Spider in the Garden- Good or Poisonous?
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
This spider is currently perched between my rosemary bush and a tomato cage. Does anyone know what kind it is? My mom says I should kill it but I'm wondering if it's a beneficial garden spider or a poisonous menace, lol?
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- 9 years ago
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Comments (30)Ortho Brush-B-Gone is a good product. Many have talked about how to avoid a rash. Here is good advice from the FDA - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/796_ivy.html: Because urushiol can penetrate the skin within minutes, there's no time to waste if you know you've been exposed. "The earlier you cleanse the skin, the greater the chance that you can remove the urushiol before it gets attached to the skin," says Hon-Sum Ko, M.D., an allergist and immunologist with FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Cleansing may not stop the initial outbreak of the rash if more than 10 minutes has elapsed, but it can help prevent further spread. If you've been exposed to poison ivy, oak or sumac, if possible, stay outdoors until you complete the first two steps: * First, Epstein says, cleanse exposed skin with generous amounts of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. (Don't return to the woods or yard the same day. Alcohol removes your skin's protection along with the urushiol and any new contact will cause the urushiol to penetrate twice as fast.) * Second, wash skin with water. (Water temperature does not matter; if you're outside, it's likely only cold water will be available.) * Third, take a regular shower with soap and warm water. Do not use soap before this point because "soap will tend to pick up some of the urushiol from the surface of the skin and move it around," says Epstein. * Clothes, shoes, tools, and anything else that may have been in contact with the urushiol should be wiped off with alcohol and water. Be sure to wear gloves or otherwise cover your hands while doing this and then discard the hand covering....See MoreArgiope Aurantia (aka Yellow Garden Spider)
Comments (14)I have seen the baby spiders hatch out and fly off into the great big world. In spring, one a warm sunny day when their is a nice breeze blowing, if you are lucky, you can see them hatch out all at once. There are hundreds, if not thousands of t-tintsy spiders, hardly more than a speck of dust to the naked eye. They shoot out thousands of silken threads and ride off on them in the wind. Birds and frogs gobble them up, but some live and grow and the next year, in late summer you will see them again in your garden - giants by comparison. ogrose, I have quite literally, but certainly by accident, stuck my head into their webs while gardening many times. The spider just scoots over and waits for me to exit. Never had one become aggressive with me. My children used to love them, giving them names. They were greatly influenced by Charlotte's Web. I always taught them to be curious about Nature, but cautious. Look but don't touch. Study it, observe and learn from other creatures. Of course, they often DID touch. :)...See MoreIs this a good spider?
Comments (23)OK so this isn't about tomatoes but it is my spider story. Several years ago I was at a place called Spence's Bridge in the BC Interior. It was on the Thompson River and it was just opening for season. The Natives had just recently taken over management of the campground so they yet hadn't done everthing that needed doing. So here's me, having to go to the outhouse. First of all, it is hotter than hades out there, around 105 degrees and desert. Sagebrush, little cactus on the ground everywhere and the whole nine yards. The outhouse is make of plywood. The lock is on the OUTSIDE. I open the door and the seat was just a bench thing with a hole in it. No toilet seat. It was also a bit high for me (being a shorty) and a bit far back from the edge. To do my business there I could not just perch, but had to climb up and fully engage myself to the position. Sitting there trying to get it over with, and trying to hold the door shut I look up. Near the top is a very impressive web with a huge barn spider. OK that's cool, they're not poisonous although I hoped it didn't come down and investigate me. I look down to the right and in that corner was a web with a nice big black widow in it. I finished my business really quick and went over to the camp caretakers who were lounging under the only shady tree for miles around and asked them to remove the black widow from the outhouse. They did it, with huge grins on their faces. I would have gladly spent the weekend watering a tree instead but there weren't any that provided proper cover for a gal. That place was wide open. Luckily it was so darn hot that we drank gallons and didn't need to pee anyway as we sweated it out. So I didn't need the outhouse till the day we had to leave. I remember someone catching a baby rattler that weekend too. PS the fishing was lousy....See MoreSpider Brown N. Idaho Poison?
Comments (3)Uh ... that looks a lot like a male black widow. They are brownish, not black, but have the characteristic fat, globe abdomen and extra-long front pair of legs. The immature ones have dramatic stripes like these, http://kaweahoaks.com/html/latrodectus_hesoerus.html ********* It could also be a "Brown Widow", "Grey Widow" or other member of the latrodectus genus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus ******** They prefer undisturbed, cluttered places where there is prey ... so clean the closets, and control the crickets and other insects in and close to the house. Have you found "messy" sticky webs? Here is a link that might be useful: Idaho gov on spiders...See More- 9 years ago
9 years ago
9 years ago- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
9 years agoWith the info above I was able to home in on the spider and common name: Yellow (or black and yellow) garden spider. Not a very creative common name. Here's the Google Image search for them. And here's a picture of the one we had in Bandera, TX ...
If you are not squeamish you can click on the picture to enlarge it. And if you're really interested, copy it to your computer and enlarge it further. You can see the barbs on the legs as well as other physiology.
Shan G. thanked dchall_san_antonio
9 years ago- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoShan G. thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
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