Dicky G.
Refugio Texas

Our Yorkshire Terrier Died two years back, Stop eating, Figured she went blind, and just sat/laid for 3 days before we put her to sleep, She was 12 years old. Now we have a new two year old male. Tonight I went spider hunting and killed around 30 brown widows im starting to think my pet was bitten?? Anyways now I havent found any egg sacs but im goign to go look tomarrow. I only see them at night, all spread out in there web waiting. Anyways I use Ortho pest spray, I sprayed everything killed all of them I could see. If you have small pets, children or its just you if you see a spider kill it. I find them under our Outdoor Furnature be carful……………………..

I’m frustrated with the different takes on riding our property of these dangerous creatures. Most say spray kills adults but have no effect on egg sacks. Professionals don’t seem to have much luck either. Suggestions range from any Home Depot Sprays to Wasp Killer to Lemon Pledge! Everyone is asking, but no one (or moderators) have an answer. It seems many areas in several states are becoming infested. I ask again … what’s the best way to erradicate these creatures??

Up ’til now my biggest garden problem were grasshoppers & white flies - now we’ve got venomous spiders! egads.

That is the best way to do it. You have to spray them directly to kill them - I use whatever home depot has. YOu can’t kill them by spraying concrete with any sort of control liquid that says it kills for up to X # of months. We have 3 kids so I’m pretty obsessed with the problem. I’ve also been told, and have read, that their bites are no where near as dangerous as that of a black widow although the poison is more potent. They are apparently not as aggressive and inject less poison when they do bite. I’m not saying I don’t believe that, but I’m ignoring those facts and am constantly on it. You have to check toys and patio furniture all the time.

They like any little hiding spot. Look for webs that are look eratic in their design. They don’t make pretty round webs. We’ve made a conscious decision to keep our yard cleaned up. Any junk you leave laying around, side yards etc, will get infested. Clean your windows properly including the screens as well as the eaves on your home (which is out of character for the black widows I’ve seen). You basically just have to stay on it. I bet anyone in Southern California can find them in their yard at this point if they look. Long post - hopefully helpful.

I am attaching a few photos of brown widows I found outside my house in
Los Angeles, CA.

The last three pictures were from a bay brown widow I snapped 2 weeks ago, the first
pictures from an adult I snapped this afternoon. I noticed it was dead
though.

Susanne