FORGET the Black Widow Spiders!!!!!

[Manes&Tails]

While I was turning my water troughs over yesterday for cleaning, each one has a Black Widow Spider underneath!!!!!!!!:eek: Yes, I killed them!!:no:

Does anyone know what a BWS bite would do to horse? I am worried my horses will be bitten?

[bird4416]

Black widows are pretty distinctive with the bright red/orange mark on the abdomen. They live under my water tanks and salt block pans. I squish them whenever I encounter them. I know they cause severe muscle cramping in humans; not sure what they do to horses.

[Laurierace]

Just doesn't have the same effect when not posted in all caps then followed by dozens of exclamation points. I am not impressed.

[HuntJumpSC]

Just doesn't have the same effect when not posted in all caps then followed by dozens of exclamation points. I am not impressed.

Meh....the title is lacking oomph. Try again.

[arabhorse2]

I never turn anything over without using gloves because spiders, especially black widows, like dark, cool places.

Yeah, they're venomous spiders and their bite can be painful. Some people may need to take antivenin, but most recover without it.

I doubt something as large as a horse is going to die from a black widow bite.

Unless your horses are in the habit of turning over their water troughs, I kind of doubt they're in any danger.

[Arcadien]

Okay, I have two pov's on BWS's.

First, I'm a nature gal and believe all things have a place in the world, so I try not to kill anything unless it is clearly a danger to myself, pets, or horses, etc, or damaging my property value.

So going with this theory, when I found a gloriously huge BWS under my mounting block, I named her "Vivian" and left her to enjoy her shady cool haunt (and I warned people not to move the mounting block, lol).

Trouble was, apparently Vivian was a prolific producer (I shudder to think of all the hapless mates she seduced - then ate! hehe) as I soon became aware that I had her children, grandchildren, neices, nephews - you get the idea -under *everything* . AND next thing I knew, my neigbhors started complaining about a BWS infestation. (oops, wonder where that came from?)

Did some research, and although the BWS venom shouldn't kill a healthy adult human, it can kill a small child or elderly person. And even for an adult, apparently the bite is so painful morphine hardly touches it, ouch!

Soooo... I had to compromise and now my policy is (sadly) to smush every BWS I come across - except Vivian, of course. GRIN.

I try not to tell this story to too many people - for some reason it makes them look at me strangely...? so please don't tell anyone who knows me about Vivian, or Igor either, for that matter - or people will really start to think I'm weird.

;) TIC ;)

Arcadien
(oh yeah - Igor is the black rat snake under the barn)

[RedTahoe]

A Black Widow spiderbite will not kill a healthy horse. If you notice a bite on your horse, call your Vet, tell them what happened (or what you THINK happened as chances are you aren't going to be RIGHT there when your horse is bitten by whatever), and see what he/she says to do. Our Vet often recommends hosing off the bite and administering a pain reliever/anti-inflammatory since it's rare that someone watches the spider bite and can identify EXACTLY what bit the horse.

Tidbit of info: the antivenom treatment used in humans is made from horse serum.

[mypaintwattie]

It's funny, we horse people can deal with alot of creatures down at the barn. Rabbits, squirrels, mice, rats, as long as they are not eating anything of mine they don't bother me. Snakes- well, they may get a small shudder. BUT. bring out the Potato Bugs, Roaches, or BLACK WIDOWS and I turn into an absolute raving mad lunatic waving a manure fork and fly spray spraying and beating them into a pulp while yelling "die, die, die!". :lol:ICK! I've found a few in my feed bin that are no longer with us to say the least. I guess its the fact that growing up all I heard was about how a black widow or a brown recluse bite can kill you, so they have no part in my little part of the barn.

[crewgirl34]

BWS, no big deal. What you really should be worried about are Brown Recluse Spiders. Those suckers are NASTY!

[RedTahoe]

BUT. bring out the Potato Bugs, Roaches, or BLACK WIDOWS and I turn into an absolute raving mad lunatic waving a manure fork and fly spray spraying and beating them into a pulp while yelling "die, die, die!".

