For 16 years, I lived w/knowing that Black Widow spiders, for whatever reason, loved weaving their messy, messy webs and living behind the gutter downspout just next to my water spigot and hose apparatus at the edge of my rose garden at our old home in metro Atlanta. We (me and the spider...) battled for many years - I would tear down the web/nest and she/they would rebuild - water hoses on full firehose blast cannot budge the messy webs of black widow spiders. During some PMS moments, I would annihilate the entire area w/the strongest insect killer next to Napalm - and somehow - the species would always return. So I later learned, they love wetness - thus their hangout being near water sources (inside water meters, too).

When we built our new home, moved and finally sold our old home - I must admit, during our last trip to our family's first home, I walked by the back gate and gave the gutter and water spigot a last look and laughed to myself thinking - I'm finally getting away from Mrs. Black Widow........................



Not hardly................


The other afternoon, I FINALLY began transplanting day lillies that I dug and brought from our old home and have nursed since we moved. Having decided on lining the baseline of the house going to our back porch ramp, I was working away, lost in thought - I even managed to get into a nest or two of ants that had taken up residence in a pot or two................but finally reaching the end of my planting - right under the water spigot - I glanced up, just above my hat, only to see - YEP - Mrs. Black Widow all stretched out in her messy nest for her glorious red hour glass to be seen by all - the biggest one I've ever seen...........I guess I'm destined to co-habitate or combat (one of the 2) the species for the rest of my days for as I looked to my horror - all behind the gutter downspout next to the water spigot - was the messiest bunch of a web/nest that topped anything I ever saw at our old home - and I'm not talkin' "Charlotte's Web" either...............any Wilburs that show up around here - will have to live w/out these for friends!!

Mothers beware - and guard your children - Mrs. Black widow LOVES the water spigot and garden hose areas..........gutter downspouts, wetness under things that have been in place for a while..........then this morning, after all the rain we've had, I went out on my front porch to check some potted flowers and to check on seeds sprouting in some, etc., etc. and right next to my front porch steps all entertwined w/my potted flowers was yet another nasty web and a HUGE black widow spider..............I'll be headed to the hardware store this a/noon to search for Napalm...........!

Just wanted to keep y'all safe from Mrs. BW~I've included a link or two....~

http://www.desertusa.com/july97/du_bwindow.html

http://www.e-bug.net/pests/spiders.shtml

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061A.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/arachnids/spider/Blackwidowprintout.shtml