I Killed Several Black Widow Spiders The Other Day

[U2Bama]

A neighbor of mine had moved away, but did not want to fool with transporting a full load of firewood he had bought late last season; the new owner of his house had small kids and they did not want to use their fireplace.

While loading 2 loads of firewood into my Jeep Cherokee and taking it over to my house, I encountered 6 or 7 poisonous black widow spiders. I killed all of them, in addition to several egg pouches.

I posted this thread in "Free Your Mind" because I felt that there were potentially three or more "Free Your Mind" type debates that some of you may draw off of the subject matter:

(1) It is politically incorrect or ecologically harmful or something to heat your home with a wood-burning fireplace and this I am an environmental demon;

(2) Using firewood to heat your home with a wood-burning fireplace constitutes cruelty to trees; and,

(3) The whole "cruelty to black widow spiders" debate. As I stated earlier, the new neighbors have 2 small children; I noticed their soccer ball in the backyard near the woodpile that I removed. I don't give much of a care about the constitutional rights or international rights of the black widow spiders. If you want to get PETA or the Animal Liberation Front to do one of their publicity stunts, then so be it, but I do not feel bad about killing poisonous black widow spiders.

~U2Alabama

 

[walkon11]

(3) The whole "cruelty to black widow spiders" debate. As I stated earlier, the new neighbors have 2 small children; I noticed their soccer ball in the backyard near the woodpile that I removed. I don't give much of a care about the constitutional rights or international rights of the black widow spiders. If you want to get PETA or the Animal Liberation Front to do one of their publicity stunts, then so be it, but I do not feel bad about killing poisonous black widow spiders.

~U2Alabama

There's an actual "cruelty to black widow spiders" debate? Goodness, they scare the crap out of me...I see no harm in killing them if they're in places which can threaten humans (like my house, yard, etc...).

 

[martha]

If spiders are minding their own beeswax in spiderland, leave 'em alone. But if there are black widows where little kids or other people are around, I say smash 'em flat.


A wood-burning fireplace sounds nice and romantic most of the time, but today and yesterday our Santa Ana winds picked up ash from our summer fires and threw it into the air. Now the air smells like a firepit. So now I cough at the mere mention of something wood-burning. Ask me again next week.

 

[U2Bama]

A wood-burning fireplace sounds nice and romantic most of the time, but today and yesterday our Santa Ana winds picked up ash from our summer fires and threw it into the air. Now the air smells like a firepit. So now I cough at the mere mention of something wood-burning. Ask me again next week.

Surely my chimney smoke here in the Southeastern US isn't being picked up by the Santa Ana winds?

 

[Zoomerang96]

well bama, i hope you at least ate them. wasting animal meat is barbaric.

seriously, you have black widows in alabama?

i HATE spiders.

i say kill em all. kill everyone.

 

[U2Bama]

We have black widow spiders, brown recluse spiders, scorpions, rattle snakes, water moccasins, and other crap that disturbs me.

 

[martha]

We have black widow spiders, brown recluse spiders, scorpions, rattle snakes, water moccasins, and other crap that disturbs me.

Remind me to think twice about adding Alabama to my States I Have Visited list!

 

[Zoomerang96]

yoshimi battles the pink robots, she has to be strong to fight them, so she takes her vitamins. she knows it would be tragic if those evil robots would win.

i deteste all those machine like pests that you mentioned.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Anyone who gives a flying rats rectum over the rights of dangerous spiders is a fool in mine.

Funny thread Bama.

A bear thumbs up for you

 

[UltravioletU2]

If there are deadly spiders around children and in your car, KILL THEM! Jeepers, these animal rights organizations can get so extreme they jeopardize the safety of people for their cause.

As for fires- I don't see a problem with them. Perhaps if everyone wanted to heat their home with a wood burning fireplace, it would be a problem. Fire places can be cozy and trees only have a certain (but long) lifespan, so dead tress makes excellent wood as long as you catch it before it rots. As long as we replant trees, we can use the wood (it's what it is there for partially). Plus, they are cozy.

I do know people who have dealt with a "real" fireplace for any length of time hate them because they are messy (ashes, wood splinters) and can smell very strong. I guess my point is that with so many people preferring a gas fireplace, to those who like the authenticicy of real wood fireplaces, go for it.

 

[pax]

I love animals, but if my living space were infested by possibly lethal spiders, I think I'd chuck a Doc Marten at them.

(Doc Martens are my preferred tool for killing insects...a cockroach or two has died at the toe of my old flowered boots. I just got a new pair of Doc chelsea boots, but I think I'm going to avoid using them for bug killing.)