I was bringing the dogs in from outside into our basement area when I felt something drop on me, and I (instinctively) flicked it off. When I tried to see what it was, I saw two of the dogs (large) run over to something and keep jumping backwards - enough that they lost their balance. At first, I thought it was just a giant beetle...until I wondered why ants were running around the beetle. Then I realized what it was and grabbed the dogs and closed them in the other room.

Wolf Spider....expelling its babies from its back *shudder* I looked down and had about 10 babies crawling on my shirt. :uhoh:

I FREAKED OUT.

[Dance_To_Oblivion]

I was bringing the dogs in from outside into our basement area when I felt something drop on me, and I (instinctively) flicked it off. When I tried to see what it was, I saw two of the dogs (large) run over to something and keep jumping backwards - enough that they lost their balance. At first, I thought it was just a giant beetle...until I wondered why ants were running around the beetle. Then I realized what it was and grabbed the dogs and closed them in the other room.

Wolf Spider....expelling its babies from its back *shudder* I looked down and had about 10 babies crawling on my shirt. :uhoh:

I FREAKED OUT.

I would have freaked out too! Oh my god I would have been shrieking like a banshee!! Just reading that made me shudder...

[arabhorse2]

Ugh, wolf spiders. :dead:

I know they're not venomous, but they get monstrously HUGE.

Any spider that you can actually hear running across your floor is not one I want to have drop on my shoulder. Tikatikatikatika.....

[RedTahoe]

Tikatikatikatika.....

Same sound a Paso Fino makes across a sounding board - :lol:

[JSwan]

Does anyone know what a BWS bite would do to horse?


Take the goldfish out of the trough and feed them to the spiders.

Or, take some snaps and use them to anchor the trough down.

[Dispatcher]

I was bringing the dogs in from outside into our basement area when I felt something drop on me, and I (instinctively) flicked it off. When I tried to see what it was, I saw two of the dogs (large) run over to something and keep jumping backwards - enough that they lost their balance. At first, I thought it was just a giant beetle...until I wondered why ants were running around the beetle. Then I realized what it was and grabbed the dogs and closed them in the other room.

Wolf Spider....expelling its babies from its back *shudder* I looked down and had about 10 babies crawling on my shirt. :uhoh:

I FREAKED OUT.

That's horrible!!! You poor dear. I don't know what I would have done if I'd seen that. I too would have freaked out. And to think, it LANDED on you--oh.my.god. And then there were some on your shirt. TOTAL NIGHTMARE

[Alagirl]

Take the goldfish out of the trough and feed them to the spiders.

Or, take some snaps and use them to anchor the trough down.


:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: :lol::lol::lol::lol:

[laskiblue]

I'm pretty okay with most creatures, but any big chunky-bodied bug or spider near me, my horse, or my dogs gets no quarter.

[HuntJumpSC]

Take the goldfish out of the trough and feed them to the spiders.

Or, take some snaps and use them to anchor the trough down.

*Snork!* :lol:

[Ambrey]

Gawd, I have black widows all over the freaking place. On a positive note, an exterminator once told me that they are the one spider you can kill with ground spray, as they drag their abdomens when they walk. Whether that's true or not, I do not know.

For what it's worth, I don't know any person or horse who has ever been made ill by a black widow bite, despite knowing a lot of people and horses who live in BW heavy areas. I suspect they are very unlikely to bite unless you really mess with them.

[CatOnLap]

Well, I own a horse who actually was bitten by a confirmed black widow spider, as a yearling. He was a curious sort, puts his nose into all places, where one crawled onto his nose and ended up biting him on the cheek under his eye , probably when he squished it trying to rub it off. It resulted in a baseball sized lump, that erupted into a creeping ulcerated wound the size of a silver dollar at its worst. He was treated with some sort of special antidote the vet had, weeks of antibiotics and the sore took about 6 months to heal, leaving a slightly sunken, ragged, spider shaped scar under his left eye.

