False black widow spider bites?
The false black widow, (Steatoda genus) is quite harmless. Some people do report symtoms slightly more severe than other common spider bites. usually a little more swelling and an aggravating itchy welt, but their bites heal nicely in a couple or few days. Except for a pronounced itch, bites I have received have been insignificant. The severity of a bite will depend on tolerance to the venom and allergies.
Can an ordinary house spider bite humans?
To answer your question, yes, an ordinary house spider can bite a human, as long as the spider is longer than 3/8ths of an inch (9.5 mm). Grabbing a spider is no way to pick one up. In fact, grabbing a spider by pinching it between thumb and finger will cause the spider to react defensively. Even if it doesn’t bite you, you could easily squish it. Having squished spider goo all over your fingers isn’t pleasant. There are better ways to handle spiders.It is easier to coax a spider to crawl onto your open hand, then cup your other hand over it and transport it to wherever you are going to turn it loose. While one might think that the spider will bite you because you have trapped it, I haven’t had this happen to me ever. At most, it just tries to crawl out through a space where it perceives light coming in between my hands. It feels weird, but not like a bite.I did have one spider try to bite me that was about 45 mm in overall length. I felt the initial prick of her fangs, but they did not penetrate. It was my own fault for trying to force her to crawl onto my fingers when it was obvious she didn’t want to (I was experimenting with getting a pet spider used to being handled, and had her confined in a large plastic tub). She either couldn’t pierce my skin or she was just warning me to stop pestering her. She was a Carolina Wolf Spider, a much larger species than the typical Tigrosa helluo spider (the one pictured in my profile image).Spiders can also be scooped up with a clear plastic cup and a piece of stiff card stock. Spider bites are rare, but insects and even bacterial infections are the most likely culprits for unexplained wounds.And just for your information, the word ‘factoid’ means a definition that isn’t true, but sounds like it could be, or has been repeated so much that everyone assumes it is true.
How do you tell the difference between a black widow spider and a false black widow?
Ok well firstly something that I want to get out of the way is that colour is not a reliable way to tell the difference between any spider. Colours change as a spider ages they change as they get close to a molt, they can change due to diet or habitat or activity of the spider. Colours can be different between males and females. I’ll give an example.Those two specimens are BOTH male Phormictopus cancerides of a similar age. They look nothing a like in terms of colour though. So right now I’m telling you colour is an unreliable metric for identification of spiders. Here are is an example of each spider.FEMALE Steatoda bipuncta (Common false-widow)FEMALE Latrodectus mactans (Southern black widow)The first big difference I want to talk about is the legs. Latrodectus (black widows) have two very very long front legs and Steatoda (false-widows) do not. Secondly Latrodectus have much longer tarsus (that’s the final segment) and much longer meta-tarsus (that’s the penultimate leg segment). Another big difference is the opisthosoma (that’s the abdomen). If you look at the false widow you can see that it is a rounded egg shape and at rest it kind of hangs over their cephalothorax (that’s the main body of the spider). With Latrodectus there is some variation in abodomen shape usually looking like a tear drop in that picture but sometimes appearing as a rounded pyramid shape or even a side ways on rounded egg shape but none of them will have an abdomen that looks quite like our Steatoda. They also have variations in their cephalothorax. Steatoda cephalothorax are usually much smaller in comparison to the rest of their body parts than in Lactrodectus. Steatoda tend to be smaller than Latrodectus although not always. There are also differences in eye arrangement between the two genera but I could not find any pictures good enough to really explain that easily and I think this is getting long enough as it is. So at first it might seem like these two animals are very similar but to an Arachnologist there is a world of difference and they really are very distinct and separate animals.
How do you know which house Spiders are dangerous?
It’s very, very unlikely that any of these are problem biters. Depending on where you live (which you unfortunately didn’t specify), there are only going to be one or perhaps two black spiders which can give a bad bite (compared with a fair number of black spiders which are completely harmless), and in almost every case you’re not likely to find these spiders wandering around on the walls. Still, few things in life are impossible, so if you want to be sure, get a photo (even a poor photo can be very helpful) to post in your question, and indicate what country you live in. The most likely of the unlikely spiders you might possibly run into would be one of the various black Widow spiders (there are different kinds in different places on Earth), which will have some form of bright red or reddish mark underneath - often ‘hourglass’-shaped, but sometimes a bit different. Younger females can have red dots in a line down the back (or, like the Redback, a broad, wavy line). There are other, harmless, spiders which may also have something more or less similar, so that’s where the photo and the location info is most useful.
Black widow spider look alike?
Any spider that resembles a black widow or cobweb spider that has the nefarious red hourglass pattern on the bottom of the abdomen is a member of the Latrodectus genus of cobweb spider called widows. It is normal for males to have a smaller abdomen, but they are rarely dark and may also have colors and patterns on the top of the abdomen. Juvenile females can be the same. The brown widow is a bit different, a smaller spider and lighter colors, brown dominating, bands on the legs, and an 'orange' hourglass pattern ont the bottom of the abdomen. Perhaps not as dangerous as its black cousin, but still one of the Latrodectus genus, and producing a similar venom. With other families of spider, some orb weavers may resemble cobweb/widow spiders, especially the cave orb weaver. As for mimicery as suggested, is not uncommon but not the case with cobweb spiders. This is the venter (bottom) of an adult female southern black widow, Irregardless of any colors or patterns on the dorsum (top): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c... This applies to juveniles and the other two species of black widow in north America. This is the dorsum of the brown widow and the venter respectively: http://cisr.ucr.edu/images/texas_brown_w... https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3568/3775... An immature female black widow: http://spiderbytes.mango.mikeboers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/img_0069.jpg A male western black widow, note the lighter hourglass pattern (Harmless) http://pestcontrolcenter.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/LatrodectusHesperusMaleLightColoredSideVentral.jpg The harmless false black widow, you might note the light band across the front of the abdomen and lacking the hourglass: http://www.eurospiders.com/steatoda_grossa_side_3645.jpg The female southern house spider, totally harmless, often mistaken for widows.: http://bugguide.net/node/view/617425/bgimage There are a host of black spiders with red patterns and if yours does not compare to any of the widows, it is a different spider and would be harmless. (my pet female western black widow 'Wanda') https://www.flickr.com/photos/32083154@N02/3965620571/in/dateposted/
Is there another kind of spider other than a black widow that is all black?