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

i HATE spiders.

So do I. I am seriously arachnophobic, they freak me out soooooo much (even their name is creepy to me...I mean, think about it...spider...).

If I'd seen those black widow spiders, I would've screamed bloody murder...someone else would've killed 'em.

And if they're poisonous...then it's a good thing you got rid of them. Yeesh...

U2Bama, no offense to ya, since you live there, but now I can safely say that I will never go to Alabama, not unless I'd absolutely have to.

Angela

 

[BAW]

Originally posted by U2Bama
I posted this thread in "Free Your Mind" because I felt that there were potentially three or more "Free Your Mind" type debates that some of you may draw off of the subject matter:

(1) It is politically incorrect or ecologically harmful or something to heat your home with a wood-burning fireplace and this I am an environmental demon;

(2) Using firewood to heat your home with a wood-burning fireplace constitutes cruelty to trees; and,

(3) The whole "cruelty to black widow spiders" debate. As I stated earlier, the new neighbors have 2 small children; I noticed their soccer ball in the backyard near the woodpile that I removed. I don't give much of a care about the constitutional rights or international rights of the black widow spiders. If you want to get PETA or the Animal Liberation Front to do one of their publicity stunts, then so be it, but I do not feel bad about killing poisonous black widow spiders.

~U2Alabama [/B]

AND...you hauled the wood in your gas guzzling, excess emissions spewing, road hogging SUV

Seriously though, I see nothing wrong with killing spiders, especially poisonous ones. I would have stomped them too.

environmental demon...now thats funny

 

[joyfulgirl]

Spider killer.

Kidding! I have been known to smash a few to smithereens myself. I've also been known to trap centipedes in plastic containers in my bedroom in the middle of the night and take them outside and dare them to come back in. Depends on my mood.

 

[Sparkysgrrrl]

I've also been known to trap centipedes in plastic containers in my bedroom in the middle of the night and take them outside and dare them to come back in. Depends on my mood.

I am queen of the container trapping of bugs.
And I hate bugs and insects so the whole time I'm freaking out about getting that close to them....but I'd rather not have bug goo all over my walls.

 

[Like O2]

(2) Using firewood to heat your home with a wood-burning fireplace constitutes cruelty to trees; and,

We'll have our first fire tonight while fixin' turkey and stuff.

Weather forecast....Tonight: Partial clearing and cold. A freeze may occur north and west of the city. Lows in the low 30s north and west, mid 30s in town, upper 30s inland areas of the coastal counties, and low 40s on the coast.

 

[RavenStar]

This is how I look at it: Was kiling the spiders the right decision? I mean, why not just move them to another location and put some sort of black widow repellent around the house?

Dont get me started about SUV's. But I think U2Bama is atleast using his how it was intended. I hate it when people use them to drive to work with only one person in them. Grrrrr

 

[diamond]

Bama-

Did u even consider the "feelings" or the "inner childlikespider feelings" of these creatures as your boot purposely crushed the innards into oblivion of these defenseless little bastards?

We need to know.

thank u
DB9

 

[U2Bama]

U2Bama, no offense to ya, since you live there, but now I can safely say that I will never go to Alabama, not unless I'd absolutely have to.

I forgot to mention the shark and alligator attacks on the Alabama Gulf coast.

But as long as you don't hang out in the woods or bodies of water or wood piles, you should not have any problems with the beasts I have mentioned.

And my town has the lowest crime rate of any 10,000+ city in Alabama.

~U2Alabama

 

[U2Bama]

This is how I look at it: Was kiling the spiders the right decision? I mean, why not just move them to another location and put some sort of black widow repellent around the house?

Are you suggesting that I engineer some type of poisonous spider re-location program? Any type of "black widow repellant" would likely be a pesticide which would be potentially harmful to the environment; we already had a fish kill at the city park lake due to DDT or Dursban or something. But you think I should go to the trouble of picking up a bunch of poisonous black widow spiders (being careful not to disturb them) and move them to an agreeable location, then treat my neighbor's house(s) from future invasions?

Dont get me started about SUV's. But I think U2Bama is atleast using his how it was intended. I hate it when people use them to drive to work with only one person in them. Grrrrr

Well, now that you mention it, I DO drive it to work 5 days a week, and no one in my neighborhood works near me on the same schedule that I work, so I am the only person in it. Mine seats 4 adults comfortably.

~U2Alabama

 

[RavenStar]

But if you mostly use it for driving to work then why odnt you get a small car? You can get a little trailer thingy on the back of it if you want to haul stuff around.

