Spider? oh-man!

[Mink Islander]

Take a look at this link from the Citizen today.

http://www.citizen.com/July2004/07.0..._07.08_04b.asp

Almost 10 years ago my wife and I found a Black Widow crawling out of a grocery bag that contained, yep, red grapes. I've heard they are pretty common insects where the grapes are grown in CA.

Sorry to hear someone got bit.

[Grant]

I met a guy while diving a few weeks ago who was bitten by a brown recluse spider. He had a NASTY reaction to the bite -- went unconscious and his heart stopped. Luckily, he works at a small local airfield where a few of the employees are EMTs, and they had him in the ER within minutes. Ever since then, I've been eyeing the spiders in the basement a little differently...call me paranoid.

[Rose]

We had a spider set up residence in our shower this past spring that was so big, we named it Shelob (anyone who has read or seen Lord of the Rings will understand). We took a few showers with the thing hanging over us because we were too reluctant to get anywhere near it, and didn't have time to whip out the vacuum cleaner to suck it up from a safe distance.

[Grant]

In the end, nothing compares to dock spiders. I believe their general category is "fisher" spiders. But ever since I was a kid, I've been amazed by the size and speed of these things. We've always called them "dock spiders," and are convinced that they are a unique and mythical breed -- capable of amazing feats and not to be messed with...

[Mink Islander]

Aren't dock spiders just wolf spiders? I saw a really big one some years back that had run down a toad and firmly attached itself to the poor thing's lower back, no doubt paralyzing it with venom. Like something out of "Arachnophobia" -- a classic black comedy about malevolent spiders!

[Rattlesnake Gal]

If this thread wasn't enough to freak you out, here is information and photos of the Wolf and Dock Spiders.
Wolf and Fishing/Dock Spiders
Dock Spider

[Grant]

Funny -- In the wake of the dive guy's Brown Recluse bite, I was reading my spiders & insects field guide at home the other day and started thumbing through the spiders -- found a whole page of various spiders that resembled "dock" spiders. I'd always assumed (or had heard growing up) that they were wolf spiders. Well, some are, but others are definitely fisher spiders. No mistaking that body shape, color and markings. So cool. Just glad they ain't in my house down here.

[csuhockey3]

Originally Posted by Mink Islander

I've heard they are pretty common insects where the grapes are grown in CA.

Black Widows are really common here in Colorado as well. You can find at least one in every window well or garage, I have found some in the basement from time to time as well. See them all the time - I hate spiders, although not as much as bees

Those wolf/dock spiders still make me jump, they just blitz from under the dock and, let's say, suprise you!

[nj2nh]

I have five words to say about this thread. Gross, gross, gross, gross and gross. I have seen this disgusting fisher spider on our dock on Echo Point. I believe it is unkillable, but even if it is only mortal, I am not going to be the one to put it out of my misery.

Yuck.

Jersey Girl

[madrasahs]

I guess dock spiders hang out (sorry) under the dock, but seem to enjoy the sun. There doesn't seem to be anything to eat out there for them.

Anyway, Central Florida has a very similar, even yuckier, spider -- even larger. It likes damp sheds and will stalk oceanfront kitchens in the dark -- not even being startled by a light. It's called the giant crab spider.

Their least engaging feature is when a flashlight is played on them, all of their eyes glow like turquoise crystals!
(Eight, if you need to know). I haven't tried this with a NH dock spider.

Getting rid of them is a long process -- and I have a lot of experience with all of these big spiders.

If you have a shed or dock box that gets/stays wet, (and that's becoming more common with the bigger boats) that's their breeding territory. Although a special spider spray will work there, I enjoy...The Hunt.

You can't stalk a dock spider the way you can a giant crab spider -- dock spiders are too wary. But if you have the patience, they don't seem to recognixe your shoe as a weapon. (You still have to be fast, though).

Otherwise, the easiest way to rid yourself of these nasties is hornet spray. One short, well-aimed squirt is enough. Start your spray at the area they will likely run towards -- and press. They speed off and don't come back. Sometimes, they run off underwater on dock posts.

I may build the Ultimate Dock Spider Trap, though. (The UDST)

Dock spiders like to hang out (sorry again) between damp spaces that allow about ½-inch of room for them. (They hide out under my portable gasoline tanks, which are raised just right for them).

The prototype UDST will be a piece of 3/8ths plywood about the size of a doormat, suspended the requisite ½-inch above the dock, inside a wood frame (to duplicate the gas tank space).

Placed below the stairs leading to the dock (the wettest area, nowadays), every person entering/exiting the dock will have a chance to squish dock spiders without sqeamishness. (Say that fast three times).

('Course I'll have to empty it). Yuck(ier)!

You were warned.

[Rose]

If you want to see a really disgusting spider, check out the camel spider.

