I put a new motor on my old sears bandsaw recently. It’s mounted on an old desk along with a Royobi AP10. I couldn’t quite get the nut onto the bolt fed in from the outside because my **%&%*$ back was a little sensitive so I knelt and looked into the back of the desk interior to locate the end of the bolt.
In the corner, mere inches from the bolt end, was a disorganized web with two 1/2 inch egg cases, and a black widow with an abdomen the size of a marble! A jet black marble with a bright red violin! Dodged another bullet.
Here in the great central valley of the state of confusion, I find widows under wood, behind stuff, and in all sorts of hidden places. Where you live, you have widows and you may have brown recluse spiders (central southern and midwestern states) or hobo spiders (oregon, washington, idaho, utah, and spreading). These two are much worse than the widows!
I ususally wear gloves and pay attention to wood I’m moving or anything from a dark and sheltered location. What have you run into?
If you live in Ozzie land, you may have RED BACKED SPIDERS, 100% fatal without antivenom, in a hurry!! Burrrr!
Replies
The only dangerous spiders we have here in Japan (SFAIK) are a brown widow that piggy-backed on some produce as an illegal alien from Oz. They've only been found down in the Kansai (Osaka) area, though (again, SFAIK).
We get quite large (tarantula-sized) hairy spiders that like to run up and down the walls when they get inside, but they're harmless, and they hunt roaches so we generally leave them alone.
We have two varieties of poisonous snakes, one that gets quite large, but it's also very docile. The pit viper called mamushi is probably more dangerous, but there are fewer around (I've never personally seen one).
Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township
Two days ago, I was working to add a roof over a customer's deck. The deck sits low to the ground, so adding posts required that I cut holes in the decking, and dig the post holes from above.
When I went back to assure that the concrete was drying properly, there sat a (rather small) copperhead snake, sunning himself on the new concrete.
Like you say -- it's best to look carefully before poking your hand into places like that.
Oh yes, been there, done that! When I had horses, my stable was in the Sacramento Valley. Developed very good habits when it came to prowling around in stuff that had been sitting for awhile. However, the biggest heart-leap came when I was shutting things down getting ready to move. Taking apart a little work table, I knelt down to look under the table, face right up to the edge, focusing on the far side.
Then, my brain gave off an alarm, the eyes focused right in front of my nose, and there she was!! Just like yours, a huge bod. Fortunately, BWs aren't very aggressive for the most part, though if they're guarding egg cases I'd not assume anything.
That's one thing about the Puget Sound area -- seriously poisonous spiders are virtually non-existant.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
There's a new arachnid in town!! It came into the port of Seattle and has spread all through the Northwest.
Go to Google and search for "hobo spider"
It has necrotic venom and is every bit as bad as the very bad brown recluse!
PS: It likes cool, wet, and rainy - it comes from Northern Europe.
Oh, wonderful! Just when I thought I was safe! I don't like spiders who like wet and cold!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I don't post very often but read and lurk. This thread caught my attention ...
Have y'all ever thought of moving to Florida? I regularly find scorpions in the mailbox (always look before sticking my hand in there), pygmy rattlers lurk in residential neighborhoods - BIG ones (10' or more) further out, BW nests, coral snakes and other "friendly" munchers. I know a bunch of people who have had decidedly unfriendly encounters with brown recluse spiders. Then there's the occasional gator strolling through the backyard - don't worry though, they only eat the pets - rarely snack on humans. Poisonous frogs - real pretty bright colors though. Idiots that let their exotic "pets" go to breed in the wild which is why we are starting to get piranhas in our lakes. Somebody even let a monitor lizard (the poisonous carnivore)loose once it grew up - reports a couple years ago were that it was about 15' long. I THINK they finally hunted it down and put it in a zoo ... Lost pythons, boas ... and other huggable friends. And we mustn't forget the ubiquitous fire ants - put killer on their mounds and they move over 10'. Come on down! They'd all love to taste, er, see, you! ;+)
Back to lurking ...
Ken
Lived in Florida for, what? 3 years I believe as a little girl. In the summertime I went barefoot 6-1/2 days a week! Loved it! No problems with critters where I was far as I remember, except those darned palmetto bugs! Yuck!
I actully like snakes, but much prefer them non-poisonous. But no, not entertaining any ideas of moving there. "Forestgirl" it is, small mountains, tall trees, that's my kind of country.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Well maybe not scary, but we have had a tremendous number of tics this year. I keep pulling them off the kids. The house sits in a 4 acre meadow and the kids play in the woodlot. Any ideas? I guess I could spread Dursband but I have a two year old who eats dirt by the handful.
