate it then you should just kill it as quickly as possible, they really don't feel much pain. (and trust me, if you just leave it there someone else will kill it without giving it a second thought)

black widows are not aggressive spiders, they usually play dead if you are able to knock them out of their web, and if they don't then they're pretty slow moving when they're out of the web.. very easy to catch at that point, in my experience.
i live in AZ and there are L. hesperus EVERYWHERE.. i've kept them for about 5 years. it does take a while to learn how to catch them out of a web because they are so fast but after you get the hang of it, its actually quite easy.

if you do decide to relocate it then good luck.
seriously, i've never had a problem with them, i had some harmless tarantulas that i was more afraid of them the black widows i've kept.

and a word of advice.. try and destroy the web at the sides (with a long stick) so the spider cannot run away (they're extremely fast when they're on a web, and can find a corner/hole to put themself in which makes it very hard to catch them) as long as you have a clear cup (so you can see what you're doing) and a piece of cardboard.. you should be fine.. unless you have the spider out of its web and you try poking it in the face it shouldn't try to bite.. and they can't jump.

if you've caught web laying spiders before its basically the same, just be a little more careful with this one. if you're a normal healthy adult and you get bit you WON'T die, you don't even need antivenim sometimes.. just morphine.

[edie]

heres a picture of one of my past widows playing dead after i first caught it



the broom idea that Michelle.C said is really good too, i didn't even think of that.. probably your best bet if you don't want to get too close to the spider.