What you DON'T want to find under your bonsai tree shelf...

Bonsai Nut

Nuttier than your average Nut
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For some reason we have recently been inundated with these guys. I must have killed a dozen in the last 6 months. And for the record, they don't just hang out in old wood and leaf piles - they seem to love retaining walls, barbeques, and bonsai stands

yikes.jpg
 

Graydon

Chumono
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Yep, bad stuff. But don't come to Florida as we not only have the black widow we also have the brown widow, much more common and more potent venom.

"Although the bite of a widow spider is much feared, the widow spiders are generally nonaggressive and will retreat when disturbed. Bites usually occur when a spider becomes accidentally pressed against the skin of a person when putting on clothes or sticking their hands in recessed areas or dark corners. According to Dr. G.B. Edwards, an arachnologist with the Florida State Collection of Arthropods in Gainesville, the brown widow venom is twice as potent as black widow venom. However, they do not inject as much venom as a black widow, are very timid, and do not defend their web. The brown widow is also slightly smaller than the black widow."

Sheesh, now I am creeped out sitting in my dusty web filled wood working shop... thanks.

Here's some spider photos to give you a chill... notice the stack of pots as a nesting site. And the "cool" egg sack if there could be one. I see them everywhere around the shop and home.
 

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Jay Wilson

Shohin
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I'm a bit creeped out too....I kill black and brown widows occaisionaly that I find under my benches.... Hate um! There not as spooky as snakes though. I just got back from the emergency room 'cause a pigmy rattle snake decided to bite my foot. I'll be limping for a few days

Jay
 
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We are supposed to have them here too, but I have never seen them. I've heard that they like to hang out under the rim of nusery cans too. More common here is the brown recluse. Never seen one either, but they are pretty nasty customers. Actually, I've pretty glad to live in a place that doesn't have any creatures that can kill you.
 

irene_b

Omono
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I'm a bit creeped out too....I kill black and brown widows occaisionaly that I find under my benches.... Hate um! There not as spooky as snakes though. I just got back from the emergency room 'cause a pigmy rattle snake decided to bite my foot. I'll be limping for a few days

Jay

Dang Jay!

You live in Snake Country and you were barefooted?
Irene
 

Jay Wilson

Shohin
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Lol. 99% of the time I wear boots when I go outside. This was one of those times I wasnt. I had just run out to the car to get the dog food...

Jay
 
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Though they are venoumous they are very reluctant to bite. Usually will do so if they have an egg sack around and are threatened, mostly the venom is for predation.

It has been said that you are never more than 3 feet away from a spider when you are outside, that means you probably have one crawling up your back right now. :)
 

BONSAI_OUTLAW

Banned
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I got bit by a brown recluse last year when carrying some wood to the burn pile. I didn't think too much about it till this sore kept getting bigger and bigger....Then it looked like it was rotting and I went to the ER. When it was all said and done with I had a hole in my arm big enough to totally hid a marble in.
 
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I got bit by a brown recluse last year when carrying some wood to the burn pile. I didn't think too much about it till this sore kept getting bigger and bigger....Then it looked like it was rotting and I went to the ER. When it was all said and done with I had a hole in my arm big enough to totally hid a marble in.

I've hear that a bite like that can eat a grown man's foot off if not cared for properly.
 

Graydon

Chumono
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I got bit by a brown recluse last year when carrying some wood to the burn pile. I didn't think too much about it till this sore kept getting bigger and bigger....Then it looked like it was rotting and I went to the ER. When it was all said and done with I had a hole in my arm big enough to totally hid a marble in.

OW! Those things are bad!

My nephew was bit by a brown recluse on the chest as a child and by the time he want to the ER the hole was golf ball size. Needed skin graft when it was all done.
 

Graydon

Chumono
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I'm a bit creeped out too....I kill black and brown widows occaisionaly that I find under my benches.... Hate um! There not as spooky as snakes though. I just got back from the emergency room 'cause a pigmy rattle snake decided to bite my foot. I'll be limping for a few days

Jay

Jay - tell me you killed it, skinned it and that you are going to make a dog collar from the skin! That would be... southern bling.

Seriously I hope you are OK and recover fine.

Going to come to Saturday's workshop at Cee Jay?
 

Jay Wilson

Shohin
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Jay - tell me you killed it, skinned it and that you are going to make a dog collar from the skin! That would be... southern bling.

Seriously I hope you are OK and recover fine.

Going to come to Saturday's workshop at Cee Jay?


Well Graydon, I did kill it and I like the southern bling idea but I took it to the hospital with me because they like to be able to identify it themselves...anyway they wanted to keep it for their collection.

I'll be fine though, it didn't actually inject much venom (they think) so its just a matter of a couple of days until the swelling goes down.

If I can get my boots on I'll come to the workshop.

Jay
 

irene_b

Omono
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Well Graydon, I did kill it and I like the southern bling idea but I took it to the hospital with me because they like to be able to identify it themselves...anyway they wanted to keep it for their collection.

I'll be fine though, it didn't actually inject much venom (they think) so its just a matter of a couple of days until the swelling goes down.

If I can get my boots on I'll come to the workshop.

Jay


Graydon, please be kind enough to let everbody know that he was bit for being barefoot!
And to please (tell everybody) stomp on his good foot to remind him to NEVER EVER go outside BAREFOOTED again!
Irene
 

Jay Wilson

Shohin
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Heck Irene,
I'm a born and bred florida boy... I didn't even know what shoes were till mama brought home a pair for me to go to school in!

Jay
 

Graydon

Chumono
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Heck Irene,
I'm a born and bred florida boy... I didn't even know what shoes were till mama brought home a pair for me to go to school in!

Jay

Amen Jay, I got stung by a wasp on the between the big toe yesterday wandering out to check on a couple of trees barefoot... it's Florida and until the sandspurs pop up I hate to wear shoes.
 
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Thanks so much, guys. I really appreciate it. Had I seen this post with it's beautiful macros maybe 7 years ago, I probably would have had to go home for the day.

I had a serious spider phobia most of my life, until I overcame it by showing mercy to a tarantula while in Tucson, AZ. still get a little shudder but not like before.
 

Tachigi

Omono
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There must be a curse on this site. I never before saw a black widow up close and personal. Read this thread this morning then went out and ripped down and old shed so we can erect a pump house to irrigate the fields. Low and behold I had one of those little black suckers charge me .... he was pissed I disturbed him. I jumped like I was in the Olympics. Gave my wife a good laugh.
 

cbobgo

Mame
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I've had a couple of these prowling around, usually try to relocate them rather than squish them, as they eat other bugs for me.

A few months ago the cats were chasing something in the house - went to take a look and it was a little scorpian! Had to squish that one before anybody got hurt.

- bob
 

Moley-O

Seedling
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ewwwww spiders! I hate spiders...creepy little buggers they are. Over here we have the brown recluse and a black spider with a whitish hourglassish (sometimes more like a heart) on its back.

I got bit by a spider near the left eye during my sleep once. I noticed the bump and started squeezing the poison out...when I finally went to the doctors office, she said Im lucky I didnt lose my eye sight because the venom made a track almost to the back of of my eayball.
 
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