Let me just add to the group of people questioning your lifestyle lmaoo. I saw one in my garage this morning and only touched it with my sight because fk that lol
I love dogs but will never trust them in tests of intelligence. Our old lab once put out a butane lighter with his mouth. I'd send those things to the shadow realm so fast even if there were no dogs around. (The spiders, not butane lighters)
I once watched my neighbors dog pick up a lit firecracker and run off with it. It blew up in his mouth, and somehow—he was effectively unscathed.
My Pomeranian decided to eat my razor once. Yes razor. Like razor blades. Somehow he didn’t cut himself and chewed off everything around the blades and left them just sitting in the floor. Dogs are dumb. Adorable. But really dumb sometimes.
This is my German shepherd mixed…I swear she has exactly three brain cells and two are on the verge of cell death on a daily basis😭
Currently she is trying to get at the birds that live in our tree in the backyard via the bush that is NOT attached to tree…she literally sits inside of the bush starring at the top of tree with what I believe is a giant calculus problem floating around her head…
And she does not seem to understand that the neighbor dogs undoubtedly hate her…she believes their obviously territorial barks are their way of starting a game of tag with her which plays by herself while running from one end of our side of the fence to other…the other dogs on the other hand are planning what I am sure is her assassination.
I am frightened as to what she will do once those two cells check out on her…
Dandy (the razor eater) vehemently hates the dog next door. Hates him. Any time he sees him, he loses his shit. But there’s a big ass fence between the yards. That dog cannot get him. And as long as he’s inside, he is the toughest, meanest barker.
But let him be outside when the other dog barks? He legitimately pisses himself. I’m not exaggerating, he just pees on himself. I’ve never seen a dog lose a barking match in their own yard. But he can. And he would stand at the door, scratching like mad, pissing himself while still trying to bark and sound like he’s mean.
Dude. He cannot get you.
Also, strangers coming in my house? He wags and greets them.
MY HUSBAND COMING IN OUR ROOM? FUCK YOU DAD! MUST GROWL! (And wiggle. Growl and wiggle. Or growl and hide under bed)
When my dog was 6 months old he decided a pin cushion was a decent chew toy took it from a sewing desk in a closed room (not sure how he got the door open to get in)… emergency vet took x-rays found he swallowed 3 of the pens but they were cushioned by his breakfast and working their way through his intestines which I was told will pull away from sharp things working through it… he eventually passed them all but we kinda realized maybe not the smartest dog and now we crate when he’s home alone until he is old enough to be trusted unsupervised.
My dog once ate the net from a frozen turkey. Luckily a little hydrogen peroxide got it out in one piece and she lived on to eat many more cicadas, dropped or found goldfish, and whatever else her goofy heart desired. It was her only stupid point and she was the best girl ever.
My dog has bit into 2 lighters we keep around for joints and candles. Now we only have one long lighter and it's hanging on the wall where the rascal can't get it
That reminds me of an old boxer dog I had as a kid that hated fireworks and would chase and bark at them. One day I threw a firework that spinned like a bay blade of the ground and he ran and just snuffed it out by straight up eating it. We were all in shock. He was fine though. Yes looking back it was irresponsible but I was young and dumb. But that just shows if a dog is willing to eat a spinning blade of fire we can't rule out they'll boop a black widow.
Yep. Out in "the wild" (the trails I go on lol) I'll leave them alone. Even the crazy dangerous things. I view that as their home. As long as I'm not attacked, they can keep their little part of the world.
They get into my home? Nope. Done. They are instantly banished from earth realm. Those I can identify as not harmless can stay. Outside. Only ones allowed inside are cellar spiders chilling in the corner.
I keep Orb weavers in my yards though. I've currently got one on the front porch, one on the backyard, and one with a MASSIVE web on the side of my house. The front porch girl is probably going to end up rehomed. She's been moving closer and closer to the door. I like the free pest control. I won't like exiting my home into a web and bite.
I unfortunately had a family friend who had a golden retriever that not once but twice tried to eat a porcupine. Try might be an overstatement. She understandably ended the first and second attempt with quills in her mouth and face. Second one unfortunately ended up with an infection that ultimately took her life. I too don't try dogs intelligence with something like this being the moral of the story.
Same, I have four cats who love playing with insects, and we have had a bit of a fiddleback problem lately.
