[HonantheBarbarian]

TK, I don't really feel like going on a ghost buster's mission hunting black widows in my musty garage so you'll just have to take my word for it. But I have seen enough of them (with the red hourglass) to where they are a relatively common occurence. Ill take a pic if a happen across one though.

The most recent time, about 3 years ago, I was bitten on the side near the ribcage area. It probably happened while I was working in the garage with my shirt off. At first glance it looked like a normal spider bite, but as time progressed it developed this really nasty looking purple ring that was way larger than the area of the bite. It also made me feel a bit woozy and disoriented later on. It eventually just went away after a day or so. It wasn't until later after doing some reading that I realized it was a BW bite based on the symptoms mentioned. From what I gather fatality rates from their bites are actually pretty low.

Rattlesnake or brown recluse.. I'm running from the hills.

[RexImperator]

Venomous bites containing cyto-toxins and hemo-toxins produce horrific wounds, possibly leading to amputation, while the neurotoxins are more likely to kill you.

If you want to lose your lunch, Google bites from the brown recluse or snakes in the pit viper family such as rattlesnake, fer de lance, etc.

[Mentavious]

You are one lucky man to not experience much from a bite. Most adults feel cramps and involuntary spasms at the injection site which radiate throughout the body.


You sure you're not Spider-Man?

[HonantheBarbarian]

I did feel a reasonable amount of physical discomfort but nothing extraordinary. Maybe its all the zinc I take?

[Cr33pin]

[Cr33pin]

[wi30]

This is one of the major reasons why I will always live somewhere that freezes in the winter. The worst thing about warmer climates is that the bugs and spiders never die. Winter gives a sort of reset every year for bugs, with the exception of small house spiders and what not.

[MrXY]

I kill black widows and brown recluses on sight; fortunately they are not real common where I live.

With other spiders I'm extremely lenient; I usually leave them alone or at most catch them in a jar and release them outside.

I lived for years in an old mansion in New Orleans. Between all the cracks and passages in walls and the swampy climate it was thoroughly colonized by spiders, including some huge ones. My cat and I lived in harmony with the spiders and they were such effective exterminators I never had to spray for insects. I spent many evenings reading in my living room overwatched by my allies, who learned they could sit in the open in complete safety. Sometimes when in bed one would crawl onto my arm, leg or face and I would brush it off.

I was never bitten.

[TonySandos]

I may be preconditioned to spiders terrifying me by growing up in the south(we have the brown recluse, the black widow and the brown widow all common), but snakes have never affected me as much.


If you keep your eyes open and practice cautionary behavior(like not sleeping on the ground in snake country) they're pretty easy to out-maneuver and hardly have a run in with. Now spiders on the other hand DEEPLY bother me due to their instinctual behaviors. Many species sit stationary as a stone all day while waiting for prey. Nearly all have an affinity for snug, small hiding places. They're very fast, agile and flexible. They're less visible than snakes and don't make noises(except for a very few species I believe).

Mast years, I came over my parents house after work or something and my mom told me they had snakes living in there. The wildlife guy told me over the phone that they were "chicken snakes" and non-venomous, but chop off their heads anyway. Finding that an unnecessary cruelty, I opted for tossing them out of the garage with a broom handle. After initially acting timid, the snakes started crawling back toward me after the third or fourth toss away from the house. I then started swinging like it was a hockey stick, putting them high in the air, but they still came back to me aggressively. After knocking them into high grass they seemed to lose interest. I looked over all the native snake species of this area and came to find with absolute certainty that those snakes weren't chicken snakes, but baby water moccasins.

Moral of the story is, don't play around with snake or spider, just kill the hell out of it.

[Excelsior]

(08-14-2015 10:06 PM)MrXY Wrote:  

I kill black widows and brown recluses on sight; fortunately they are not real common where I live.

With other spiders I'm extremely lenient; I usually leave them alone or at most catch them in a jar and release them outside.

I lived for years in an old mansion in New Orleans. Between all the cracks and passages in walls and the swampy climate it was thoroughly colonized by spiders, including some huge ones. My cat and I lived in harmony with the spiders and they were such effective exterminators I never had to spray for insects. I spent many evenings reading in my living room overwatched by my allies, who learned they could sit in the open in complete safety. Sometimes when in bed one would crawl onto my arm, leg or face and I would brush it off.

I was never bitten.

[RexImperator]

I had no idea...that it's possible to have your penis ruined by a spider bite which causes priapism:

The description of how this is treated had me cringing. Those Viagra warnings are no joke.

The more you know!

[cascadecombo]

[Dr. Howard]

(11-20-2015 12:00 AM)RexImperator Wrote:  

I had no idea...that it's possible to have your penis ruined by a spider bite which causes priapism:

The description of how this is treated had me cringing. Those Viagra warnings are no joke.

The more you know!

MOTHER FUCKER! That video was terrifying. I haven't felt such cold sweats since I used to try to force myself to watch that show "the operation" when I was a kid.