Frank
Used to have ticks real bad here in central Texas....until the fire ants moved in. Havn't seen a tick in several years. How 'bout I send you a box of'em?
Hi
I live in so. california and don't think I've seen a fire ant. What are they like, Are they smart. Do they actually I dentify you or just wander around looking an enimy.
I ask this because on a regular basis I kill red ants colonies with a shovle and pesticide, I start by spraying the ground I'm on, good sight and lots of pesticide always takes care of me.
john
Just wait awhile and they'll colonize California.
Fire ants are smaller than the garden variety of red ant you probably see. They're an import from South America that got here in the '20's and have spread all over the south. They build large mounds that can be a couple of feet hign. Usually these are built in pastures that don't get regular mowing. Sure is hard on a shredder when you hit one.
The are extremely mean. They have destroyed many species here in Texas such as the Texas horned toad, which we call a "horny toad." Ground nesting birds such as quail have been run off, or have changed their nesting activity. They have also decimated the native ant populations, and gotten rid of all the ticks. They will climb 30' into a tree to get at baby birds in a nest. They will kill calves and small livestock. They also get into electrical circuits like outdoor boxes and AC units.
Texas A&M is in the process of rasing a variety of wasp from South America that parasitizes the ants with their larva. Hope this works...if it doesn't, you'll be getting aquainted with'em.
About a decade ago my mother (then in her 70s) was visiting her brother in Florida when she walked on top of a nest of fire ants without knowing it. She suffered about 60 bites and was hospitalized for quite some time, nearly died.
I hope A&M is successful with their wasp--and that the wasp doesn't create some new problem that has to be solved.
". . .and only the stump or fishy part of him remained."
Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township
Lyme disease is the main thing with ticks, and I don't know much (anything) about where it's prevalent, etc. I spent 2 years in North Carolina as a 5- and 6-year old, out in the country with my grandparents a good deal of the time. Ticks were a part of life for me and the hounds. Was taught to use a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. Place it over the tick until they pass out, and then gently pull them off. Just check the kiddos every night and douse the critters. Same with any doggers you have (although I think Advantage or one of those high-tech anti-flea things works with ticks too).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forestgirl, The oniy down side to your technique to pulling ticks is that it also causes them to regurgitate stomache contents, which helps with the Lymes thing. Its best to pull them with a tweezers, but make sure to get the head. If left imbedded the head can cause infection.
As was mentioned before I'll throw a few more logs on the fire and shovel for a few months. Thank you very much.
It's high tick season in SW Michigan, Easter through 4th of July. The best tick remover I've come across is a dirt cheap little piece of plastic we picked up at a local drugstore... actually, we picked up three, so there's always one in easy reach. You can get them at pet stores, too. The brand is "Ticked-Off."
It looks like a little plastic baby spoon, with a V-notch cut at the tip. Put the back (convex) side of the spoon against the skin next to the tick, with the notch pointed at it. Slide the spoon forward so the notch surrounds the tick all the way, still pressing against the skin so you get the head of the tick, too. Lever the tick off.
Voila! Tick gone in seconds. No head left in the skin, no stomach guts regurgitated (because you're not squeezing the tick). It's worked every time. Swab the area with a little alcohol and you're in business again.
As for tick prevention? Get chickens and let 'em run around your yard. They love to eat ticks.
David"The world that was not made is not won by what is done" -- Mundaka Upanishad
As for tick prevention? Get chickens and let 'em run around your yard. They love to eat ticks.
Well, that's one down. I wonder if let them wander through the house they'll eat the bedbugs, too? Bedbugs Heading East
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". . .and only the stump or fishy part of him remained."
Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township
Ugh... right while I was eating lunch. :-)
David"The world that was not made is not won by what is done" -- Mundaka Upanishad
Alright, I have to add.
This weekend I opened the valve cover to the sprinklers. It was full of ants and eggs. (yuck) I tossed the lid and something hit my shirt. I looked and it was a BW crawling fast to my neck. Gave out a little scream and flicked it off me. (I really wished I hadn't screamed.) Darn things abdomen was the size of my pinky nail. Stepped on him and danced in triumph.
Len
Ants and widows. That's a familiar combo.
Some years ago we were trashing a rotting bathroom in a rental property and were taking dry wall and tile down from a wall. There were numerous black widows behind the wall - what could they possibly be eating?
We got the answer when my wife put a hatchet into the adjoining wall and a black armada of ants came out!
We pulled the dry wall off, tossed in a bug bomb, closed the door, went home, and had a beer. Then we hired someone else to do the job (mediocre, of course!).
I gotta mention that tool to my wife she likes to keep her girl scout first aid kit well stocked. Well, knowing my wife she probably already found it, shopping is a sport.
