Early in the summer, I noticed a yellow spider on one of my tomato plants. He seemed to be taking care of nasty bugs, so I let him be. He grew a little, and a little more, so the pot was no longer working as an apartment. He built a web along the clothesline a couple of times, but that didn’t work for me. I felt sad when I had to ruin it, though he’s pretty quick to rebuild.
For the past few days, he’s been hanging between the two posts on my deck. High enough the dogs can get under it without bothering him, and offering me very pretty views of his web-building skills. The silk glitters in the sunlight. Yesterday, it was misty and I shot the web with all the little dots of water illuminating the structure (and then played with it to get the above–Picnic is a blast).
Unfortunately, he’s getting a little too big for my comfort:
I’m not brave enough to scoop him into a can and move him. Not going to kill him, of course. I have no idea what kind of spider he is, either, but he’s almost as big as my thumb now, and…..did I mention I’m afraid of spiders?
What would you do?
Coincidentally I just saw this link at the Sydney Morning Herald.
http://media.smh.com.au/national/breaking-news/online-cure-for-arachnophobia-706061.html?from=videobox
I’m not so keen on spiders either. Maybe keep knocking the web down until she moves on?
RUN!!!!!
Urp. Not a big fan of spiders. I’d probably hide inside and watch it through the window!
Uh, I think I’d be googling like mad to see if I was supposed to be my usual “Oh, look, icky spider!” Or, if I should be shrieking, “OMG killer spider!” Do you have any idea what kind of spider it is?
Is that brown lump the spider?! So big!
The size of your thumb? Yikes! Can you transport him, via a jar, to another area?
Here’s website for Colorado garden spiders http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/Pests/spiders.htm
They have lots of spider photos, and yours looks like an Orb Web Weaver (Araneidae) Araneus. I’m not a fan of spiders, but can’t harm them either. If it’s in my path, I find a long something to lift and move it away. I have a huge one near my front porch that will probably need relocating before it thinks to come inside this Fall.
YIKES! Barbara, I’d run. Seriously though, I would move it (well…I wouldn’t actually – I’d have my husband do it) somewhere far, far away. 🙂
Does it have a hard back shell? It looks like ones we get. They come in black, white, orange and yellow. Forget what they’re called, but they’re harmless and great for keeping bugs out of gardens. One year we had about 10 of them in monstrous webs that stretched across a whole back corner of our yard.
As I loathe spiders even more than a visit to the dentist I think I’d move house. His, or mine. Sorry, not much help. 😀
Thanks everyone! I think it is an orb spider, and I’m leaving him alone for now, but there are so many spiders INSIDE the house this year that I’m giving in and calling the spider guy. The other night I sat down at the computer, and there was a silly spider right on the monitor! I was baking, and one spun a little silk around my ankle (as he seemed intent on killing me, it only seemed fair to stomp him). Last night, I went to close the curtains on the patio and there was a GIANT hairy brown spider that CR captured and sent on his way.
Maybe I should look up spider medicine.
Most spiders don’t like the scent of citrus (which is why you’ll rarely find webs in orange or grapefruit trees.) Using citrus-based or scented cleaning products can discourage spiders from setting up house in your home.
Outside the home most spiders gravitate toward a couple of things on your property: light, water, and protected nooks. Light and water attract innumerable bugs, so spiders will set up house near them to take advantage of the feast. I use a wide-mouthed pickel jar (empty & washed) and a piece of craft foam board to catch spiders I want to relocate. I come up behind or underneath the spider, put the jar on one side and the foam board on the other, and catch the spider in between. I carry the jar (opening still covered with the foam board) out to the woods behind our property and leave the jar on its side on the ground, removing the foam board after I put it down.
Protected nooks are favored by some of the more timid and dangerous spiders like the black widow; last year we had a small plague of them invade the crannies between our porch facia. Black widows also love wood piles, we’ve discovered. I don’t recommend anyone except a professional exterminator relocate or kill any poisonous spider for obvious safety reasons.
Thanks, Lynn, for such a useful post!
In Colorado, we do get infestations of black widows fairly easily. I know they live in our shed and under our deck, but they’re so shy it isn’t usually a big problem until there are more and more and more spiders invading everywhere in the house. We were seriously under siege here.
hey,
any of you believe spiders listen to you?
let me know.
Thx for your time