Brown Recluse & Black Widow

[keeperofthebees]

Don't you folks think about spiders hiding in hand holes, and under nuc box lids coming out of florida-georgia-alabama-etc?  Any of you guys ever been bit by one?  I was talking to a kid down in georgia yrs ago that got bit on the leg by a recluse.  There was a half-golfball sized hole under his bandage.  I've seen some nasty ones crawling around on pallets, in old boxes, etc that have been brought up.  Not too many people think about that kind of stuff up north.  With all these weird winters that have been going on(super cold, super warm, etc) we're bound to see more pests moving across country.

[apisbees]

I have all them and rattle snakes also up this way but don't worry about them It is not like they are hiding waiting to attack they want to avoid you as much as you want to avoid them. They only seem to get bad and become a problem if we leave piles of stuff and it gives them a place to build a nests. keep the area clean and the grass and weeds cut and they are less likely to be around the hives

[LazyBkpr]

Naw...  any insect gets too close to the wife it dies..   had a Centipede on the cieling..  wife tried to mush it with the broom, it fell off and landed on the coffee table... she screamed, and whacked it with the broom.. unfortunately, the coffee table was GLASS..
   She didnt miss.. what remained of the centipede was splattered all over the pieces of glass I had to pick up,,  Pretty impressive from the other end of a 5 foot broom handle WHILE screaming AND dancing... both feet going like pistons in a steam engine...
   So.. if she wanders around a bit and doesn't kill anything I am safe!

[Walt B]

When I moved here I was told, "Texas has at least one of every bug ever made."  That was pretty close...we do have a lot of insects.

While we've got the others, the most prevalent spider around here is the Argiope.



All they do is eat insects. When they build a web between the hives, I just move them to the garden and they set up housekeeping there. I have a photo of one devouring a grasshopper, but I thought someone may be having a snack while reading the posts, so I didn't post it. 

Walt

[keeperofthebees]

When I moved here I was told, "Texas has at least one of every bug ever made."  That was pretty close...we do have a lot of insects.

While we've got the others, the most prevalent spider around here is the Argiope.



All they do is eat insects. When they build a web between the hives, I just move them to the garden and they set up housekeeping there. I have a photo of one devouring a grasshopper, but I thought someone may be having a snack while reading the posts, so I didn't post it. 

Walt

I wish some of these spiders would eat mites & hive beetles!!!

[tbonekel]

When I moved here I was told, "Texas has at least one of every bug ever made."  That was pretty close...we do have a lot of insects.

While we've got the others, the most prevalent spider around here is the Argiope.



All they do is eat insects. When they build a web between the hives, I just move them to the garden and they set up housekeeping there. I have a photo of one devouring a grasshopper, but I thought someone may be having a snack while reading the posts, so I didn't post it. 

Walt

We used to have one of these. We would catch grasshoppers and throw them into the web. Wonderful spiders!

[brooksbeefarm]

Been bite twice by Brown recluse spiders, didn't feel it when they bit me? The area just started getting ache and turning blue like a big bruise about the size of a saucer? The doctor said that is what bit me and i caught it in time. Never left a scare either time. Jack

[ablanton]

Just posted my experience on the "snakes" thread a few minutes ago.  Found this girl under one of my nucs when I was moving it into a full-sized box.  Almost grabbed her with my bare hand.   

[ablanton]

Wonderful spiders!

No such thing.  Give me snakes, any day.  Keep your spiders. 

[keeperofthebees]

Just posted my experience on the "snakes" thread a few minutes ago.  Found this girl under one of my nucs when I was moving it into a full-sized box.  Almost grabbed her with my bare hand.   

Some of you know exactly what I mean!!!

[ablanton]

Some of you know exactly what I mean!!!

Yeah, but this one wasn't shipped in to me.  I built the nuc box, myself.  This girl crawled out of the brush and took up residence under the box.  You know what that means . . . More where she came from!

[rrog13]

We have a lot black widows and scorpions around here.  Anything left outside for more that week is almost certain to have a black widow.  It's almost second nature to be extra cautious when working around the yard during the summer.

[keeperofthebees]

We have a lot black widows and scorpions around here.  Anything left outside for more that week is almost certain to have a black widow.  It's almost second nature to be extra cautious when working around the yard during the summer.

Do the bees ever ball spiders in the hive?  Kind of like when a hornet gets in or a wasp, 20 bees jump on it???

[rrog13]

I’ve never seen them ball a spider ….I would think they would though.  Here’s a video I took a while back of a Honey bee vs. Cow Killer Ant.  It was hilarious to watch.  I just happened to grab the video cam on the way out to the bee yard and walked up just in time to see it happening.  If you turn up the volume, you can actually hear the cow ant squealing.

[keeperofthebees]

I’ve never seen them ball a spider ….I would think they would though.  Here’s a video I took a while back of a Honey bee vs. Cow Killer Ant.  It was hilarious to watch.  I just happened to grab the video cam on the way out to the bee yard and walked up just in time to see it happening.  If you turn up the volume, you can actually hear the cow ant squealing.

I hate to say it...But with those ants freaking out & releasing formic acid, it's probably killing mites having the bees roll around in it.

[rcannon]

I'm not too concerned with Black Widows, they just make you walk funny and drool a little bit.
But those Brown Recluse, they are nasty. I haven't been bit by on of those, but I know a few people who have and they leave a ugly wound if not taken care of quickly. I know one fellow who had a drain in his leg for a couple of weeks. The bite actually rotted a hole in his leg, like when a snake bites a hog.
I don't want anything to do with those critters.

[brooksbeefarm]

The problem here is that they can be anywhere, even in your house and clothes. the first time i got bit is when i went fishing and put on my waders,my waders was it's home . Not sure how i got the other one? Jack

[rcannon]

I know two people who've been bit by Brown Recluse spiders and both said they didn't know they'd been bit until the doctor told them what it was.