Being a newbie on this site, I want to get a phobia out on the table right now… black widows!!! I know they aren’t really “bugs” but how do you “pros” make sure you aren’t bitten when going under a house (I have a 3 foot crawl space)? I don’t mind the camel-back crickets… they just get out of the way… but spiders are a totally other thing… I’d like an army-version of spider-nuke but the lingering effects are unsettling… any tips?
Thanks for letting my lie down on the finehomebuilding.com psych couch… LOL
Replies
Welcome. I don't fear Blackwidows. It's the Brown Recluse that terrifies me. LOL
geee... thanks... LOL...
what gunner said...
View Image
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Been under many a house and worked for days in the deep sticks of Florida without, to my recollection, ever being bit by anything but mosquitoes, fleas, yellow flies, a bee and wasp or two. A few leaches when I was working in swamps.
The skeeters and yellow flies are unavoidable. The fleas are the critters that get to me. Some of those country houses have hounds that live under there. The fleas are thick.
The spiders, scorpions, poisonous centipedes, rats, snakes, gators, skunks and rabid raccoons pretty much stay out of the way. Once saw a crew of carpenters almost run off by a strange acting raccoon. Until they rallied and backed it off by throwing chunks of lumber.
Work stopped on one house when a skunk sauntered in. Couldn't scare it off or fight it for fear of it spraying the site. They lured it out with some food. Or maybe it just wanted to leave. Rush Limbaugh was on the radio.
More to the point just tighten up and crawl. I use a screwdriver or anything handy to remove the webs, no need to tempt fate, but the spiders, some about 4" diameter, are pretty shy. Sometimes I have scared clusters of a dozen or more by tossing a handfuls of sand. Can't remember ever having to strike out at to kill any of these pests. Those who I have watched try this usually just make them mad.
Paper wasps I toss an ounce or two of gasoline on the nest and it drops them immediately. No need for fancy spray. Spray can top with a half-inch of gas in it works every time.
Your not alone in a fear of creepy crawlies. Watched a 320 pound guy slither out a 6" gap after a snakeskin fell from on top of a bearer beam onto his chest as he was sliding along under a house. Given the proper motivation the big boy, normally quite lethargic, can really move.
Heard a senior journeyman as he was chased into the corner of a narrow crawl space by a large spider. Kind of a scream, not unlike a woman, and then scurrying as he retreated across the dirt and then the whining and thumping of his head against the floorboards when he was trapped. He claimed the spider 'attacked' him.
I had to climb down there, at the time a helper, and shoo the spider away. He wanted me to kill it. Gently flicking it away emphasized my advantage. He stopped ragging on me after that. Knowing a man's weaknesses is a good thing. Him knowing that you do ... priceless.
I usually wear thin short sleeved shirts, jeans and drag along a bag of tools under a house. Once in a while, mostly when its colder, I put on a coverall. If I have time and expect to crawl a long way I might wear knee pads. If the crawl space is very funky and has a lot of dead animals I might wear leather gloves. HEPA respirator if the space has asbestos.
Mostly the critters stay out of my way. I return the favor by trying to be as gentle as possible. So far the deal, for the most part, has worked out. Now if the mosquitoes would abide by the truce.
<Knowing a man's weaknesses is a good thing. Him knowing that you do ... priceless> My weakness is water bugs a.k.a. roachesThese things get to about 2" long(well I haven't measured one)To scared to get that close. Talk about fear of bugs, man I'llscream a primordial scream like you have never heard if oneis close. Sound like a grown...........................womanStory I have about one, I was half way up a 10' step ladder,no, I had to be up close to the top because I was cutting in witha paint brush at the ceiling. One of those MONSTERS crawls outof the bar joist and the cinder block and I try to kill it withmy paint brush. That just made IT mad and (although I had heardthat they fly I had never personally seen it until this incident)it FLEW onto my leg, and that is all she wrote, I had paint brushgoing in one hand swatting away as I was falling off the ladderto get away from that thing. If I was a betting man I would have put money on that roach. Paint was every where and I aboutbroke my leg falling down the ladder. Screaming like a little girl the whole time. But in the end I won and squashed that miserableno good for nothing MONSTER ROACH. NOW that is priceless.
Don't squish it so bad the next time... I hear they are edible... LOL
This is a legitimate concern. I knew an HVAC guy who got bit by some kind of spider in an attic, I don't remember the species. He was hospitalized for a while, almost died.
Rich: Sounds like a brown recluse. Gunner didn't go into any details, but their bite just doesn't heal! Knew a woman in SE KS who was bitten on the butt. She was a rather healthy sized woman & lost a fist sized hunk of flesh. Took several yrs to heal. One of my men was bitten on the shin bone by one. He died 5 yrs later from other causes, the bite still unhealed. Beautiful creature - but messy as Heck when they bite. To give you an idea how hard they are to get rid of - in 1965 when they re-opened Kansas Army Ammunition Plant to produce for Viet NAm, they found it was a breeding ground for the beasts. They had infested all the ammo storage bunkers. They got into the old telephone exchange bldg so badly that it was abandoned. They are extremely difficult to kill. Impervious to most insecticides. Lindane is the only one that is remotely effective. Found the critters in the spaces around the radiators in my office. Had the bug guys come in and spray. Unfortunately, they sprayed the radiators, not the little crooks & nannies where the recluse lived. Would you like to know what the effects of low dose Lindane are on people? I found out before I had the radiators turned off & spent a KS winter sitting at my desk wearing a coat. Visitors never stayed long...wonder why? Once asked the plant nurse if she could arrange for me to see one in the "Flesh." She said "Sure!" & took me to her desk. I figured she had one in a bottle. Nope - pulled out several drawers, fished around w/ a long stick & pulled one out from a remote corner. The photo Gunner posted is the best looking one I've ever seen.Cheers!DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
I'd copied that pic the last time it was posted. There is a spider down south that looks a lot like it but know I know.
Buddy was diabetic and had gotten bit in the foot by a brown recluse. He, not knowing what the bite was since he takes a long time to heal, waited a long time till one day he noticed the bite had gone black and caved in.
Ended up getting his foot amputated.
4LORN1
I got quite an chuckle from you message... I am still laughing... yeah, I've seen big guys haul butt over the small things... too funny...
Most importantly, thanks for giving me a bit of courage... I'll be repeating your profile name as I crawl into the space... ;>)
YardApe
How about letting off a flea bomb down there a day or 2 before you have to do the job? Coarse, that might drive 'em all "upstairs"...
I know what you mean though, black widows and brown recluse are somewhat common around where I live.