Just something about spiders I love.

August West said:

Where's The Vez!

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So is The Vez a spider man or an Aracnaphobe that will curse me for this thread?

FreddieP318ti said:

So is The Vez a spider man or an Aracnaphobe that will curse me for this thread?

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The Vez would love you for this thread.

FreddieP318ti said:

Sounds like it may have been a Marbled Spider. Common all across the country and will build nests everywhere. When I leave for work in the mornings its still dark so I cut my porch light on just make sure I dont walk through ones web lol. We have them everywhere. The have a broad range of color and patterns and are more abundant at the end of summer, going into fall. Did it look something like one of these?

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Looks just like the top one.

August West said:

The Vez would love you for this thread.

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TheVez2 was last seen on your "The Great Pumpkin" Thread.

This is great info, I live on a ranch and have yet to run across any of these with the exception of the recluse. Great discussion, very informative!

I used to be phobic about spiders, but have come to a very different arrangement now. They're willingness to eat a stink bug has made them part of the family. This one had a web on the outside of my dining room window for weeks and I would sit with her on the front porch every night while the lab sniffed around the yard and did her business. Then one day she was just gone. Like Charlotte.

Any bug that kills and eats stink bugs is a wonderful thing!

Argonaut said:

We have the writing spiders around here, you have to keep your eyes up when walking the woods or you'll have one on your face. I too love to watch spiders and won't kill them unless they are found in the house, all bugs in the house are on death row. We have the occasional tarantula and some really big wolf spiders as well as the fiddle backs and black widows. As long as they're outdoors they're fine with me.

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When I was just a little kid (about a week after the dinosaur die-off) my grandpa taught me a trick for walking in the woods. You break of a small branch, just a twig really, and you wave it up and down in front of you as you walk along. It sweeps away any spider webs on the path that are 'face high'.

When I was building my house, I was forced to move in early prior to finishing the lower garage level. That fall we had tons of spiders come in to get out of the cold. We used to catch them in cups then throw them all in a fish tank together for "Spider Wars". It was fun to watch and I learned a lot about them. They were pretty much pets, and we later added scorpions to the bunch. The craziest blood lusting insect we ever added to the fun were the praying mantis'. It would catch two a a time and eat them alive until you could see their bellies hang.

I've lived in Liberia, West Africa... USVI (St. Thomas - St. John), and Brown Recluse are prominent in WA state... hate all venomous slither'rs and crawlers.

I wish they made a stink bug repellent thingy you could put on your roof and around the outside of the house.

Legion said:

The Vez should be along in a minute.

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August West said:

Where's The Vez!

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Sorry guys, got caught in traffic. Better late than never!

FreddieP318ti said:

This beauty is an Argiope, also know as a writing spider.

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Hey FreddieP, Nice shots of your pet! I have one just like it that hangs out on my back porch. I also frequently see jumping spiders, wolf spiders, and a few others (including a small green one I haven't identified yet) around my place.

Of course that doesn't include the tarantulas (and scorpions, millipedes, and snakes) I have living with me either. I've been keeping tarantulas for about 13 years. I used to have a terrible fear of spiders, and decided to get over my fears through research and education. After a few months I was wanting a tarantula of my own.

I love this time of year because there are a lot more spider related items available. Thanks for starting this thread. I love talking about spiders!

We had writing spiders when I was in missourI, I used to shoot at them with my 45.
It was good target practice because the bullets would always get stuck in the web.
made it easy to see how close I got.

one morning I woke and found one of the spiders had made a web over the door, had to use bolt cutters to get the web off.

Strong Stuff! When I lived in Nebraska there was an Orb Weaver (Araneus sp.) that build a web on the corner of our house under the eave where the downspout came down from the gutter. It's anchor wire went from the gutter to the ground. It was amazingly strong. I could pluck at it like a guitar string.

The deadly Puffball Spider - This malevolent creature has been clinging to a fast growing puffball in my front yard for days. Oh heavens! I've just had a horrible thought. That's not a puffball. It's an egg-case and momma spider is guarding it. Run for your lives.

Freddi- check out the video " MUTANT GIANT SPIDER- DOG'. You will get a kick out of it!

oldbluelight said:

The deadly Puffball Spider - This malevolent creature has been clinging to a fast growing puffball in my front yard for days. Oh heavens! I've just had a horrible thought. That's not a puffball. It's an egg-case and momma spider is guarding it. Run for your lives.

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That's not the Momma. That's one of the babies (must have hatched early). WAIT TILL THEY GET FULL SIZE!!!!

Here's a pic of my Tarantula collection.

that's a lot of tarantulas. Never owned one, but I did have an emporer scorpion that was MASSIVE. Tail stretched out it was 8 inches long. Fed her a diet of pinky hamsters and feeder goldfish. Now I just have boas.

Cool. I have 3 emperors and 1 boa as well.