[Mink Islander]

A couple of years ago, I needed to replace a power line that runs out to an outlet box on my dock. It was early summer and the water was still reasonably high such that there was a few inch gap between the top of the water and the edge of the dock, giving me about a foot of clearance between the water and the top of the dock. I needed to staple the wire to the underside of the dock so I donned my mask and snorkel, plus dive light and hammer and swam up under the dock. To my surprise, when I surfaced under the dock and turned on the light, the "ceiling" above me was covered every few feet with dock spiders of all sizes - we're talking about more than a couple dozen in a 6 X 10 space. A pretty disconcerting discovery. I had this image that as soon as I started hammering there would be a "rain of spiders" with legions of dock spiders dropping into the water and then trying to decide whether the crib on either side was closer than the balding head sticking out of the water as they raced for dry land. Consequently, I came out from under the dock and began banging on the side board with the hammer, hoping to disperse them. When I went back under, they had all scurried off to places unknown. Needless to say, I completed my work as rapidly as possible with a cautious eye to the ceiling above me.

Now my wife is mortified by spiders (and bees -- she's quite allergic to the latter) so the running prank in our house is to play "hide the plastic spider" -- it's only about 1-1/2" in diameter. It ends up in kitchen drawers, under pillows, in chairs, in dressers, in the laundry etc. The object is to see how big a shriek/jump you can get out of poor old mom when she unexpectedly comes across this ersatz arachnid. Maybe I should have put this idea with the thread about things to do to keep from getting bored in the summer?

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by Mink Islander

{snip} Now my wife is mortified by spiders (and bees -- she's quite allergic to the latter) so the running prank in our house is to play "hide the plastic spider" -- it's only about 1-1/2" in diameter. It ends up in kitchen drawers, under pillows, in chairs, in dressers, in the laundry etc. The object is to see how big a shriek/jump you can get out of poor old mom when she unexpectedly comes across this ersatz arachnid. Maybe I should have put this idea with the thread about things to do to keep from getting bored in the summer?

ROFL MI ! Later this summer post on this year's "fun" has gone. I'm sure "we" here on the Forum can find a good divorce attorney for you.

[KonaChick]

OK...I know dock spiders are huge, gross and just plain nasty, but do they actually bite? What is the result of this bite if they do??

[Porch Potato]

I must agree with Jersey Girl - gross, gross, gross However, I find that the ever present dock spider(s) is/are like a roadside car crash. You really don't want to look at it as it scurries around the dock, but yet feel strangely compelled...

I am forever grateful to my husband who is an excellent shot with his shoe. He has taken to the "hunt" with great humor to alleviate my fears and heebee geebees. He also keeps a running count each summer of his "hits". Yep, living on an island will certainly change your sense of humor.

[madrasahs]

Looks like we arachnophobes at the Forum missed "an unusual 2004 event" found this morning in the Citizen:

A resident of Gilford discovered the largest black widow sighted in the area in 2004 when the spider crawled across his back at a Wolfeboro construction site.

Ross LeClair found the spider at a waterfront home there and held onto it. Though considered rare, the species can be found in northern climates like New Hampshire’s. LeClair’s once-in-a-lifetime find was both a close call and a blessing in disguise.

While he eventually unloaded the exotic creature at a pet store, when he held the insect in a plastic container with the lid taped shut he still seemed nervous around the dangerous arachnid.

"It’s scary," he said. "I have to get rid of this thing."

The experts he consulted had also told him the spider known for killing its mates was also likely to be pregnant.

http://www4.citizen.com/January2005/..._01.01.05c.asp

Pet store? For me -- I don't think so.

[lakegirl]

I'm starting to feel sick after reading this thread!!! So mcuh for eating my lunch!!!

Attached is an interesting link for lots of spider information:
http://www.rochedalss.qld.edu.au/redblack.htm

[glennsteely]

I find black widows pretty often here in NJ, at work, they seem to come in lumber bundles from Georgia. I guess we had about 5 this year, but we found a spider in October that we had never seen before, it had an almost metallic body, silver in color, with longer legs. That thing was the scariest spider I have ever seen, it kinda made me think of something from a sci-fi movie, you know, like half spider half machine.....but nothing, and I mean nothing, can be as bad as eating those african cave spiders on fear factor. I agree, so much for lunch........

[warren]

last week a guy i work with called me over to his house, he found a female black widow crawling out of his backpack. the same pack he took to texas for hunting the week before. i told him next time to leave the gear out in the cold for a few days when he gets back next time. creepy. warren

[BBS2]

As creepy as these guys might be they are necessary.
I have been bitten two different times by a brown recluse while cleaning our garage. The first time I was really sick, but my Dr. said that I would build an immunity. He was right! the second time was a lot less nasty, more like a bad horse fly bite and no necrosis the second time. The brown recluse is a tough one to spot, they are so small.
I love the jumping spiders, they are really curious. I had one living in my desk for a few days and when I would work there he would come out to see what was going on. He left for better hunting after a few days.
I just hate it when they crawl on you!!

