Black Widows will make a home where there is a dark corner or hole in the
ground, under and between stones, under siding on your house. Just about
any dark place. The easiest way to find them is to find their webs first.
If you run a stick through them, the web is very tough and sticky feeling.
The widows move very fast to escape when they are found. Sometimes I spray
with spider spray under the cracks and they become lethargic and drop down.
It usually doesn't kill them though - tough little buggers. Squashing them
is the best way to make sure they're dead.

I just found 3 of them in a dark shed on our property. Only caught one; the
other two escaped. I also found one under a pot saucer turned upside down
after being washed out. Didn't take long for the little sucker to make a
home there.

Yes, they do sometimes have 3 red dots on their backs and sometimes they are
just shiny black. ALL of them have a red hour glass on their stomach
though. The best way to describe them to someone is that they are very
shiny, black spiders that have no hair on them. They're glossy looking.
Even their legs are like that.

A couple of years ago, I had a large sunflower topple over after a heavy
rain. After removing the roots, there were holes in the soil; I found a
huge widow living there soon after. In my normal gardening activities, I
don't wear gloves, but if I'm reaching into dark places, pulling weeds,
working in mulch, I definitely wear gloves. I wear thick cowhide work
gloves. I own a flower planting business where I pull all the old plants
and replant new annuals each spring and fall. Gloves are a must. Friday, I
finished a planting job and encountered a baby garter snake in their garage.
I just moved him to a Japanese Maple so he wouldn't bother me in the beds
where I was planting. It's sometimes scary, but I'd never give up gardening
or planting.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"Judy and Dave G" wrote in message
...
Hi all

Today I found my second black widow spider. Found one last year, also.

My front yard has about a 4 foot slope at the edge. About 4 years ago, we
took out the grass, found some large rocks on the farm, and terraced using
the stones, 2 per layer. Turned out great. Last spring when I was
cleaning
up and replacing mulch, I found a black spider with 3 red dots on it.
Everyone said it was not a black widow. I looked it up and, sure enough,
it
is. Today I found another. Just behind the rocks and not into the dirt,
but under the mulch.

The book says they only bite to protect their young, or to kill their
mate.
I guess I can say that must be true, because I had that lady pinched
between
my fingers and the rock when I saw her.

I hate to wear garden gloves, but maybe I am gonna have to get used to it!

Yuck.

Judy