Black widow spiders are fairly large spiders. Females have bodies that are about half an inch in length, with legs that extend their size to about an inch and a half. Males are slightly smaller than females.
Black widow spiders have shiny, black, bulbous bodies. They are best known for the reddish hourglass marking on the undersides of their abdomens.
Like most other spiders, black widow spiders like to eat a variety of insects and other small animals. Ants, beetles, cockroaches, and other bugs are all common fare for black widow spiders.
Black widow spiders are dangerous. They are one of two common venomous spiders in the Tulsa and Dallas- Fort Worth areas, with brown recluse spiders being the other venomous species.
Although they rarely do so, black widow spiders will bite if they feel threatened. A black widow spider bite will cause immediate pain at the site of the bite, growing worse over several hours. Other symptoms of a black widow spider bite include sweating, increased blood pressure, fever, muscle cramping, nausea, and trouble breathing.
The good news is that although black widow spider bites are painful and dangerous, they are rarely fatal. If you’ve been bitten by a black widow spider, it’s important that you seek medical attention. If you do so in a timely manner, you shouldn’t experience any long-term adverse effects from the black widow spider bite.
Black widow spiders are solitary pests, so it’s unlikely that you’ll find a large group of them living together on your property. However, if you find one black widow spider, there’s a chance that others are nearby.
Female black widow spiders usually lay around 200 eggs at a time, which they contain inside a smooth, pale yellow sac. They can reproduce multiple times in their lifetime. If egg-producing female black widow spiders are on your property, it increases the chances of more black widow spiders being on your property.
Black widow spiders prefer secluded spaces where they won’t be disturbed. They build webs close to the ground in dark, dry locations, and remain near their webs to be ready for any prey they catch in their webs. Although they are capable of moving rather quickly if they need to, they prefer to stay in the same general area the majority of the time.
As previously mentioned, black widow spiders like dark, dry locations that are secluded. The more cluttered an area is, the better a black widow will like it. When they get inside your house, you’re most likely to find black widow spiders in garages, crawl spaces, or basements. Any area with a lot of clutter or stored items that rarely get moved around provide the right conditions for black widows.
Outside, black widow spiders can be found under rocks and porches, in wood piles and hollowed out tree trunks, and in barns, sheds, and other out-buildings.
If you find a black widow spider in your house or around your property, leave it alone and contact The Pied Piper. Black widow spiders are unlikely to bite you unless they feel threatened, so avoiding the area where you found the spider and contacting a professional pest control company is the safest way to deal with an issue.
The Pied Piper offers pest control services that safely and effectively eliminate black widow spiders. Our home pest control protects your house from a wide variety of pests, including black widow spiders, so that you don’t have to worry about your family getting bitten. Get in touch with us today to request your free estimate.
Although spider infestations can happen to even the most vigilant homeowner, there are things you can do to make it less likely that black widow spiders will end up in your home or around your property. Try these black widow spider prevention tips:
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