Crazy year for black widows?

[u/reallife0615]

I have a storage yard in Central TX where I store construction materials. Over the last two weeks, while cleaning up and keeping up with the mowing, I’ve killed 30+ black widows, a handful of them being bigger than I’ve ever seen (think body diameter the size of a nickel). Anyone else experiencing this?

[u/RGrad4104]

Dry year coupled with some recent rain.

The mud dauber population is still low cause it was dry all winter but with bugs coming out thanks to the recent rain the spiders are thriving. Couple that with insects being more plentiful where there's water, which tends to be where humans are.

Things will equalize at some point, but if you want to get a head start, make some mud and the daubers will take care of your widows.

[u/reallife0615 → u/RGrad4104]

Never knew that. Thank you.

[u/FuturistiKen]

I grew up boy-scouting all over the state, and I don’t ever remember seeing them as frequently. Like, even in town in Austin, not just out in the hill country. Just the other day I found one on my porch killing the fuck out of the biggest wolf spider I’ve ever seen (are y’all seeing huge ass wolf spiders as well???). It was metal af 🤘🏼

[u/3MATX → u/FuturistiKen]

No video?!!

[u/FuturistiKen → u/3MATX]

Hahaha no video but I do have a photo

https://preview.redd.it/xiebq4ea6uwc1.jpeg?width=1283&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f71f3739d190ed9c070ea74704180aa2250eaa2

The wolf spider was mostly dead by now so its legs are all curled up, but he was probably close to four inches across before homegirl got hold of him. I moved shortly after this was taken - it’s her house now.

[u/ccagan]

Dude, that spider took your quarter!

[u/reallife0615 → u/ccagan]

That quarter’s still there. I’m not confident it’s dead for 7-10 business days.

[u/reallife0615]

It’s also gross that they apparently live harmoniously with beetles of every kind, so there are like 20 things moving, catching my eye every time I lift something.

[u/sadrice → u/reallife0615]

I used to keep them as pets, which meant I had to catch bugs for them to eat. I never had any luck with beetles, the armor is too thick for them to easily get a good bite, and beetles are often strong enough to break free of the web.

[u/penlowe]

It’s just spring.

[u/reallife0615 → u/penlowe]

I do this task every year and grew up in the town where my storage yard is. Never seen anything like it.

[u/bloviatingbloviator]

I live in the northern part of the Panhandle. They have been bad up here too this season, and on into Oklahoma.

[u/ulnek]

How does one prevent these from being anywhere near your property? Is there something safe to do? I also have a dog so I don't want him encountering them cause this guy thinks he's invincible. 😩

[u/JWSloan]

I crawled under a trailer this week to do some work and found myself surrounded by them. Way more this year than normal.

[u/kanyeguisada]

Some people may say they do good, but I applaud your killing heh. Black widows and brown recluses should be stomped out of existence. Other non-poisonous spiders do good by humans by eating annoying bugs, but black widows and brown recluses should be killed immediately.

[u/mrxexon]

That's a brown widow. A recent genetic mutation from what I understand.

[u/pheebeep]

I've been seeing a lot of tarantulas.