[Brewer720]

I can remember when I was probably nine or ten that I was at a camp and there was a raft a ways out that the older kids would swim to and jump off. This was at a lake local to me, not Winnipesaukee, but one day I decided to try and make the swim out there too. So I headed out and as I got about 3/4 of the way I started getting really tired. It was with, what I thought, was my last bit of energy that I reached out for the raft, and almost put my hand on what looks from the pictures here must've been a very large Fisher Spider. This thing was as big as my hand! At that moment my adrenal gland dumped a large dose of adrenalin into my bloodstream, and I turned around and headed back to shore. I made it easily, and never went near that raft again that summer.

[PHDIII]

I am really sorry I read this thread. Our architect is finishing up the plans for our retirement home on Long Island. You guys have succeeded in scaring me to death. I can't stand the standard, every day spiders we get here in Michigan. The only good thing I can think of is that nobody mentioned centipedes. Spiders that can cause unconsciousness? I DON'T THINK SO! Taking a shower without getting rid of the overhead spider first? I DON'T THINK SO! Now I'll never be able to go outside in the summer without long pants and combat boots and armed with wasp spray.

[Island Girl]

Most of our spiders are very useful creatures, they eat other bugs. A few daddy long legs, a few dock spiders... nothing really bad.

The really dangerous spiders are in other parts of the country. They only get here by traveling in clothing and fruit shipments, therefore don't really take hold.

I have learned to love them, because I hate flies and mosquitos.

http://www.tnhonline.com/news/2004/1...h-797656.shtml

Don't be afraid... and stop reading this stuff

[BBS2]

You are right on Island Girl!!!

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Originally Posted by PHDIII

I am really sorry I read this thread. Our architect is finishing up the plans for our retirement home on Long Island. You guys have succeeded in scaring me to death. I can't stand the standard, every day spiders we get here in Michigan. The only good thing I can think of is that nobody mentioned centipedes. Spiders that can cause unconsciousness? I DON'T THINK SO! Taking a shower without getting rid of the overhead spider first? I DON'T THINK SO! Now I'll never be able to go outside in the summer without long pants and combat boots and armed with wasp spray.

Congratulations and good luck on your retirement home.
Spiders around here really aren't as bad as they sound and as IG pointed out, I would rather have them around eating the bugs that come to chomp on me.
At night is when I have the most wariness of them. After dark they get busy making those incredible webs. So if you do venture out to enjoy the evening, just get a duster of some sort to sweep off chairs. These little guys aren’t the bothersome ones anyway. It is the ones hiding in dead leaves and dark places you need to be watchful of.
When doing yard work, always wear gloves and don’t store those said gloves where a spider could crawl in. Same goes with storage of work shoes and clothes. Prior to use, shake out any items that have been stored.
Dock spiders usually scram when you get near them. If you are swimming around the dock, don’t surface under it as a precaution.
At the grocery store I carefully pick up bags or clusters of fruit and look for hitchhikers. When I get home I carefully put them in a colander and wash the heck out of them, turning the fruit and thoroughly inspecting nooks and crannies. Just to be sure.
Spiders taste through their legs, so the use of certain bad tasting sprays may be useful in keeping them out of your home, something like lemon or pepper.
Site for natural spider control
Here is an article on spider control

[ApS]

Originally Posted by BBS2

As creepy as these guys might be they are necessary...

The little spiders are prey for small birds. (Though the reverse is true in the tropics). Hummingbirds use spider web material to "cinch up" their tiny nests. (In nesting season, they raid the tiny branches of my dead -- but still-standing -- hemlocks regularly).

Dock spiders (fisher spiders) eat bug-eaters like small fish and tadpoles in addition to bugs, so I don't have any qualms about "The Hunt". There was a bumper crop this past season, anyway.

Originally Posted by BBS2

I love the jumping spiders, they are really curious.

Though I've seen just one fuzzy, scarlet-colored jumping spider the size of a half-dollar, the little jumping spiders DO have an attitude.

Approach one with your index finger, and they'll "grab" the threat!

(Is it "threat" or "prey", I wonder?)

Originally Posted by BBS2

I just hate it when they crawl on you!!

Dock spiders can run around on underwater surfaces, so you can't shake them by immersion, as Mink Islander may have considered doing.

[fatlazyless]

Wasn't there a head-on collision on Rt 104 in Meredith in November that killed a mother and daughter where they both died about a week after the collision and at about the same time. The male driving the other car fell asleep at the wheel in the middle of the day. The day before, he had been treated at Speare Hospital emergency room in Plymouth for a spyder bite. It was in the www.citizen.com.