Last year, my husband and I were sitting on the front porch on our cute little bistro set…and we noticed a rather large spider web built beneath the last rung on the table. For a few months, we basically ignored it. We live in Miami, Florida, and there are tons of spiders everywhere. No biggie.
Until my husband actually SAW the spider one day. No, I should say, until he saw what KIND of spider it was one day.
It was a brown widow spider.
GAH! I had no idea that brown widow spiders were around here…needless to say, hubs squashed it. And then he squashed all of the egg sacks.
Yes, I said ALL of the egg sacks, because there were FOUR of them. Yuck.
So, you can imagine my disdain when I was sitting on my front porch this afternoon and noticed there was a new cobweb on my bistro set. Yup. You guessed it. Another brown widow spider.
I am not squeamish by an measure, but this just creeps me out. Knowing that a little insect, with a body less than a quarter of an inch in diameter, could bite me and actually cause me unimaginable physical pain…well, it makes me want to stomp it into oblivion.
I found this picture afterwards at CISR.UCR.EDU, because in my spastic reaction to seeing this little bastard crawling along the leg of the table, I squished it without taking a moment to picture it.
Does this picture give you the heeie-jeebies? Imagine what it looks like crawling right in front of your face!
I thoroughly enjoyed squishing it in a paper towel. I may have grunted, “die, bastard, die!!” as I did so. I’m not ashamed.
Lisa says
June 2, 2011 at 11:33 pmtotal heeie jeebies!!!
Shop with Me Mama (Kim) says
June 3, 2011 at 1:50 amAGHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I hate hate HATE spiders!! I will actually freeze and can’t move when I see one 🙁
HilLesha says
June 3, 2011 at 10:26 amI hate spiders with a passion, especially after almost losing my right hand after getting bitten by one in 2003.
nicole says
June 3, 2011 at 11:33 amGAH!!! I consider this blog post a PSA. I had NO idea we have these here.
Jennifer S says
June 3, 2011 at 2:01 pmEwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!! I was bit by a brown recluse spider when I was 15. After 7 days in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber for hours at a time and a nasty hole that was in my leg I hate spiders. Ok, I hated them before that but now I have justification. Hubby know my I just saw a spider scream and that he’d better take care of it.
Brandy says
June 3, 2011 at 11:32 pmI have never seen one of these in person …. I don’t want to either!
RJ says
June 4, 2011 at 11:13 amIck, ick, ick! I am NOT a bug girl and any sort of bug/animal/insect is enough to make me freeze and scream! I’m unlucky enough to have two siblings who LOVE those awful critters and **shudder** STUDY them. Yep, they study them..
Insert shudder…….
Jen-Eighty MPH Mom says
June 6, 2011 at 11:43 amOh ewww, yuck and ewww some more. That definitely gives me the heebie jeebies. I got shivers…seriously.