Whatever happened to that show? that was some hard core gruesome stuff. I distinctly recall them peeling back someone's face and cutting their upper jaw apart with a saw to do pallate correction and it was just regular daytime TV.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

I wouldn't cross under that web:



I heard once that it's possible our basic fear of spiders stems from something very primal in our evolutionary cycle. Back when CO2 levels and temperatures were much higher (and humans could still survive there and prosper even better by the way) spider were massive:



A spider the size of a large dog would be indeed an incredibly dangerous predator, since their speed, strength and poison would make them some of the most lethal killers ever. Also their alien look and eating habits of capturing prey and liquidating them alive is much worse than what a dinosaur would do to you.

Also - we should not have any false sentimatily towards nature. If you leave nature free will, then it will kill you. We create houses and more habitable areas so that we can live in peace - we even invite friendly animals like cats and dogs into our houses. Nature first and foremost is a lethal killer.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

Just dropping this totally unthreatening wonder of nature here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballooning_(spider)

[Dr. Howard]

(11-20-2015 02:56 PM)Handsome Creepy Eel Wrote:  

Just dropping this totally unthreatening wonder of nature here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballooning_(spider)

fuck ballooning spiders. One warm day this fall I went outside to do battle with the hordes of spiderlings using my house as a launching and/or landing point and it was like spiderman was shooting webs all of the place.

I am with zel, that my home is my home and I do not share it. The insects can live outside of the chemical wasteland of pesticides that perimeter my home.

[Paracelsus]

C'mon, fellas, I know you all shit your pants during this part of Arachnophobia.

[wi30]

Got the first snowfall of the season last night. Fuck spiders and fuck having to spend 70 bucks for flea and tick medicine for my dog.

I'm so glad I don't live down south anymore.

[Hardy Daytona]

(11-21-2015 08:37 AM)Paracelsus Wrote:  



C'mon, fellas, I know you all shit your pants during this part of Arachnophobia.

   

[Paracelsus]

[The Beast1]

Sorry i'm late guys!



F*ck spiders.

[sophiewilson0191]

Amazing and creepy, but its nature.
They are ballooning.

https://www.evolving-science.com/bioengi...ists-00716

[wi30]

(11-20-2015 01:33 PM)Simeon_Strangelight Wrote:  

I wouldn't cross under that web:



I heard once that it's possible our basic fear of spiders stems from something very primal in our evolutionary cycle. Back when CO2 levels and temperatures were much higher (and humans could still survive there and prosper even better by the way) spider were massive:



A spider the size of a large dog would be indeed an incredibly dangerous predator, since their speed, strength and poison would make them some of the most lethal killers ever. Also their alien look and eating habits of capturing prey and liquidating them alive is much worse than what a dinosaur would do to you.

Also - we should not have any false sentimatily towards nature. If you leave nature free will, then it will kill you. We create houses and more habitable areas so that we can live in peace - we even invite friendly animals like cats and dogs into our houses. Nature first and foremost is a lethal killer.

I seriously doubt there were "large dog sized spiders" anywhere remotely relative to human history or any period of time for that matter.

Humans have an evolutionary fear of spiders, snakes, etc. because they are poisonous and kill people. Not because 120 lb spiders roamed the earth 100,000 years ago with our hunter/gatherer ancestors.

[Paracelsus]

(07-12-2018 04:02 AM)wi30 Wrote:  

I seriously doubt there were "large dog sized spiders" anywhere remotely relative to human history or any period of time for that matter.

Humans have an evolutionary fear of spiders, snakes, etc. because they are poisonous and kill people. Not because 120 lb spiders roamed the earth 100,000 years ago with our hunter/gatherer ancestors.

Well, hey, there's a good way to test your theory. Let's just kill every spider we see. If your theory is right, none of their offspring will evolve into bigger creatures in order to better survive. If not...

[YoungBlade]

(07-12-2018 04:02 AM)wi30 Wrote:  

(11-20-2015 01:33 PM)Simeon_Strangelight Wrote:  

I wouldn't cross under that web:



I heard once that it's possible our basic fear of spiders stems from something very primal in our evolutionary cycle. Back when CO2 levels and temperatures were much higher (and humans could still survive there and prosper even better by the way) spider were massive:



A spider the size of a large dog would be indeed an incredibly dangerous predator, since their speed, strength and poison would make them some of the most lethal killers ever. Also their alien look and eating habits of capturing prey and liquidating them alive is much worse than what a dinosaur would do to you.

Also - we should not have any false sentimatily towards nature. If you leave nature free will, then it will kill you. We create houses and more habitable areas so that we can live in peace - we even invite friendly animals like cats and dogs into our houses. Nature first and foremost is a lethal killer.

I seriously doubt there were "large dog sized spiders" anywhere remotely relative to human history or any period of time for that matter.

Humans have an evolutionary fear of spiders, snakes, etc. because they are poisonous and kill people. Not because 120 lb spiders roamed the earth 100,000 years ago with our hunter/gatherer ancestors.

How dare you disrespect Jeff Corwin, celebrity zoologist and victim of a Megarachne attack!

(starts at 12:10)