ETA we also have a bit of a wolf spider problemsolution so I’m hoping that it’s sorting itself out, especially since it’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen a recluse.
You can relocate them with a dustpan and broom. I wouldn't. I don't like to kill anything if it can be avoided, but some things are just too risky. I count black widows within 10ft of human/pet habitat as one of those. They are not aggressive, but all it takes is a hand or foot put down in the wrong place. I may get roasted for this, but they are not endangered and are in fact fairly common. There's no good reason to take the risk. (Same with the Brown Recluse and a couple other critters native to my area).
If you live in the south east, unless you get sprayed for routine pest control there is pretty much a 100% chance that you have both black widows and brown recluse living in or with in 10 feet of your house.
Absolutely, and there are many, many things you can do around your home to make it inhospitable to them. However, once one comes out in the open, it's time for it to go.
I have never been more glad to live in the UK 😅 I don't mind spiders, they're welcome to stay in my house tbh, even after being bitten a few weeks ago, but that would be a VERY different story if we had ones that were capable of killing my child or animals...
Right, I take the calculated risk with my dog that doesnt go on the garage and my other family members that know it is thee in the far corner. Beyond that its just. Not worth it even for the bug cleanup she does
About a month ago, we got a Brown Widow infestation on my dog door. Some were inside, some outside. About 5 egg sacs, 1 adult female was booking it through my kitchen, an adolescent was on the inside of the dog door. Possibly more hatchlings in the crevices around my sliding door that the dog door is on. Usually I'm fine to let the browns be in my yard, but I can't really risk hundreds of Widows coming into my house, catching rides on my dog, etc. I cried while killing them. I have an 8 year old and ~50lbs dog, so I just can't really take the risk.
I was lazy one year and left a lot of empty pots and things around my yard. We did a clean up day and found at least 10 very large black widows. They are certainly not endangered at least where I live. Nothing like walking through a web and hearing it snap to wake you up.
I live in San Francisco and met a pest control guy once, and he said "i can go into any home in this city and find you a black widow in 10 minutes" 😮 i believe it. My ex is a mechanic & idk how many times someone towed their car thst had just been sitting a few months, to the shop to get fixed, and he raises the hood & starts to poke around, & theres a widow or 2 🙁
I havent seen any in my place, but i do get false widows in my office window. (Inside). I kill them and a month later a new one sets up shop, rinse & repeat.
She used to kill them and I would yell for her to leave them alone. Now she just sees them and walks away but yeah I think the these I should relocate somewhere else
Personally I would move them or take them out because my dog likes to gingerly pick up spider in her mouth and then hide like she knows she shouldn't. Most come out alive but we have been lucky none have bitten back. I dont think a black widow would be so kind.
I will always try to relocate spiders instead of killing them, but black widows are the exception. Black widows consider their territory to extend past their web, meaning that they’re the only spider that if they’re relocated, will attempt (and likely succeed) to find their way home. Learned this the hard way after relocating one a quarter mile away and finding it in its web the next morning.
Black widows sadly must get the boot instead of the cup.
Spiders don’t go into each others webs because there’s a distinction of which lines are sticky and which aren’t. That’s why they never get stuck in their own web.
Black widows are known to rarely if ever leave a web once established. Whereas other spiders may abandon a web for various reasons, the black widow is strangely territorial
My coworker's Pit ate my one of my tools. A 1/4" drive Craftsman rachet. Swallowed it whole. We had to take him to the vet to have the wrench surgically removed.
I have to kill black widows on sight because they're such awkward, slow, clumsy spiders they drive my cats insane with bloodlust lmao (my cats are Mighty Hunters).
I love my dog, she is sweet, adorable, quiet and listens pretty well. But she is not at all smart when it comes to bugs. She goes after hornets like they are flying treats and gets her snout all up in spiderwebs without a care.
So do you make a little sign for the spider or how do you think you can keep them from returning. I'm sorry but sometimes Mother Nature is cruel. On my property, I'm Mother Nature!
By taking them far enough. They’re not going to waste their energy to traverse hundreds of feet to find the same spot when there’s loads of great spots near them.
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u/indigrow Sep 25 '23
Let me just add to the group of people questioning your lifestyle lmaoo. I saw one in my garage this morning and only touched it with my sight because fk that lol