I don't know if I just caught a black widow spider

[BigToque]

I don't have a camera, so I can only describe it to you.

It looks identical in size/shape to all the black widow pictures I see on the net, but it's the marking on the spider that I'm not so sure about.

The top of the spider is completely black.

The bottom of the spider has 2 red markings. The top marking looks like the top of an hour glass, but the second marking is separated from the top red marking (black space between both the markings) and does not look like the bottom of an hour glass (just more like a little red smudge).

Does that still sound like a black widow? Or could it be something else?

I should also say that I live in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

 

[shoRunner]

its a black widow...or you could let it bite you to be sure.

 

[James Bond]

Yep, black widow.

 

[Q]

Don't let him bite ya.

Ok, her.

 

[0roo0roo]

i just squash those bastids on sight.
too dangerous to fool around with

 

[Kaspian]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
its a black widow...or you could let it bite you to be sure.

Yeah, why dont you touch it and see if you get a tickle out of it. j/k

 

[Kaspian]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i just squash those bastids on sight.
too dangerous to fool around with

QFT, their venom is more potent than of a rattle snake.

 

[nonameo]

Originally posted by: Kaspian

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i just squash those bastids on sight.
too dangerous to fool around with

QFT, their venom is more potent than of a rattle snake.

I'm sure they pump less of it into you.

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: nonameo

Originally posted by: Kaspian

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i just squash those bastids on sight.
too dangerous to fool around with

QFT, their venom is more potent than of a rattle snake.

I'm sure they pump less of it into you.

Their teeth are so sharp they can cut men clean in two.

 

[coolied]

Yes, it is a black widow spider, they can have many variations of the red markings........ Yes, they are highly toxic and it wouldn't be a good idea to provoke it to bite you on purpose (wouldn't be really easy anyways).............. No, they are not particularly dangerous, they are highly non-agressive, they require a HIGH level of provocation to bite, and they are pretty lazy and usually just chill in their web and eat bugs.............. a wasp or yellowjacket is actually more of a threat............... leave Charlotte be and put her back in her web.................. better yet, take her outside to a wooded area and release her there............

 

[Hyperlite]

Cage match: Black Widow vs. Daddy Long Leg!


Fight!

 

[darkswordsman17]

The chances of you even really getting sick from a Black Widow bite are slim. You'll probably feel nauseous, but most people will not even really get sick (just feel some pain), let alone come close to it killing you. Thats if it actually injects much venom into you if it bites, which most don't even do (most bites on humans are in self defense and so its a warning bite to get you away). If it were to bite you, there's no need to even go to the hospital unless you're showing symptoms very quickly or it doesn't go away after a day or so. Pretty much only people who are allergic to the venom (small percentage) and/or already sick should be very worried. I would actually say that people freaking out over being bitten is worse than the bite.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com...ider_bite/page2_em.htm

 

[coolied]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
The chances of you even really getting sick from a Black Widow bite are slim. You'll probably feel nauseous, but most people will not even really get sick (just feel some pain), let alone come close to it killing you. Thats if it actually injects much venom into you if it bites, which most don't even do (most bites on humans are in self defense and so its a warning bite to get you away). If it were to bite you, there's no need to even go to the hospital unless you're showing symptoms very quickly or it doesn't go away after a day or so. Pretty much only people who are allergic to the venom (small percentage) and/or already sick should be very worried. I would actually say that people freaking out over being bitten is worse than the bite.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com...ider_bite/page2_em.htm

QFT............ most bites will make you feel sort of flu-like for a couple of days, you could have some abdominal pain that mimics appendicitis and cramping in your muscles....... if you were to seek medical treatment, except in the most serious bites it would be nothing but pain meds and muscle relaxers............ the venom is basically a cocktail of enzymes and protiens to paralyze the prey and aid in digestion for the spider.......... some of it just happens to affect our nerves and muscles......... in a worse-case scenario, they have a nice antivenom which works almost everytime.............. it's the brown recluse you have to watch out for, them buggers are nasty........... they ARE aggressive and cause a necrotic (basically rotting) lesion..............

EDIT: darkswordsman17, you were looking at the same emedicinehealth link that I was reading LOL.............

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: coolied

QFT............ most bites will make you feel sort of flu-like for a couple of days, you could have some abdominal pain that mimics appendicitis and cramping in your muscles....... if you were to seek medical treatment, except in the most serious bites it would be nothing but pain meds and muscle relaxers............ the venom is basically a cocktail of enzymes and protiens to paralyze the prey and aid in digestion for the spider.......... some of it just happens to affect our nerves and muscles......... in a worse-case scenario, they have a nice antivenom which works almost everytime.............. it's the brown recluse you have to watch out for, them buggers are nasty........... they ARE aggressive and cause a necrotic (basically rotting) lesion..............

EDIT: darkswordsman17, you were looking at the same emedicinehealth link that I was reading LOL.............

I already knew most of that, just wanted to throw a link so people can educate themselves.

Brown Recluse bites are pretty overblown too. Again, a very small percentage of people get affected, and the cases of those that get serious (you've no doubt seen the pictures) are from stupid people who do nothing for a long period of time (in which case it gets infected and things spiral out from there). Most cases of spider bites cannot even be proven to be spider bites, let alone a specific spider (and most people can't identify a brown recluse or black widow on site so that complicates things even further). People are so afraid of them that they just want to blame them.

Personally, I don't mind spiders. If they stay out of the way, I leave them alone (although I kill all of them that I see in a bathroom just because). There's spider webs all over around our building (and in the hallways). I like them there because they're eating all the bugs (which are far worse). Of course when it starts to get cold and they move inside is when we have a problem.