[BC] Spiders

[Broadcast List USER]

OSHA writes deet.

http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Hurricane_Facts/black_widow_spider.pdf

However, Ask The Exterminator says deet doesn't work (comments)

http://www.asktheexterminator.com/spiders/spider_repellant.shtml

I tend to believe OSHA over blog comments.

The brown widow, by its many names, has a venom which is roughly twice  
as powerful as the black widow, but it cannot deliver nearly as much  
so the bites are not nearly as bad.  By the way, they bite, not sting.

I get rid of them by squashing, in general.  The egg sacks the same  
way -- knock them to the pavement or ground and step on them.  I have  
occasionally burned them, but I fear starting a fire.  I nearly did  
that at a remote site once, burning the egg sacks and web in a tree.

I generally leave large spiders alone as they are good for insect  
control and are generally not venomous.

The exception is the brown recluse.  It is large, and venomous, though  
it's fangs are small so it cannot deliver much venom.  They generally  
won't bite unless really forced into it, hence the name "recluse."   
They hide from us.  In fact, I have never seen one in the wild, but I  
do live outside their range.

I have found tarantulas in the wild and either leave them alone or  
move them to safety.  I found a female in the road in Nevada once.   
You really have to work at getting a tarantula to bite you, and again  
the bite is not dangerous to humans.

When I was at WAVA, when it was a screaming Top-40, our MD kept one as  
a pet.  The heating mat in his terrarium failed and he asked me if he  
could put it on the AT&T System 25 switch in MY phone closet (a very  
busy place, by the way).  I told him it was OK, and he already had a  
key because we had four or 5 ITC 3Ds in there answering phone lines  
like the Add/Drop line, for which he was responsible anyway.  Access  
to the phone closet was actually through his office.

One day a C&P Telephone girl came to EQ a broadcast loop.  I let her  
in and asked her to lock up when she left.  I went to the other end of  
the building, which was where the studios, my shop and my office were  
located.  I heard this blood-curdling scream from down the hall and  
around the corner.  She saw the spider.  I had to remove it from the  
room for her to do her job!

I don't kill non-venomous snakes at all.  If I find one inside the  
building, I move it outside and hope it eats the rodents.  I then find  
the hole(s) where it might get in and close it up.  I have never had a  
mouse take a transmitter off the air, but I have found exploded ones  
inside transmitters.  Also, rodents chew wires and we don't need  
that.  I have seen snakes exploded and have had them take down  
transmitters.

If a venomous snake is inside the building and it is cold I might move  
it out, but most transmitter buildings are warm so the snakes are fast  
and I would rather kill them than get bitten.  A shovel allows me to  
bash its head in and mostly stay out of striking range.  I should  
carry a .22 revolver with shot loads for that, but I never have and  
worry a bit about unintended consequences, like ricochets and damaged  
displays and such on equipment.  I generally leave venomous snakes  
alone outside for rodent control.

--chip

On Feb 22, 2012, at 8:00 AM, broadcast-request at radiolists.net wrote:

> Message: 13
> From: donroden at hiwaay.net
>
> Quoting nakayle at gmail.com:
>> Are you sure this wasn't a "brown widow" spider?
>
>> they are a  pain to deal with because their messy webs and eggs
>> sacks are extremely sticky and cling to everything.
>
>> - Nat Kayle
>
> What seems to be the best repellent ?
>
> Don R