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!!Spiders!!



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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 20 2015, 11:15 pm
Here in the PNW it's the time of year for spiders to make their ways indoors. I'm not a fan of killing them unless the are larger wolf spiders, and I'm lucky enough to have a cat that kills them (and eats them too). But jeez, I hate it when the sun is sinking and they start their migration indoors. Tonight's body count so far is 6. The cat was able to dispatch 5 as they were homing in on me like heat seeking missiles. I nailed one with my slipper but was a large wolf, and I'm very susceptible to their venom. Today I was outside spreading mothballs around my entries and along the chimney base. Tomorrow I'll go out and spray with some peppermint Bronners soap. Argh.
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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 20 2015, 11:34 pm
Do wolf spiders live in the midwest? I have these super itchy red bites on my arm. It's been about a week and they won't go away. Much worse than mosquito bites, don't resemble either bedbug or tick bites BH. Could it be spider bites?
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 20 2015, 11:44 pm
sequoia wrote:
Do wolf spiders live in the midwest? I have these super itchy red bites on my arm. It's been about a week and they won't go away. Much worse than mosquito bites, don't resemble either bedbug or tick bites BH. Could it be spider bites?


Wolfs will leave two little red holes. I believe they can be found through out most of No. America. I'm allergic to many spider bites, wolf spider venom pretty much rots my flesh, like a hobo bite or recluse bite would do. I'm also very allergic to the bites of tiny white spiders those cause itchy and painful welts on me but don't cause disfiguring wounds like the wolfs do.

Have you tried taking benadryl? Or try crushing a benadryl into a paste with some water and applying it to the bite. I mix mine with some bentonite clay. It's good first aid for a nasty bite. Cover it with a bandaid to keep it on the bite.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 1:20 am
I classify spiders into two groups. Bitey, and non bitey. (Yes, I made up that word.)

Non bitey spiders are garden spiders, and the type that make cobwebs to catch mosquitoes. They tend to stay in their webs and mind their own business, so I leave them alone. If a garden spider comes into the house by accident, I will gently escort it back out so it can protect my garden.

Bitey spiders, like the wolf kind, will feel the wrath of my shoe! Mad No mercy will be given. The worst spider bite I've ever gotten was from a wolf spider, and I still have a huge scar on my back from where the flesh literally melted. It took months to heal, and I probably should have gone to a doctor, but I kept hoping it would just get better. I had no idea how dangerous they were.

Anymore, I don't have a phobia of spiders like I used to, I just deal with them in a practical manner. I tell DD "don't worry, it's not the bitey kind. We don't like mosquitoes, right? Well this spider is protecting us, so we'll let it stay up in the corner."

Bli ayin hara, I haven't seen any spiders here in Israel yet. Time will tell...
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myself




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 7:12 am
Had a few large (wolf?) spiders in the house recently, several in the front yard. Never had them before. My cleaning lady told me they're dangerous around kids, is that true?

Any way to repel them? They literally make me gag and I wait around for DH to come home to kill them. Eeeeew!
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 8:04 am
myself wrote:
Had a few large (wolf?) spiders in the house recently, several in the front yard. Never had them before. My cleaning lady told me they're dangerous around kids, is that true?

Any way to repel them? They literally make me gag and I wait around for DH to come home to kill them. Eeeeew!


Wolf spiders are dangerous to everyone. See my post above about the scar on my back. They are also territorial, and can be very aggressive around mating season (October and November.)

Sprinkle a solid line of baking soda and cinnamon around all your floor boards, and pay special attention to under the sinks , behind the toilet, behind the stove, etc. Basically any place where you would clean for Pesach, put down the baking soda. It won't completely get rid of them, but it will cut down the amount in the house a lot. I have two small dogs, so poison was not an option for me. Your only other choice is really to get an exterminator.
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myself




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 8:11 am
FranticFrummie wrote:
Wolf spiders are dangerous to everyone. See my post above about the scar on my back. They are also territorial, and can be very aggressive around mating season (October and November.)

