Know Your Spiders

Marsman · Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:28 am

[img]https://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/ob/spideranatomycopy.jpg[/img]
[img]https://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/ob/spiders3.jpg[/img]

https://www.cracked.com/funny-1934-spiders/

Green Mantis · Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:50 pm

So much for NOT stepping on house spiders! Unfortunately for the spiders, I do step them. I don't mind them outside, just not inside!

manofthetrees · Sun Feb 20, 2011 6:53 pm

they forgot to mention that if you do manage to step on one in the house it will cause it to rain for months and you will inevitabley drown anyway

Odd Duck · Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:34 am

Fortunately, I rarely have to worry about the dreaded house spider anymore. My specially trained team of attack cats are astonishingly good at controlling these heinous monsters. It is still startling to find the spider corpses in the morning, but I'll take that any day over the horrible, creeping, sneak attacks to which I had previously been subjected.

Everyone knows the only good spider is a flat spider!

Charlie MV · Sat Feb 26, 2011 1:47 am

I didn't6 see any boat spiders. We have a spider mitt to remove them each week of summer.

Their webs are amazing. They wont break loos from stainless steel deck rails using a pressure washer.

Marsman, it must be an amazing experience to live in that head of yours.

I still post the Popeye/ Godzilla pictures you fixed up for my boat.

applestar · Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:27 am

I'm the "uppity new-age type"

I also thank them for growing so big eating all the unseen bugs in the house.

hendi_alex · Sat Feb 26, 2011 10:38 am

Love most of my outdoor spiders, though am black widow phobic and we have them in every dark crack and crevice in the yard. Don't especially love indoor spiders but let them have the run of the house until they get bigger than a quarter inch or so, then they get tossed outside where IMO they really belong.

Here are a few of our outdoor buddies from the past year or two:

From the night:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/2724301192_8b128baf99_o.jpg[/img]

Sorry to say that I kill a hundred or more of these each year. Just can't tolerate them in my space.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2142/2669441462_b3664b4849_o.jpg[/img]

This parked on one of my pots:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/2751135352_0947ee8462_o.jpg[/img]

One of our more common spiders:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/2723753230_cb2a29a445_o.jpg[/img]

[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3156/2728704036_cb2833471e_z.jpg[/img]

Another very common variety with many similar species:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/2727650789_0c071a3e61_z.jpg[/img]

One of our favorite annual visitors:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2745614754_fafb735a84_o.jpg[/img]

These guys live in holes in the ground, tunneling down a foot or so deep. Only member of the tarantula family that we have locally.
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3019/2747074426_3c8f6947de_o.jpg[/img]

Here is her home:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3235/2746956647_13e185f3e7_o.jpg[/img]

This one is not too happy with me:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/2747787960_f5fc925618_o.jpg[/img]

Check out this spider's delicate, almost invisible web:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/2753716155_08495a08d4_o.jpg[/img]

Some people have emeralds, we don't need them:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3631/3622640773_6948180643_o.jpg[/img]

I'm so smooothhhhh!
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3390/3517938271_d2fa556ff5_o.jpg[/img]

Little jumper:
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2432/3603431653_b70d19cd1e_o.jpg[/img]

applestar · Sat Feb 26, 2011 11:05 am

Alex, I LOVE it that you're back and posting your wonderful photos again!

tedly · Tue Mar 08, 2011 12:48 am

Marsman's original list left out one very important spider to know. Orb Weavers.

[img]https://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu165/tedlyb/bird_eating_spider01.jpg[/img][/url]

arisachu · Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:05 am

Oh my gosh. I actually read that whole article even though I'm positively scared to death of spiders.

(I did try to skip over the pictures of the big scary spiders, knowing that I would probably give myself nightmares

) I know that we'll get some spiders outside when the plants get transferred out there, but I'm hoping we won't get any of the really scary ones. Even in the hottest of Georgia summertime I will be out there in full long-sleeved/panted garb protecting myself against these tiny terrors.

tedly · Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:46 am

I got no problem with spiders. Spiders eat other bugs. They can hang around all they want as long as they give me room.

thanrose · Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:29 am

I'm the New Age type too, regarding spiders. But like Alex, black widows gotta go. They deserve a place, a homeland, a spidery Mecca, but not in my 'hood. Well, particularly not in my storage unit. I'm not as leery of brown recluse, even though I was bitten by one six years ago. Okay now, but I battled infections for 3-4 months and still have scars from it. A brown recluse is not going to put a web right where your face would be coming through. A black widow will. And she'll bring her kids. Next thing you know they are setting up lemonade stands in your laundry room.