 

[speedracer]

I am queen of the container trapping of bugs.
And I hate bugs and insects so the whole time I'm freaking out about getting that close to them....but I'd rather not have bug goo all over my walls.

And blood, when mosquito season arrives.

Every time I kill a mosquito in my place, I leave its remains (and the blood stain, if any) on the wall and circle it in bright red paint. I'm hoping that I can either psychologically deter female mosquitoes from biting humans or accelerate the evolution of a new species of mosquito that doesn't require blood to breed.

(Well, not really, but I am mildly obsessive about killing mosquitoes.)

 

[U2Bama]

But if you mostly use it for driving to work then why odnt you get a small car? You can get a little trailer thingy on the back of it if you want to haul stuff around.

Because a "small car" would likely not have enough power to pull a trailer of firewood. And quite often, I do have to haul "stuff" around in the back of the SUV, and I rarely even have the back seat in place; it is usually folded down or removed for that purpose.

The way I see it, an SUV is VERY practical for someone who needs a pick-up truck somethime and a passenger vehicle at other times; it is rough & tough enough that I can haul firewood in, and it is decent enough for me and 3 friends to ride in to a football game. In the rare occasion that we have winter weather here, it has 4 wheel drive and good all-terrain tires, should I need to make an emergency trip to the grocery store to purchase toilet paper.

I know that many of you will despise me and hate me for this, but I never wish to own a "small car" or a "sports car." I feel quite safe in the Cherokee based on experience: it has taken some licks, including a sideswipe-then-drag-along conflict with an 18-wheeler; a truck tried to change into my wife's lane (while driving my Cherokee) despite the fact that she was in it, and turned the Jeep sideways and pushed it sideways for 300 yards; the Jeep was damaged (but not quite totalled), it never flipped, and she was injury free. I apologize for my "non-U2-ish" opinion and if any of you feel it appropriate to report me to the moderators then go ahead.

~U2Alabama

 

[martha]

Mine seats 4 adults comfortably.

~U2Alabama

Good. So when I come to visit you, you can drive me to all the highlights of your dangerous, wildlife-ridden state!

 

[martha]

Freaking computers.

 

[RavenStar]

Bama, you ARE using it for it's purposes though. I know people that drive their SUV alone into work everyday and then go home and keep it in the garage and freak out if it gets scratched. It's an SUV for pete's sake! Seriously, I'm glad you use it the way you do.

 

[Angela Harlem]

You been showing more humour lately Bama! What's going on?
Seriously, I dont understand why people get all hot and bothered over SUV's (or just 4WD's as we refer to them here). I am not entirely sure if I would ever drive one, simply because of the safety issue. I would love to own one, they have everything I want in a car bar the safety thing, but then what car IS safe. I drive a large sedan and one that sucks petrol like a ...well something that sucks a lot of petrol and I would not have it any other way. I know that in a fairly serious accident my car will give more protection than a smaller car. I drive a fair distance to my work, public transport not being a viable alternative, and would not expect a smaller engine'd vehicle to last. Its just the way it is. Small cars are great for that zippy mobility they have, but I want an engine that will last 600,000km's average. And without going all patriotic, due to the way our roads here are built, I would rather Aussie made. I drive too far, too often for a more environmentally friendly alternative, ironic as that sounds. Not to mention we need a car that is capable of towing. I would hate to see a 1.5/1.8 litre 4 cylinder cope with a boat or jet ski being towed with any regularity.
So yeah, if the top heavy issue wasn't such a huge factor in the safety of 4WD's, I would own one in a second. And I would not be ashamed of it. You got strength, power and comfort in a car that will not shit itself in a hurry.

 

[U2Bama]

Angela_Harlem:

Much thanks for your defense of SUV drivers worldwide; you make all the right points about the practicality of the vehicles. And I will go as far as to say that the safety concerns you mentioned with many SUVs can be alleviated via driver education and adaptation, ie., an SUV does not handle like a passenger car. There are, however, some notable examples such as the now-defunct Suzuki Samurai and Ford Bronco II, which have serious design flaws at any speed. I think I have read over the years that the Volvo 700 series is the safest "passenger car" in production, while the Chevrolet/GMC Suburban, the behemoth granddaddy of all SUVs, is the safest "passenger vehicle" in production; it is apparently too large to be a rollover risk.

And when I bought my 4WD Jeep 6 years ago, several of my family members had jetskis which would need to be towed; however they sold them and I didn't get to tow them around.

Another beneficial use I had for my SUV was when I was a local rock star and hauled the band's sound eqipment around to our weekly gigs. I felt like the truck driver and guitarist all in one.

~U2Alabama