Spider ID please?

[Krista]

I've got this spider which is about an inch across living above my sidewack to the kids play area. I'm getting rather nervous as it's getting quite big and i've got 4 2 year olds that will be playing out there tomorrow.  Sorry about the poor picture quality. I'll get a better one tomorrow.

[Mikey]

Does it make a large circular web?  If so it likely is an Orb spider.  They tend to be big and scary looking.  There are many kinds of Orbs.  They prey on flying insects which get caught up in their web.  The Orb spiders I have, and I have many, spin their webs just as it is getting dark.  They usually hide in the daytime.  If I walk around at night in the garden area I must look like a blind person except the stick I am waving around isn't near the ground looking for obstacles but I'm waving it around in the air knocking down any Orb webs.  I don't think Orbs are dangerous.  Sometimes they make their webs at the entrance walkway to our house and after knocking down their web once or twice they learn to build it in another location.

[Krista]

Thanks Mikey... yeah, I would say the web is pretty round. I'll knock his web down .... although we really could use the rain  (half kidding  )

[MikeW]

There is only one kind of spider Krista - the yucky, icky, uggh, yikes, kill it!, kind. Can you tell I hate the things?

This summer I have dubbed "The year of the Spider". They have been everywhere. Webs across windows, doorways, garden walkways, in bushes, even hanging from the rear view mirror in the car - that last one nearly killed 65 people when I saw it at 70 mph.

Sorry about the ozone, but get the biggest aerosol can you can find, and fill the air with poison!

Cheers,

Mike 

[Teresa]

Krista - I've got a better idea!  Get a big piece of black constuction or poster paper, a can of white spray paint and a straw.  Use the straw to blow air at the spider till he moves off the web - if you blow really hard, he'll fall.  Then take the white spray paint and spray the web lightly with it.  Then bring the black paper up from the back and the white web will stick to it.  The kids will love it - makes a great picture or halloween decoration. 

[barb]

I'm not a fan of spiders, at all.  But I don't like the idea of killing them, since most are harmless.  So instead I move them.  Yep, you read that right.  I get a jar/cup and a flat paper plate, and catch the critter, then release it far away.  *shudder* 

[CT]

Barb, love your little spider
   I don't kill them either unless they are poisonous and they happen to be in the house. They control the insects, however a crab spider caught a beautiful dragonfly in it's web the other day  :'(
Kay

[barb]

Thanks, kay!  I think if I had a poisonous spider in my house I would be calling 911, though.  LOL  My bravery only goes so far.

[CT]

 Me too, I'm not having anything poisonous jumping on me or trying to crawl up on my shoe in a valiant escape attempt  I actually believe killing of poisonous spiders is in the marriage handbook..page 21.."husbands are required to kill and remove poisonous creatures, the dispatching and disposal of said creatures is non negotiable"..
 

[PondmaninAL]

Krista,

By the shape of the body and length of the legs, it's not one of the spiders that you need to worry about. Color also brings me to that conclusion. I don't think that it's big enough to eat one of the kids. Just knock down the web if it bothers you that much.

Scott

[Krista]

thanks everyone it just gives me the creepy crawling. Particulsarly if the web gets much bigger it's going to end up in my hair as I walk through it.. .EWwwwwww...

I will just knock it down and hope Mr. Spider finds a new home Thanks!

[LeeAnne151]

DH freaks out when he gets webs on him moving around the yard. Spiders don't bother me. I've killed many a Black Widow in Phoenix. There were tons in the shed. They are really slow moving and not aggressive but too dangerous to let live when people were in and out of the shed on a regular basis.

[Johns]

Krista,

The shape of your spider looks like a 6 spotted orb weaver, but they generally are only 3/8 inch long. (body).

Actually all spiders are venomous, except for two small groups.  Orb weavers are listed as potentially dangerous in the Merck Medical Manual.  I'd knock him down just to be rid of him.

[livetogarden]

Eeeew!!! Add me to the spider hater's list. After nearly losing an uncle to a Black Widow spider bite when I was a young kid all of them have freaked me out ever since.
I had the same 'vows' at my wedding as Kay.....'husband is required to kill and remove poisonous creatues'...that was a good one, Kay!!!  However...my husband must have snuck the vow 'wife must take care of bees' in to ours without me realizing it because he freaks out BIG time when a bee comes near him. He literally takes off like a little girl flailing his arms and yelling. He's 6' 7" so that is quite a sight!!  So whenever there's a bee in the house or somewhere that it needs to be removed guess who has that privilege???
Cath

[CT]

That's funny Cath, I can just see him running! I'm sure it's not funny to him though. Bees don't bother me. I just stand still and they proceed on. Of course I haven't been stung either. (I'll have to look for the bee addendum in the handbook  ) My husband is seriously afraid of my tortoises. Maybe he got nibbled on as a kid but he will not touch them. Tortoises for cryin out loud, it's not like he can't outrun them. 

[Krista]

He's knocked down now.. and I must admit the temptation to knock the stuffing out of him was extremely high. I didn't though...  They just creep me out.

And unfortunatly my dh isn't around enough to tackle any ucky for me so I gt to do it all.......

[Mikey]

I have a big orb that spins it's large web every evening between a corner of my house and a tall metal topiary tower in the garden.  In the morning the spider is visible and it usually is finishing up on a meal from the night before or earlier that morning.  This morning I was sitting in the nearby patio when the hummingbirds began getting active and a couple of them shot right through the web.  After the second one ripped a hole through his web, out of frustration he called it a day, rolled up his meal, and slowly climbed up to the roof eaves where he sleeps in the daytime...

[LeeAnne151]

Bob feeds spiders, he just hates the webs on him. He had one in the garage that he fed for months last year.