Friday, August 17, 2007

sunsets and spiders




Another cool sunset in our little valley. The whole sky was orange and very beautiful.




We seem to have a little Black Widow thing going on in our garage. We saw this one by the side of the door. You can see her molted shell beneath her. I wanted to get my macro lens out so I could get a better pic before we disposed or relocated her(I couldn't decide). She was gone the next morning, so we couldn't do either. Now I know she is in the garage somewhere, which is a little unnerving for me. For those of you who don't know, I am more than a little arachnophobic. I would really like to know where the spider is(more specifically than in the garage).


Eric saw another one in there last night-on my motorcycle! Now, I am kind of in awe of these spiders, maybe even have a little affection for them given their female strength and power, but I can't have them living on my stuff. I wouldn't mind if they promised not to bite anyone, but that is an unrealistic expectation, so they have got to go.


From what Eric has read, they are pretty much immune to any pesticides(you have to admire that), so we have to remove all webs and egg sacs. I am going to get some electronic deterrents, and keep everything clean and clutter free(HA). For those who know me, that is completely out of character, but the phobia beats the clutter.
I will educate myself on Black Widows to help alleviate my fear.


I found my macro lens, so hopefully, I can get a better shot of one next time.


Note to self: Shake out everything before getting close.

4 comments:

Diane said...

YIKES!!! Very interesting about the bwspiders--the fauna and flora in AZ is so incredibly different than here that is must be mind-boggling (?) to think about the mass of information you don't know yet about the area. We got this electronic/plug in device for the garage that gives off silent beeps that keeps away mice and it seems to work very well. No mice, but we also got rid of the bird seed and the grass seed bags that they liked to dive into. Because I have a soft spot for creatures, in the past, I used to let the bags just carelessly lie open, thinking that a little generosity on my part might improve my karma with the natural world, however, this habit actually almost created an infestation of mice! I'll have to tell you about the time that Helder removed a mouse (or two) in a terra cotta pot and walked them down the alley a block and a half for humane release (to live in someone else's garage). I called him the Mouse Whisperer. Take care, Sarah.

Diane

sarahzona said...

I really wanted to relocate the spider, but where? In the back yard, in the street, I don't know. She relocated herself, but is still in my space somewhere(not really OK with me). I guess the best method is prevention, so we don't have to make these decisions. I have a lot to learn about the flora and fauna of the desert.

Robin said...

This would make me nervous also. Have you seen any scorpions? I like those even less.
LOL.
Enjoy!

sarahzona said...

We have not seen any scorpions as of yet. Apparently, you either have them or you don't. Scorpions always stay in the same place, so we are scorpion free. Their stings are like a wasp's. Black widows are not aggressive at all, and will run and hide before biting. You really have to be squishing them in order for them to bite. I guess being aware of their presence(sp) and caution will have to do. Coexistence, man. If I see another one though, I'm sorry to say I will use my shoe. Camera first, then shoe.