Another way to remove ticks safely is place a blob of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly on them. They have to back out because their looking for breathable air, takes about 10 minutes.
I have been thinking for years about a screen door for the shop.
Enjoy, Roy
Dave, going hunting for one of those removers. I have a young pup that I am working with to do some finishing on his pointing and retrieving. I am sure that both of us will encounter a few along the way.
It's amazing what good info you can come up with on a woodworking site!
Brian
When they're under the influence of alcohol (rubbing though it is) they aren't holding on any longer. I speak from experience. They just come right off. If any resistance is felt, they're not passed out yet.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
A couple of years ago, the entire New York Yankees baseball team were severely bitten when they stumbled into a dugout full of Arizona Diamondbacks. Although they struggled vaingloriously, they did not survive the Series and haven't been seen in Bank One Ballpark since.
The Pyrrhic defense of their nest left the Diamondbacks in a badly weakened state from which they have yet to recover.Steve
http://www.ApacheTrail.com/ww/
Mesa, Arizona
Too funny!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Too funny!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Ken, poisen arrow frogs are only harmfull if you lick there skin or eat them.Moniter lizards grow to about 6 foot max and are in no way poisenous.The only poisenous lizards on this planet are the Gila monster and the closely related Mexican beaded lizard. Both are found in the south west and northern mexico.
Hi Cutter,
You're right about the frogs only being poisonous if you lick them (who found THAT out?), but the lizard I mentioned is also known as a Komodo Dragon. They grow to about 350 lbs and live on only a few islands in the Pacific. After checking on it a bit further I find that while they aren't poisonous per se, their bite will kill a deer within a week due to bacterial infection. Apparently their saliva is teeming with deadly bacteria. Lovely creatures ... no idea why someone would want one as a PET but Florida has it's share of odd people.
Ken
Folks will sometime ask how we can live up north here with all the snow. I always counter with: No spiders; no snakes; no scorpions, roaches, fire ants or chiggers. No tornadoes, or hurricanes or hundred degree days.
I'll gladly shovel snow for a few (actually, six) months.
Jeff
PS. Glad you weren't bitten!
But Man! Those Black Flies can tackle you! :o)
Jeff- Yeah, but you got zillions of them damn blackflies. I'm a troll from near Lansing. I stayed up there @ Perch lake for 2 weeks last summer. Great time, but the DNR ought to be banned. They went out of they're way to write us tickets having to do with our ATV's. Anyway we fought the tickets and won. In a way. We had to make another 12 hr. drive one way up there to do it. John E. Nanasy
Hey John, I'm in Fowlerville!
I see that we have brown recluse spiders here also: http://www.msue.msu.edu/ipm/CAT01_land/L05-11-01.htm#16
Molten- My shop is right in your backyard. It's just past the end of Nicholson rd. if you follow it north.John E. Nanasy
Heh...I live in the Village. Do you have a show room? I'd love to stop by and check it out if you do. I didn't realize there was any full time custom woodworkers in my area, guess there goes my dreams of starting my own business...I'm gonna have to move again.
Spokeshave, Molten,
I am just down the road in Jackson. I have rattlesnakes down here. Need some?
Joe Phillips
Plastics pay the bills, Woodworking keeps me sane!
Hey Jeff, here in Québec, we use snow blower !!
Also no spider and such, but -35 celcius a couple of days lasat winter, my car was frozen !
Bob in Sherbrooke, Province of Québec
Last summer my wife, next door neighbor and I were having coffee and a Saturday morning conversation in the shop before the days duties. All of a sudden my cat started going wild chasing something. My neighbor and I jump into action and have to chase down and kill a 2'+ snake. I hated to do it because it was probably not poisonous but I hate being surprised by some critter thats not suppose to be there, and they scare the H out of the kids. My wife turned pail white and almost had to be helped from the shop. She went in the house, did a shot of Jim Beam (10am mind you) and spent most of the rest of the day on the sofa.
Several times I have walked into the open shop and out flies some strange cat. Scares the H out of me.
Locked a strange cat in for 24 hours once just for fun. Maybe learned a lesson.
Found my cat on a Wednesday night locked in the shop, I hadn't been in there since Sunday. He heard me strolling in the back yard and started scratching the door and whinning. Man he was hungry, thirsty and 'P'-oed. He didn't learn his lesson, still slept in there all the time.
And bugs, I routinely set off bug bombs twice a summer in my shop, just as a preventative measure. Set one off in the attic and one in the shop and close up for the night.
Enjoy, Roy
We also have the Brown Recluse when bit by them the area just starts rotting getting bigger & deeper. I think they cut out the area to stop the rotting.
They love dark dry places - Wood Shop is a perfect place for Spiders.
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