[2WBs1TB]

I hate people who kill a creature because they're ignorant jerks.

If you leave the BWS alone they won't bother you. They are shy and prefer to avoid confrontation.

But hey, I guess you guys who kill spiders must prefer the bugs and other creepy crawlies that DO cause more harm than good, because you're killing the predators that help control them.

[tbgurl]

They really aren't much of a threat unless you provoke them. I even accidently picked one up one time...it was on a black polo wrap, I felt a clump of dirt on the polo wrap, turned it over to see it and saw a fat little black widow sitting right on my palm...I threw that sucker down and beat it to death with a broom. Fortunately, it didn't bite me before it met its demise. I still inspect polo wraps carefully before picking them up.

(And the males look nothing like the females...they are small and brown. So if you see a shiny black spider with a large abdomen and a red hourglass shape on the underside you know you're dealing with a female black widow)

[Dispatcher]

I hate people who kill a creature because they're ignorant jerks.

If you leave the BWS alone they won't bother you. They are shy and prefer to avoid confrontation.

But hey, I guess you guys who kill spiders must prefer the bugs and other creepy crawlies that DO cause more harm than good, because you're killing the predators that help control them.

I'll admit, I have run across a lot of creatures that are ignorant jerks and needed to be killed :lol:

[Alagirl]

I'll admit, I have run across a lot of creatures that are ignorant jerks and needed to be killed :lol:

not spiders, I assume.....:D

[Dispatcher]

not spiders, I assume.....:D


Are you kidding?!? Spiders are the biggest and most ignorant creatures of them all. But I don't play favorites--I'll kill ANY creepy crawlie.

[Arcadien]

Hmm, well Vivian is "Big" but ignorant? Think about it, she and her sisters have it made - find a nice dark spot, wait for your food to come to you, wait for your suitors to hang out nearby, then wink at one when you feel "in the mood", have a nice romance, eat your date, and take a nap... definitely not a creature I'd call ignorant LOL.

But back to ignorant jerks needing to be killed, yep I know a few of those, my BIL is at the top of the list right now. LOLOL

[RedTahoe]

I hate people who kill a creature because they're ignorant jerks.

If you leave the BWS alone they won't bother you. They are shy and prefer to avoid confrontation.


And yet "hate" is such a strong word.

Most venomous spiders (and some snakes) are shy and prefer to avoid confrontation; however, a spider (or snake's) opinion of "avoiding confrontation" is subjective. What we may see as "harmless," a spider (or snake) may see as a threat and bite (or strike and bite).

If you simply must let all living things live, then trap the BWS and relocate them.

[RedTahoe]

That's horrible!!! You poor dear. I don't know what I would have done if I'd seen that. I too would have freaked out. And to think, it LANDED on you--oh.my.god. And then there were some on your shirt. TOTAL NIGHTMARE

Pretty much wanted to vomit. I shoo'ed it out the door with a copy of Western Horseman - "git along l'il doggy." The babies, well.....not so much.

[Ambrey]

But hey, I guess you guys who kill spiders must prefer the bugs and other creepy crawlies that DO cause more harm than good, because you're killing the predators that help control them.

I have kids so I need to not have poisonous spiders in my garage, but we are very careful not to randomly kill spiders for exactly this reason! Especially those huge garden spiders that put up 5' webs, those things eat all kinds of bugs!

[Dispatcher]

Pretty much wanted to vomit. I shoo'ed it out the door with a copy of Western Horseman - "git along l'il doggy." The babies, well.....not so much.

Oh, the babies--you mean you KILLED all the jerks????

[TheHorseProblem]

I hate people who kill a creature because they're ignorant jerks.


SNAP!!!!!

[ChelseaR]

Black Widows I tend to leave as long as they are not numerous (or on my stuff).
Scorpians on the other hand are dead as soon as I see them!!
Been stung by the nasty suckers a few times too many.