The itsy bitsy spider climbed towards our child and we killed it.
January 22, 2011 12:20 PM Subscribe
We recently moved to a house in the prairies and it has spiders. Help me identify them please?
Just now, a fuzzy black spider climbed towards our 4 year old and we killed it.
We moved into this house 4 weeks ago, and it has spiders. I'm not sure what they are. A bite that I got from one (presumably. I didn't see it coming.) turned into a giant blister on my pinkie and took 3 weeks to heal completely; so we didn't any chances when one started crawling towards my son's bed.
We're in the southern Alberta prairies, right about here.
Just now, a fuzzy black spider climbed towards our 4 year old and we killed it.
We moved into this house 4 weeks ago, and it has spiders. I'm not sure what they are. A bite that I got from one (presumably. I didn't see it coming.) turned into a giant blister on my pinkie and took 3 weeks to heal completely; so we didn't any chances when one started crawling towards my son's bed.
We're in the southern Alberta prairies, right about here.
Best answer: I second jumping spider. The ones around here tend to have bright red butts, but many are plain black. They hunt along ceilings, walls, etc. They can indeed give a painful bite, but it's not dangerous to humans and they are not aggressive -- you pretty much have to touch them (accidentally, presumably) in order to get bitten.
I like to leave them be, as they're fun to watch and they reduce the numbers of other household bugs, but YMMV with a kid.
posted by vorfeed at 1:07 PM on January 22, 2011
I like to leave them be, as they're fun to watch and they reduce the numbers of other household bugs, but YMMV with a kid.
posted by vorfeed at 1:07 PM on January 22, 2011
Best answer: Whats that bug is a great site for identifying bugs. They identify all types of bugs, but there is a large spider section that can help you identify you spiders. If you like bugs then it would be worth it to check out their other sections. There are some really interesting insects out there that people have found at their homes just like you have.
posted by Jaelma24 at 1:15 PM on January 22, 2011
posted by Jaelma24 at 1:15 PM on January 22, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks! I have this fear of them now after having that bite on my hand.
My son wants to hug them all, so my solution is just to kill them when I see them, unfortunately.
posted by Sallysings at 1:51 PM on January 22, 2011
My son wants to hug them all, so my solution is just to kill them when I see them, unfortunately.
posted by Sallysings at 1:51 PM on January 22, 2011
If it is jumping spider, they are awesome. My sister encourages them to stay in her house, since they keep the other bugs at bay. Of course, she is not infested with spiders, she just has a few.
posted by wandering_not_lost at 2:27 PM on January 22, 2011
posted by wandering_not_lost at 2:27 PM on January 22, 2011
It is really hard to tell from the pictures. It may indeed be a jumping spider (Salticidae) but it does not look like one to me. Harmless, though. And your bite is probably not a spider bite.
But I'll throw in my 10 cents: I know you want to protect your son (who has a healthy curiosity, yay!), but when he sees you freak out and kill spiders for no apparent reason, you are setting him up to grow up (possibly) arachnophobic or entomophobic. Teach him that they are good at eating insects, and are generally beneficial. I hate to see parents unintentionally pushing their kids away from science. The fact you are afraid of them may or may not: my mom did the same thing, but I grew up to be an entomologist that specializes in arachnids, and I have 33 tarantulas in my house. I'm the outlier in the family, lol.
Don't worry about it, but if you are hell bent on getting a specific ID, pm me and you can mail me a specimen if you like. It is very difficult to ID from pictures.
posted by bolognius maximus at 3:16 PM on January 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
But I'll throw in my 10 cents: I know you want to protect your son (who has a healthy curiosity, yay!), but when he sees you freak out and kill spiders for no apparent reason, you are setting him up to grow up (possibly) arachnophobic or entomophobic. Teach him that they are good at eating insects, and are generally beneficial. I hate to see parents unintentionally pushing their kids away from science. The fact you are afraid of them may or may not: my mom did the same thing, but I grew up to be an entomologist that specializes in arachnids, and I have 33 tarantulas in my house. I'm the outlier in the family, lol.
