We killed a baby black widow in my house. I say there must be more yet my husband says it was more then likely a stray. Does anyone have any experience with this? If so what can I do to safely (children in house) exterminate them?

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• Yes it helped to relieve my mind a little. My husband said the same in different way. Thank you for the knowledge.

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  by Anonomous on October 24th, 2007

• I thought Black Widow bites were pretty flipping nasty for adults as well as children.

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  by Time Lord on October 31st, 2007

• Yes, it can be bad, depending on the bite and the adult human. The venom is a neurotoxin, plus full of bacteria, and if the spider gets a lot of venom inside you, your'e in for a world of hurt, and if you are especially sensitive or have a weak liver... you could die. Also, unless the baby blew in while balooning, there could be more around. My garage was infested and I found nest after nest in there. The nest was marked by a little pile of bug parts on the floor of the garage, and thick wispy spider silk aranged in a chaotic design, not the ty so I knew a nest was somewhere above that, such as in the hollow area above the legs of our freeze. I've also recently found two or 3 males in my house, so I'm in for a spring and summer of constant cleaning and exterminating.
  Check out the book "The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators" by Gordon Grice. There are also many spider sites with good info on black widows. I have Western Widows in my house.

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  by kwahamot on June 16th, 2008

• The best thing to do is clean up and organize your house and outside your house too. Don't create ideal nesting areas by leaving clutter on the floor for long periods of time. A pile of wood or kindling next to the fireplace or along the outer wall of the house is a bad idea. They love wood and also cardboard boxes. They prefer to nest near a floor and food source, so keeping other bugs out is good. I plan to line every entry and vent with sticky bug tape to trap everything that tries to come in, then fumigate. I got bitten by a Brown Recluse last October, so I'm extra paranoid. When cleaning up wear gloves with long shirt sleeves taped to them and tape your pants to your socks. They tend to bite when they feel trapped between something and your skin, so be careful when reaching into dark places. I'm using Raid with a gas mask, and then keeping the kids away until the air is clear. I also bought some powder to sprinkle around outside.

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  by kwahamot on June 16th, 2008

• They need a spell checker here. :) Reposting the first msg....

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  by kwahamot on June 16th, 2008

• Yes, it can be bad, depending on the bite and the adult human. The venom is a neurotoxin, plus full of bacteria, and if the spider gets a lot of venom inside you, you're in for a world of hurt, and if you are especially sensitive or have a weak liver... you could die. Also, unless the baby blew in while ballooning, there could be more around. My garage was infested and I found nest after nest in there. The nest was marked by a little pile of bug parts on the floor of the garage, and thick wispy spider silk arranged in a chaotic design, not the typical orb shape, so I knew a nest was somewhere above that, such as in the hollow area above the legs of our freezer. I've also recently found two or 3 males in my house, so I'm in for a spring and summer of constant cleaning and exterminating.
  Check out the book "The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators" by Gordon Grice. There are also many spider sites with good info on black widows. I have Western Widows in my house.

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  by kwahamot on June 16th, 2008