Huge unknown spider ??

GardenForums.com a friendly and growing community of gardeners. We feature a Garden Discussion Forum and Garden Photo Gallery. It's a fun and friendly place to talk with other gardeners, ask questions, share you knowledge, view and post photos and more! Whether you're a master gardener, or brand new to the hobby, you'll find something of interest here.



Trax

Active Member
I found this huge spider in the canna garden this morning. I decided that anything that gets rid of bad bugs is okay so I left it alone. But I'd still like to know if it's poisonous. Does anyone know what kind it is?
Any help greatly appreciated! :)

picture.php


picture.php
 

Trax

Active Member
Thanks! :) I hope that's an egg sack cause I'd sure like to see more of those!
But I have a feeling it's just dinner.
 

RonsGarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
They neatly wrap the prey for snack on later!
You wont find the egg sac since they create them in the early fall in a hidden spot in the garden!
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
I just assume all spiders are poisonous as that is how they immobilize their prey. But I think it is just a matter of degree as there are obviously some that are deadly such as the 'brown recluse' and the 'black widow'. I didn't think for a long time that we had any black widows in Oregon, but I was wrong.
 

Trax

Active Member
Randy, you wanna be very careful about black widows! In Nevada, people have to check their shoes and socks before they put them on in the morning. But I did learn something interesting about the brown recluse spiders (aka fiddlebacks). Jumping spiders actually attack and kill them. There are lots of brown recluse spiders here so I never kill jumping spiders. Two things to remember about the brown recluse. They like staying in dark places and can't make webs.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
I have seen a couple of newspaper articles here that have assured us that we do not have the brown recluse here and I have only seen a few black widows but I know they are around. When I lived in California, they were much more prevalent.
 

Trax

Active Member
Well, I'm def gonna be protecting this orb spider! It's awesome looking and I wanna see it's babies taking the bugs out next summer! :D
Btw, Happy belated Birthday, Crabbergirl! I hope you had a great time! :)
 

RonsGarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
I find them to be the more colorfull and beautiful of the spider species!
They all give me the creeps though, especially the large black furry jumpers we have that make it a habit of getting into the house! They chase down other spiders which is ok by me!
All along the lake is spider heaven with the massive volumm of insects that come out of the lake!
The recluse spider is migrating north, and has been seen as far north as North Bay! That's a good 6 hour drive north of us!
Thankfully I haven't seen any around here!
 

Trax

Active Member

RonsGarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
One of my sisters works in the intensive care unit and said that they have had a few patients with recluse spider bites! The skin specialists have to cut away the infected skin and tissue, otherwise the infection would continue to spread as the tissue dies and becomes infected with secondary infections!
It is not something I would wish on anyone, so be careful if you know they are in your area! Most of the cases up here are related to patients coming back from the southern states, where the spider is more common! The spiders can hitch a ride accross the border in luggage, and even on their cars and vans!
With global warming and warmer winters in the north, some of the spiders are now surviving our winters! It wont be long before the spiders multiply enough to be a ral threat up here!
 

Kya D

Active Member
Dang that is one nasty lookin spider.
We have recluse around here too but rarely do people get bit. Thank heaven.
 

Trax

Active Member
RonsGarden,
The real prob is that brown recluse spiders are homebodies. Their fav place to live is in dark areas inside peoples houses. Once they get settled in a warm house, they can stay all winter, leaving eggs, and then spread to other houses in the summer. The best thing is just to spray or dust periodically to be safe!
 

Gloria

Super Moderator
Staff member
I always find a few of the Orbs in my gardens in the latter part of the summer. I don't care for spiders so they bite the dust fast! We have the widows too, they like damp, dark places and its not unusual to find one under anything left lying on the ground very long..even watermelons in the garden. Haven't found a recluse...yet. We don't need anymore poisinous critters in this neck of the woods, we have enough already.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Well, I'm def gonna be protecting this orb spider! It's awesome looking and I wanna see it's babies taking the bugs out next summer! :D
Btw, Happy belated Birthday, Crabbergirl! I hope you had a great time! :)

Aww Thanks! And yes, I did a great beach day and nice weekend with friends!
They ( Golden Orbs) won't bother you. They do shake their webs when you get too close. Kinda funny.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Brown Recluse bites are bad , so are black widows. I have 2 friends one bitten by a brown, and she lost a softball size chunk of her leg where they had to remove infected tissue. She almost died as she lives in Oklahoma and they told here it was not a brown recluse. She ended up in a semi coma before they treated her for it. And it was Walmart workers comp.
My other friend was on her deck here potting plants. She was sitting in a slated chair and a black widow came out from under the chair and bit her on the upper thigh. They thought she was going to die. 3 weeks in ICU because her heart would go all haywire , beat really fast and then almost stop.
We worked very hard to get the infestaion of widows down around our house. In Fl we have Brown, Red and Black widows, although the public is ill informed about the first two.
 

Trax

Active Member
Crabbergirl,
Omg! Really sorry to hear about your friends! I'm glad they survived that! But I'm not surprised to hear about Walmart! I've read a lot of nasty things about that store. I even read that they polluted some places with toxic chemicals that they just left out in their parking lots! That's crazy since kids and animals could have gotten in to it and poisoned themselves! Btw, I'm glad you had a great Birthday! :) They're usually so much fun, I wish they would happen twice a year! :D
Gloria,
I don't blame you if you have black widows! Brown recluse spiders can be really bad but at least they can treat the bites. I read that you can only take black widow anti-venom once and that you def don't want to get a second bite! They need better education about all the really deadly spiders and animals!
 

lynpenny

Super Moderator
Staff member
My daughter was bitten by a brown recluse 12 years ago when we lived in Ks. She found out she was pregnant when she went to the doctor. It was a rough two weeks on her. She ended up having surgery and they controlled the poison so it didn't effect the baby. Jamie is 11 now and a really good girl. Daughter still has a hole in her leg.
 

GardenBear1

New Member
I have lots of spider's in my shade house,but they don't bite they just eat little bugs that get on my plants they seem to love mealy bugs so I let them be, I have a Robin that hangs out in my shade house and eats the larger spider's and other bugs in there, so far hes not harmed any plants,
 


Gardenforums.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Top