Spiders

[thistlebloom]

We used to live with an uncommon amount of black widows. Our house was quite old and you could generally be assured of running into a few every month. Fortunately they don't make sudden moves and are easy to squash. I'm pretty much ok with spiders if I see them first. And they aren't climbing on me...
I feed the cats in a small sheltered area attached the the outside back of the dog run. I went in one day last week and walked through a web, annoying but no big worry. That is until I came out and caught sight of something huge, climbing on my sleeve in my peripheral vision. All bets were off then and I'll bet most of my neighbors could tell you they heard bloodcurdling screams coming from the direction of my property. I was jumping and flailing and screaming. Got my aerobic workout for the day.

 

[Nyboy]

Yep, Aren't they ones that dropped Grandma's china due to a spider scare?

whole box not 1 piece not broken. still have not got up to house to look for it

 

[Carol Dee]

whole box not 1 piece not broken. still have not got up to house to look for it

When you do, let me know

 

[Zeedman]

Spiders are like broccoli people ether love or hate.

Don't know about that comparison... I certainly wouldn't think of spiders & food in the same breath.

When I lived in San Diego, my garage was full of black widows. They are not aggressive & didn't bother me personally, but I had toddlers at the time, so had to exterminate them before they could find their way into the house. We lived on the rim of a canyon, so the population would eventually be replenished, and the extermination would be repeated.

After returning to Wisconsin, I had a garden on the edge of a field. There were orb spiders everywhere in late summer; one year they were 3-4' apart throughout the field. They were catching grasshoppers, which made them my allies. Kind of creepy, though, if you were walking through the field.

In my present location (only 3 miles from the above) I have a large wasp population - and haven't seen an orb spider for years.

 

[flowerbug]

we have birds that will come around and pick them off the eaves of the house. i like spiders and usually will put them outside if i catch them in the house. except the very wispy house spiders that will fall apart if you touch them they are so ephemeral... i have to oppologize when i get one but i won't waste it by throwing it away. any bit of organic matter (including spiders, wasps, horsefles, flies, crickets, etc.) all go into the worm buckets because they are part of the food web and all that energy is worth recycling instead of throwing away to go to the landfill. the garden veggies will happily use it again next growing season.

[edit later, but i like to confess my oddness here yes, i even am obsessed enough about this sort of thing that i recycle my shaving whiskers and my finger and toe nail clippings]

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Don't know about that comparison... I certainly wouldn't think of spiders & food in the same breath.

When I lived in San Diego, my garage was full of black widows. They are not aggressive & didn't bother me personally, but I had toddlers at the time, so had to exterminate them before they could find their way into the house. We lived on the rim of a canyon, so the population would eventually be replenished, and the extermination would be repeated.

After returning to Wisconsin, I had a garden on the edge of a field. There were orb spiders everywhere in late summer; one year they were 3-4' apart throughout the field. They were catching grasshoppers, which made them my allies. Kind of creepy, though, if you were walking through the field.

In my present location (only 3 miles from the above) I have a large wasp population - and haven't seen an orb spider for years.

I live on 10 acres now, much of which is grass and trees. I knew this was going to be part of the reality but spiders scare the hell out of me and I fully admit the fear is unfounded.

 

[thistlebloom]

Sounds like you are getting a lot of chores checked off already at your new property Sprig!
Are the trees you planted for your nursery or for your landscape?

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Sounds like you are getting a lot of chores checked off already at your new property Sprig!
Are the trees you planted for your nursery or for your landscape?

Nursery. Oaks, catalpas and some Sycamores

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I've got a catalpa that I've been growing since it was a spindly 4" piece of soft wood. Its now about 4' tall and NEEDS TO GET PLANTED out in our field!!

 

[Just-Moxie]

Oh,I forgot the black widows. I have found several around the property since 2010. Sorry, but I have to dispatch them. I have found them in the old rotten tree stumps, in the tin shed where we put the chicken coop, in the woodshop. All places they love to hang out in. But the other spiders, like jumping spiders, golden orb spiders, I let them stay. I find wild life fascinating. Must be because I didn't have any neighborhood kids to play with when I was young. Only had birds, carpenter ants, butterflies, etc.....and I was smack dab in the middle of metro Kansas City MO