(Live in Orlando) - We have had numerous Black Widows on the back porch, but keeping the porch clean, swept out, sprayed and ACTIVE has eliminated them. By active I mean that we go out there and use the space. This minimizes the presence and activity of the bugs the spiders eat, and also they really don't want to be around people. This is usually the case with virtually all spiders - the bite comes when someone gets one trapped in their clothing, shoes, etc - or when they accidentally touch the spider. Given the chance, spiders flee rather than bite. Haven't seen one in a long time now.
As a phone-guy in the local school district - just about every equipment room we would visit (the external "mechanical rooms") would have Black Widows. One was really loaded. These rooms were dark, very dirty and visited infrequently. The spiders took advantage of this. In these rooms, we never set our toolbags down, and even zipped them closed. That one room, I counted like fourteen BIG 'Widows. We immediately bailed and radioed in a ticket for the pest control boys.
Now the horror story: My brother bought a roughed up house down in an area around Ft Myers called Lehigh Acres. Talk about Wolf Spiders! This is a wooded area, busting with them. Myself, the web-spiders - even the Banana Spiders - just don't bother me too much. It's the ones that run-down or pounce their prey that make my brain go all "jello-jigglers". The darned thing is, that only a couple types of spiders are even poisonous. Still, I see a certain size and shape - WAA!
I want my Mommy!
But I never harm them (other than the Widows - gotta take them out). In the house, I keep several of those "kids" bug nets and clear containers for capture missions. Here in Orlando - inside - we just see the occasional "little guys". I trap and release outside.
The main things are to remember that spiders don't want to be around us. We are "dangerous" to THEM. Their instinct is to run away, and to avoid well-lit, clean areas. They like dry, dim to dark places, more warm than cool or cold. This is why the Recluses are found in attics and closets so often. I haven't seen Brown Recluse here, but friends say they are around. Everyone seems to have a Recluse-bite story about someone they know. Urban myths? Maybe we've just been lucky.
It's wierd. You can KNOW that the spider is just another critter, and that the vast majority are really harmless. But you know -
)
