# Black Widow **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-widow/456511 "2008-07-14T22:26:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-widow/456511/1 "2008-07-14T22:26:32Z")
I came home from work, dropped off my messenger bag, took the trash cans from the curb, collected the mail, & then went to the mailbox we set up for UPS packages. I reached in, removed my order from Bud Plant Comic Arts, and saw it, in the back of the box. A Black Widow spider. > **[Latrodectus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_widow_spider)** > > 35, see text > Latrodectus is a broadly distributed genus of spiders informally called the widow spiders, with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. > A member of the family Theridiidae, this genus contains 34 species, which include several North American "black widows" (southern black widow Latrodectus mactans, western black widow Latrodectus hesperus, and northern bl... > [@](#): > > Although their venom is extremely potent, (15 times more potent than that of the rattlesnakes; it is also reported to be much more potent than the venom of cobras and coral snakes), these spiders are not especially large. Compared to many other species of spiders, their chelicerae are not very large or powerful. In the case of a mature female, the hollow, needle shaped part of each chelicera, the part that penetrates the skin, is approximately 1.0 millimeters (about .04 in) long, long enough to inject the venom to a point where it can be harmful. The males, being much smaller, inject far less venom with smaller chelicerae. The actual amount injected, even by a mature female, is very small in physical volume. When this small amount of venom is diffused throughout the body of a healthy, mature human, it usually does not amount to a fatal dose (though it can produce the very unpleasant symptoms of latrodectism). Deaths in healthy adults from Latrodectus bites are relatively rare in terms of the number of bites per thousand people. Sixty-three deaths were reported in the United States between 1950 and 1990 I had never seen one outside of a Zoo before. My elderly father has diabetes & a heart condition, and I am allergic. Allergic to **death** , that is. It had an egg sac in its web. That means\* lots more\* in my mailbox. Steps had to be taken. Raid & a yardstick were used, the first to kill the spider, the second to clear out the web (there might have been another in there), & crush the egg sac. **NOT** what you wish to find when you look for a package. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-widow/456511/2 "2008-07-15T00:20:30Z")
There’s always the can of Lysol and the BIC lighter approach, followed by more RAID. Kills the spiders & the smell scares the piss out of your bill collectors too… :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bubba\_jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bubba\_jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba_jr)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-widow/456511/3 "2008-07-15T02:27:46Z")
Its only a black widow, I’ve had one living in my bathroom window now for about 8 months(I think its the same one, I talk to it while I shower). The screen is part of the wall so it can only go out(1968 double wide, classy!!). A friend of mine used to work at NMSU and they did a survey to see how many black widows they could find on the very busy campus, they went around 1 building and found 1200 black widows within 3 feet of the base/foundation of the one building. You really have to screw with them to get bit, though, I have noticed they love mailboxes and that is probably a bad place, especially when you send your kid out to get the mail. Now the spider I saw the other night at the shop(I stay there a few nights a week) scared me, about 2.5 inches around, beautiful dark fuzzy grey with black stripes. Reared back and postured much like a scorpion(4 legs on the ground and 4 in “fighten” position). Then jumped about 18 inches in the air and did a backflip, then gave me the posture again. Rinse, repeat, several times, then the slipper of death squished him, he looked too dangerous. Then the night before that there was the whip tail scorpion (vinegaroon), about 3 inches long without the whip tail. I played with him for a bit, he squirted his vinegarie goodness and then I let him wander away under a machine to go eat things that I am actually scared of. Back to the black widows, if you have them, you’ll never get rid of them, you’ll very rarely see them, but just be careful sticking your hands into dark places you haven’t been in a while, a mailbox is a bad place and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if most black widow bites came from mail boxes, not a spider to play with, tarantulas are not a problem, but the black widows get the squish. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-widow/456511/4 "2008-07-15T02:30:12Z")
Could have been worse. It was just in your mailbox. You could have been in a primitive area and needed to use the outhouse. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-widow/456511/5 "2008-07-15T02:45:10Z")
What the spider thought when it saw you: _“Oh no!! I’m gonna die!!!”_ ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-widow/456511/6 "2008-07-15T02:49:11Z")
I just found a black widow today, in the corner by the sunroom, outside. Sprayed her with bug killer. Sorry. You picked the wrong corner to live in. It had a big egg sac too, and that had to go. Go live on the back fence. Stay away from a corner where I have stuff, and regularly stick my hands.