There are a lot of black spiders, but most of them don't look like black widows. There is also a "false black widow," which does look like a black widow except that it has some lighter markings on it. The black widow, as you know, has a round shiny black abdomen. http://www.jcurranphotography.com/images... Hairy black spiders are not black widows. I don't know where you live. Where I live in Southern California, black widows are extremely common. Although they don't normally come into the house, they are all over the garage and garden, and I would never be shocked to find that one had wandered in. You don't see them too often though, because they tend to stay in inconspicuous spots. Now black widows are venomous but not aggressive. Bites are rare. People don't normally die even when bitten by one. Pretty much they only bite if trapped against the skin and squished, forcing the fangs into the skin. So don't get agitated, just get rid of it.
Are black widow spiders found in Oregon? If so, how can you get rid of them?
Are black widow spiders found in Oregon? If so, how can you get rid of them?Black widows can be found with some frequency in western Oregon from the Umpqua and Rogue Valleys southward, mainly in urban areas. Apparently due to the damper, cooler climates, their native range diminishes quickly as one travels north along the I-5 corridor so that black widows are extremely rare from the mid-Willamette Valley (Salem area) northward. In some areas of eastern Washington and Oregon, where the climate is drier, black widows tend to be reported with a greater frequency in spot locations.[1] Black widows avoid the light and human activity. You will most often find them in places like outbuildings, basements, and firewood piles. You can control the populations by minimizing hiding spots, checking for and getting rid of egg sacs, and keeping up on the housekeeping. Black widows avoid spots that have a lot of activity, so frequent cleaning will do a lot to keep them at bay. Clear out boxes and clutter where they can hide. Dust around and under furniture frequently. Seal off any cracks and gaps where they can come indoors. Insecticides may be used if you have a large infestation (unlikely in your area). Be sure to treat out of the way hiding spots, like crawl spaces, under the eaves of the roof, the attic, the garden shed, and any cracks and crevices.[2] Footnotes[1] Spiders in Oregon Urban Settings[2] Best Tips and Products That Work
Do I need to be concerned with male black widow spiders in the house?
1: Young male and young female spiders are the same size. Adult females grow larger.2: If males are getting in, females can get in.3: The males probably hatched in the house. The females are around…somewhere.
How do I identify a black widow spider?
Widow spiders (genus Latrodectus) are found in many places on the globe. Even within the US there are two main species that for a long time were not understood to be separate species. They all share some characterists. The so-called false black widows (genus Steotoda) look like smaller versions, have fairly similar coloration, and share the same basic recipe for venom. All of these spiders belong to the Family Theridiidae, and most members of that Family share a common body plan. So, working backwards, let's describe these creatures. The first photo shows a spider that is not a widow:Teridiidae (above) make tangle webs, webs that have threads going every which-way in three dimensions. Black widows like to make their webs in protected places close to the ground, but generally not inside houses. They have spheroid abdomens and proportionally long legs. Here is a red feature that is not the trademark of the widow spiders: (It is a widow spider, but this is the only photo I can find with a perianal red spot.)Widow spiders and false widow spiders (also called cupboard spiders) differ in size, which is probably the main reason that false widow spider bites are unpleasant but not the kind of thing that commonly send people to the ER. They differ in coloration, with the black widow spiders being a glossy black and the false widow spiders having coloration that doesn't make them stand out. (The underside of some false widow spiders may have some red/reddish areas, but mostly around openings to the abdomen.) They have venoms that are similar enough that individuals have a really bad time with a false widow bite have sometimes been treated with widow spider antivenom, and the treatments have been successful. Here is a black widow:There are other widow spiders that do not have the same color scheme. Among the spiders called black widows in the US, one species has what is a solid hourglass figure divided into two separate red areas with a little space between. For a long time people didn't realize that this was an indication of their belonging to separate species.
What kind of house spiders live in the UK? How long do they live?
Spiders are a little eight-legged creature that you can mostly see in the corner of your home. There are several types of spider found in the houses of the United Kingdom, listed below are some of them.Here are some of the house spiders found in the United Kingdom -Giant House Spider - Giant House Spider is one of the biggest spiders found in Europe. Its size is about 120mm and its scientific name is Eratigena atrica. It mostly lives up to two or three years but it can also be extended up to five or more.Zebra Jumping Spider - Zebra Jumping Spider scientific name is Salticus scenicus. It is up to 8mm in size and lives for two to three years, while a female spider lives more than males.Cupboard Spider - Cupboard Spider, as its name it is mostly found in cupboards. Its scientific name is Steatoda grossa and size up to 10mm. Female Cupboard Spider can live up to 6 years while male live only for one or one and half years.Cardinal Spider - The scientific name of the spider is Tegenaria parietina. The size of this spider is up to 20mm. The female Cardinal Spider can live up to seven to eight years while male die earlier.These are some of the common house spider live in the United Kingdom. In most of the cases female spiders live longer than the male spider. Male spider die early after mating.