Sprinkle a solid line of baking soda and cinnamon around all your floor boards, and pay special attention to under the sinks , behind the toilet, behind the stove, etc. Basically any place where you would clean for Pesach, put down the baking soda. It won't completely get rid of them, but it will cut down the amount in the house a lot. I have two small dogs, so poison was not an option for me. Your only other choice is really to get an exterminator.


How do I know for certain which type of spiders they are?

I've never had them before, do they generally come in clusters? Do they have a nest of some sort?
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 8:50 am
myself wrote:
How do I know for certain which type of spiders they are?

I've never had them before, do they generally come in clusters? Do they have a nest of some sort?


Google for pics, if you dare. They are hairy, come in shades of black or brown, and are HELLA fast. They can move 6 feet in 2 seconds flat, not even making that up. They don't spin webs or build nests, they lurk under things during the day, and come out at night to hunt for food and find mates. They will also eat each other, so at the end of the season you'll see several really big ones, but not so many smaller ones. They are loners (see the part about eating each other) so you won't find them in groups.

The average PNW wolf spider (also called the huntsman spider) can easily reach up to 4 inches across or more. I found one once that had 3 inch long legs. Three inches per LEG! They can also live up to 3 or 4 years.

(At this point I start screaming "Dear L-rd, WHYYYYYYYYY????!!!!!!") shock
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myself




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 11:28 am
FranticFrummie wrote:
Google for pics, if you dare. They are hairy, come in shades of black or brown, and are HELLA fast. They can move 6 feet in 2 seconds flat, not even making that up. They don't spin webs or build nests, they lurk under things during the day, and come out at night to hunt for food and find mates. They will also eat each other, so at the end of the season you'll see several really big ones, but not so many smaller ones. They are loners (see the part about eating each other) so you won't find them in groups.

The average PNW wolf spider (also called the huntsman spider) can easily reach up to 4 inches across or more. I found one once that had 3 inch long legs. Three inches per LEG! They can also live up to 3 or 4 years.

(At this point I start screaming "Dear L-rd, WHYYYYYYYYY????!!!!!!") shock


Okay, okay, so I was 'lucky' enough to bump into one of those a number of years ago but B'H the ones we have now are not wolf spiders! When I looked it up it looked pretty much the same but your description above has clarified it for me. They look very similar, are somewhat smaller, but do spin webs.
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 1:48 pm
Ah I had forgotten that FF lived in the PNW and knew the horror of Wolf spiders. They hunt by movement and heat sensors in their little heads. So that's why they seek us humans out.

They're not so much a problem in my cabinets here, I like to keep them out. I caulked all the cabinets when I moved in. The doorways are their entries here. Unfortunately it's raining so I can't do the Bronner spray today.

I got my first Wolf bite in the Sierra Nevadas in 91. It finally closed in about 2001. I got my next in the winter of 2002, I did go to a Dr. who sent me to a wound specialist and it was 3 years of going and getting necrotic tissue trimmed.

I have a bench at the end of the bed and if I'm putting on clothing from that pile at this time of year I shake it out first.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 9:19 pm
Magenta, I've only been gone for two months, how could you forget?

Whenever DD would throw a wet towel on the floor and leave it there, I'd tell her "Oh, I see you're making a nice little cave for the spiders to live in! You know how much they love dark, damp spaces. Just be careful next time to go to dry off." Twisted Evil She was a lot better at picking up dirty clothes and towels after that. LOL
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 21 2015, 9:25 pm
FranticFrummie wrote:
Magenta, I've only been gone for two months, how could you forget?

Whenever DD would throw a wet towel on the floor and leave it there, I'd tell her "Oh, I see you're making a nice little cave for the spiders to live in! You know how much they love dark, damp spaces. Just be careful next time to go to dry off." Twisted Evil She was a lot better at picking up dirty clothes and towels after that. LOL


I think of you as an Israeli now Very Happy
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