I've hand fed Phidippus spp. with still wriggling mosquitoes on forceps or chop sticks. Very fast.

Love the humor, love Alex's pictures. And I understand why people freak about these fabulous little creatures.

After all the Phidippus spiders aka jumping spiders, I like the Argiope spp (fabulous webs and big mama spiders), Gasteracantha spp (look like colorful crabs), and Nephila spp for their golden webs.

And yes, I gasp when I walk into a web unaware.

tomf · Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:12 am

Nice photos Alex.

Dixana · Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:29 pm

Oh.....my...................I wish I hadn't looked at this thread.
Alex I think your pictures have traumatized me completely about moving to SC.....
I am TERRIFIED of spiders. Terrified...... I cannot even fathom walking into my shed and finding one of THOSE things. It makes me shudder just thinking about it. I almost flipped our little john boat two summers ago when we went under a bridge which was home to a LOT of big nasty water spiders. I had a panic attack then cried.
Even up here where we don't get too many I clean the baseboards and window sills, etc one a month and coat the outside window sills and door frames in baby powder to deter them from the house.
........................ Are there lots of them? Do they like the garden?

Dixana · Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:39 pm

I know spiders are "good bugs", we have enough skeeters up here to appreciate them. But I still don't like them. There was a big one in my garden last year big a huge web between one of my mater plants and the shed. I for some reason decided not to kill it and got so paranoid whenever I couldn't see it I wouldn't go near that corner of the garden and stopped wearing flip flops out there.
Knowing they serve an important purpose doesn't keep me from shrieking like a 5 year old and running when I find them. I have to confess....without a shoe or a tool or a fly swatter I can't even kill them myself

hendi_alex · Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:43 pm

Early in the morning, when the dew is heavy, the spider wonderland is surreal. On both the lawn and the trees, more real estate is covered by various web than is free from them.

Speaking of the critters, yesterday I kind of wondered if I had a spider bite, several actually, on the under side of my arm. There were three marks that itched somewhat, and when I rubbed the area, the skin just melted away as if it was half digested. Now the nickel sized area has a secondary pink ring that extends out a little larger than a half dollar. Doesn't hurt much, is not abnormally warm to the touch, doesn't seem to be getting worse and doesn't seem to be very deep. Still am wondering, as I don't remember injuring the area, though have been hauling some oak limbs which could have scratched through my shirt. Guess I'll watch it a few more days.

Bite area? looks a little odd because it is covered with liquid bandage. Kind of gross huh!

[img]https://farm6.static.flickr.com/5147/5641873820_0095b6595e_o.jpg[/img]

trinoc · Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:57 pm

Looks like a bite of some sort, to me.

I have those holes in my garden! I wonder if they're spider homes... I've always wondered what bores a perfectly circular, dime-nickel sized hole in the lawn and the garden but have never been brave enough to burrow down one to look and see if I can find out.

Dixana · Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:23 pm

Alex I'd remove that liquid bandage and boil that out with either alcohol or peroxide and leave it out to air. I can't tell very well from the pic but it's looks kind of pussy and should be allowed to drain. How big is it? If it's still seeping by tomorrow you should probably have it looked at before the weekend comes.

Jaydenz · Sat Jan 07, 2012 5:25 am

Lol @ the OP!

Thanks for sharing that.

I lost my tarantula. She was on my bed and I forgot to put her back in the tank and then she was just gone. But I can get one of these soon and I'm naming her Alix! She can live 30 years.

[img]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6651955273_09e7243d87_z.jpg[/img]

The only ones I don't like are the brown recluses and we have a lot of those here. But we always have Adolphs meat tenderizer for that. Telegraph spiders are really cool too and so are jumping spiders!