Have black widows all over the valley here in northern California, I've probably killed a hundred or more just working on the farm/clearing out spaces that haven't seen a lot of use. They don't fly and one step and they're dead, i'd rather kill 100 black widows than fuck with one of those flying monstrosities.
Help identifying bug
- Thread starter Kuriin
- Start date
I grew up in WV and every summer, we'd have dozens of these things flying around. We called them "sand hornets" because they dig the soil up and set up shop in the ground there and it would leave a pile of dirt that looked like sand outside. My grandfather used to make a hobby of whacking them with a badminton racquet in the yard. He'd also pour gasoline down the holes in the ground where they lived. They never attacked anyone really, just more of a nuisance than anything, although a friend got stung once and his foot swelled up something crazy lol. But he was dumb and deserved it.
opiate82
Bronze Squire
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Yeah, my grandma's place in northern Cali had black widows all around her barn. Much bigger bodies than "1/2 inch" quoted in that article as well. I have also ran into them in my parents basement in western WA but those were on the smaller end of things. I'm terrified of spiders and would much rather run into a giant bee than a black widow.
Cinge
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Not how how I would feel about a big ass wasp like that around my house.
I have noticed lately burrows in parts of my yard, maybe 1/2" wide 2-3" deep when they are done. Also other parts where it looks like burrows are being made(dirt is funneled out from a central point). Not sure what is causing it and its the first summer I have seen them. They get washed away each night with the sprinklers but new one are back during the next day.
Otherwise I just deal with a shitload of black widows, they literally live in any crack in the block walls, between my palm trees and at the bottom of my bushes. Spraying gets rid of most, but they come back in a swarm as soon as it "wears" off and I refuse to pay some bug company $700 every 3-6 months to spray around the entire house. Thankfully they don't seem to make any webs near the pool area(maybe its the chemicals or moisture I dunno).
I have noticed lately burrows in parts of my yard, maybe 1/2" wide 2-3" deep when they are done. Also other parts where it looks like burrows are being made(dirt is funneled out from a central point). Not sure what is causing it and its the first summer I have seen them. They get washed away each night with the sprinklers but new one are back during the next day.
Otherwise I just deal with a shitload of black widows, they literally live in any crack in the block walls, between my palm trees and at the bottom of my bushes. Spraying gets rid of most, but they come back in a swarm as soon as it "wears" off and I refuse to pay some bug company $700 every 3-6 months to spray around the entire house. Thankfully they don't seem to make any webs near the pool area(maybe its the chemicals or moisture I dunno).
Haast
Lord Nagafen Raider
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OneofOne
Silver Baronet of the Realm
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It depends where you live. My wife's childhood home had a shit ton of the things outside. In my teen years I used to help clean up the property sometimes and they were common enough (you'd ALWAYS find 1-3 of them). My mother in law even caught one in a jar and gave it to me (why, I have no fucking recollection). Took it to work to show off, being the dumb kid I was. Then thought wait, if that thing gets loose in my car, I'll never be able to use my car again! So ditched that motherfucker.
A few years later I found out the place I liked to hike at in the same town has tarantulas in it. A single damn town shouldn't have BOTH those motherfuckers in it!
Cinge
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Lol. I guess its just living in the Southwest. Though I will say there are only about 4 real bugs to deal with here. Black widows, ants, roaches and waterbugs. The latter 3 are pretty easy to keep out, I can spray once a year and they never come back. The black widows though seem to come back over and over. Thankfully they never come in the house. They just sit outside killing all the other bugs.
The only real worry is my dogs , I won't let them out at night on their own since they will crawl around in places and I don't want them getting bit. The widows don't come out during the day, and every bug here disappears from fall to spring.
I do need to find out what is making the little burrows in my yard this summer. Can't really see them just looking over the yard, but if you search closely into the grass they are all over and in one part of the yard with no grass(2 concrete lanes into the backyard) they are super easy to spot.
Agenor
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Seriously where the hell did these things come from. It's awful with these things come Oct/Nov. I've lived in NJ all my life. Never even heard, or seen one these things until about 5 years ago. Now they are everywhere. Totally harmless until you vacuum one up, and they sound they make when they fly, it sounds as bad as a dive bombing Ju 87 Stuka.
Void
Experiencer
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Yeah, as far as Black Widows, they really aren't much to worry about. Even the most urban areas of Sacramento still have plenty of places where you'll find them, but they rarely come inside for whatever reason. I don't work in the fields or live in the woods or anything remotely out of the ordinary for a typical city-dweller, but I've seen hundreds if not thousands of them in my lifetime. Never been bit, never had an animal bit, never even known someone with an animal bit that I can remember. Not saying you shouldn't be careful, but it's like the earthquakes...the one time in 50 years one fucks with you, it sucks, but otherwise there is nothing to worry about.
That giant fucking wasp on the other hand...Goddamn, I can't stand the giant fuzzy bees, which typically aren't very aggressive at all but still terrify the fuck out of me. I can't imagine seeing something like that wasp flying at me without letting at least a little pee out.
That giant fucking wasp on the other hand...Goddamn, I can't stand the giant fuzzy bees, which typically aren't very aggressive at all but still terrify the fuck out of me. I can't imagine seeing something like that wasp flying at me without letting at least a little pee out.
Shit's nice in Ohio. Black widows are rare. (I've never found one.) The poisonous snakes have weak venom. Brown Recluses aren't even that common. I have been bit by a Brown Recluse though. Antibiotics take care of it; so it's not even dangerous unless you just let it rot.
Alex
Still a Music Elitist
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Except for the weather. And everything else about Ohio. The Ohio River Valley is relatively impervious to natural disasters though. That's a decent perk I suppose.