Don't worry about it, but if you are hell bent on getting a specific ID, pm me and you can mail me a specimen if you like. It is very difficult to ID from pictures.
posted by bolognius maximus at 3:16 PM on January 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
For what it's worth, I've had good luck with the following non-lethal disposal method: get a paper towel, put it in front of the spider until he climbs on, and then quickly put the paper towel outside. Like I said, they are not aggressive, and usually just wander around on the paper towel until you fling it out the door.
posted by vorfeed at 3:36 PM on January 22, 2011
posted by vorfeed at 3:36 PM on January 22, 2011
Response by poster: vorfeed/ it's canadian winter out there, so it'd probably die anyway. I'll do that in the summer though.
bolognius maximus/ I got the bite while in the basement storage, full of paper boxes and such. I was only wearing one contact at the time so I couldn't see very well out my left side. Didn't notice a sting on my hand, but saw a little pinpoint with a hard area around it afterwards. Grew into a dime sized yellow blister overnight and expanded to 2 inches wide and covering the entire finger until it burst and healed. DH has better eye sight and told me he has seen 3 different kinds of spiders since we moved in.
I grew up in HK in one of those old buildings where there are centipedes, flying cockroaches, and lots of ants. I used to hide in a duvet cover when there was a storm.
My son, on the other hand, will jump up and down and exclaim "mommy give me give me! BEE!" wen he spots a wasp that wandered into the house.
posted by Sallysings at 4:07 PM on January 22, 2011
bolognius maximus/ I got the bite while in the basement storage, full of paper boxes and such. I was only wearing one contact at the time so I couldn't see very well out my left side. Didn't notice a sting on my hand, but saw a little pinpoint with a hard area around it afterwards. Grew into a dime sized yellow blister overnight and expanded to 2 inches wide and covering the entire finger until it burst and healed. DH has better eye sight and told me he has seen 3 different kinds of spiders since we moved in.
I grew up in HK in one of those old buildings where there are centipedes, flying cockroaches, and lots of ants. I used to hide in a duvet cover when there was a storm.
My son, on the other hand, will jump up and down and exclaim "mommy give me give me! BEE!" wen he spots a wasp that wandered into the house.
posted by Sallysings at 4:07 PM on January 22, 2011
This spider is a jumping spider, phidippus audax. My personal favorite spider. They look fearsome, and they are, if you are anything smaller than a grasshopper. In reality they are very friendly and curious, one of the few spiders who actually have a "personality".
posted by sanka at 4:23 PM on January 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by sanka at 4:23 PM on January 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
Beautiful photo, sanka! They're fantastic little creatures.
On preview: oh, yes, winter. I guess you could throw the paper towel in the basement storage, though... ;)
posted by vorfeed at 5:56 PM on January 22, 2011
On preview: oh, yes, winter. I guess you could throw the paper towel in the basement storage, though... ;)
posted by vorfeed at 5:56 PM on January 22, 2011
Wow, Sanka! Your photos are beautiful!! Spiders are amazing and your shots are incredible.
posted by onhazier at 7:01 PM on January 22, 2011
posted by onhazier at 7:01 PM on January 22, 2011
Thanks guys. I just wanted to emphasize that these spiders aren't dangerous in any way to humans, and they really do have personality. Here's an example from a fellow spider lover who's photos are far more amazing than mine.
posted by sanka at 7:36 PM on January 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by sanka at 7:36 PM on January 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
The basement storage spider may well have been a different kind. There are fairly few species of spider that are actually dangerous to humans in North America. Brown recluses, of course, are one which can be, and they do tend to hide in woodpiles and basements. But the one you photographed doesn't look anything like one. I've just moved to Seattle, and they apparently have something around here called Aggressive House Spiders, which are not actually dangerous but do leave rather nasty bites that sound kind of like what you experienced. I've yet to see one, let alone be bitten by one, but your basement visitor could be something along those lines.
When I was young, we lived in a house in the Indiana woods with LOTS AND LOTS of spiders. My little brother was a lot like your son, always trying to play with them and the yellowjackets outside and such. He got some bites and some stings and eventually learned to leave them alone. If your son isn't allergic, he'll probably do the same thing and be none the worse for wear.
posted by Because at 6:31 PM on January 23, 2011
When I was young, we lived in a house in the Indiana woods with LOTS AND LOTS of spiders. My little brother was a lot like your son, always trying to play with them and the yellowjackets outside and such. He got some bites and some stings and eventually learned to leave them alone. If your son isn't allergic, he'll probably do the same thing and be none the worse for wear.
posted by Because at 6:31 PM on January 23, 2011
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posted by Ys at 12:46 PM on January 22, 2011