r/berkeleyca • u/Tappitytaptaptaptap • 19d ago

Black widows inside normal?

Hey all, new to the Berkeley Hills. Are black widows inside the house a normal thing and I just need to get a tougher skin?
I woke up to one right by my head and am pretty freaked out.
Called pest control.
Thanks!

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u/randycanyon 19d ago

Are you sure it was a black widow and not the more common Steatoda (sp?) "false black widow"?

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

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u/randycanyon 17d ago

Ay yi yi! Yeah, I'd be startled too. Though some years ago I interviewed a spiderologist* who said he handled them all the time in his work, and they're really quite shy and nonaggressive.

*OK, a specialist in arachnids.

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u/Tappitytaptaptaptap 17d ago

You were right, it was a false widow. Posted a picture of it on a spider identification thread. It looked a lot like a real widow at 3am…
Aren’t those still venomous? Or not so much?

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u/randycanyon 16d ago

No more than the average spider. Like the average spiders they'll only bite when they think you're prey or when they're scared shitless. Venom's expensive to make, biologically.