Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Curval on June 16, 2004, 08:52:35 AM
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It has been all over the news here. A workman found some black widow spiders in some construction equipment last week.
We thought that they were an isolated find.
Today it was reported that a nest of them was found on the North Shore.
DOH.
For as long as I have lived here I have NEVER had to worry about insects/arachnids.
Now it seems we have some baddies.
:(
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They are very common here. Nothing to worry about.
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Yea, did some reading and although their venom is way more powerful than a rattlesnake they don't inject very much.
Only the old, sick and very young need to worry. The last one gives me cause for a bit of concern as we have a baby in the house, but I will keep a sharp eye out.
Of course everyone here is concerned, but only because we have never had to worry about things like this before.
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If you're worried about them, just keep an eye out for webs and then go out at night with a flashlight. They'll be out. Quick blast of insecticide and they're done.
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Black widows typically dont build in high traffic areas where they may run into your kids. They tend to stick to more isolated areas like woodpiles or corners of garages or outdoor storage buildings. I wouldnt worry too much about one in the house around the kids.
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Yeah... that's pretty much true. In my fifteen years of living in a desert area, I've only found three in the house.
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I killed one hiding on a rake in my shed last week. They're pretty common here in North Carolina and not much to worry about. I did have to get medieval on one that was dumb enough to build a nest on the side of my house near a high traffic area last year. Mostly they stay out of sight and don't bother anyone.
-- Todd/Leviathn
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glad we don't have those here!
*shudders
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When I lived in California my parents found a BW in the basement rec room...I was only a toddler and could have been in real trouble if I had found it.
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Curval, I wouldn't worry too much... as people have said, those spiders stay out of the way and are always in their web. They are not the kind of spider that roams around and crawls up into your bed at night.
The web is very noticable too. It's a SUPER strong web that has no order to it...just a mess of silk that is so strong, even spaying it with a water hose wont harm it.
An spraying them with insecticide doesn't do much normally.....you have to smash them.
They are a creepy looking spider though.
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When I was renting a room in an old historical building here in California. The day I moved out, I was pulling my bed from the wall and realized there was a black widow living 6 inches from my head. Talk about the willies. I guess they don't bother you if you don't bother them.
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Thay're cute.
(http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/arthropods/img368.jpg)
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Originally posted by SunKing
When I was renting a room in an old historical building here in California. The day I moved out, I was pulling my bed from the wall and realized there was a black widow living 6 inches from my head. Talk about the willies. I guess they don't bother you if you don't bother them.
they stay in their web, but if you touch the web, they will run out and bite whatever has touched the web.
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and for some inexplicable reason they are intensly drawn to nest in Pink Bermuda Shorts
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how big are they?
(not how big are the bermuda shorts, how big are those spiders?)
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and fund...
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/150_1087398128_blackwidow.jpg)
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/150_1087398182_blackwidowii.gif)
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"how big are they?"
Not very. About the size of a small cat.
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Oh, one more thing...
They can jump about 32" from the web and they can see you from about 6 feet away. They jump from the web and go for your eyes...
be afraid, be very afraid.
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Originally posted by NUKE
Oh, one more thing...
They can jump about 32" from the web and they can see you from about 6 feet away. They jump from the web and go for your eyes...
be afraid, be very afraid.
....and they lay eggs in the ears of your children at night. Don't worry. Really.
h
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Brown Recluses scare me more than Black Widows (spiders).
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Originally posted by Westy
"how big are they?"
The one by my bed was the size of a 50 cent coin.
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I've lost several siblings to this member of the arachnid family....here is a picture of one of my sisters being attacked while preparing a 3 bean salad for lunch.
(http://www.bastroplibrary.org/summer03/bonniespiderherself.jpg)
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Alll the ones I have seen have been 50 cent coin large.
We used to find them in the garage fairly often.
The closest I ever came to a bite was cleaning my dads back yard out, he had tons of GTO body parts just stored outside piled on top of each other. (you can do that in cali and not worry about rust to much) So I grabbed a radiator brace that was messed up from a front end accident, and flipped it, 3 freaking inches from my fingers was a huge one!! I screamed like a women and tossed the brace, these things are as wide as the front of the car. It landed spider up and the bastage had not even moved!!!
Brake cleaner took care of it.
I started wear heavy leather work gloves after that.
I second the brown recluse thing though, they are not web spiders, they wonder so you have more of a chance to get bit. The widows, as long as you do not go sticking your hands in dark places without looking you are ok!
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Originally posted by slimm50
Brown Recluses scare me more than Black Widows (spiders).
Brown Recluse spiders are more dangerous. My sister was bitten by one last weekend. Her doctor said there has been a rash of spider bites this year. BTW, if you are bitten by a brown recluse, do not scratch the bite, apply hot compresses and antibiotic ointment. After 2-3 days stop the compresses and the bite will begin to look like a pimple. Carefully with a pair of tweezers reach into the bite and remove the yellow/whitish venom sack (use great care not to burst the sack). The bite will be very swolen and may leak a large amount of clear fluid.
I just saved you $150.
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They're like spitting cobras - they can shoot their venom with pinpoint accuracy and go for your eyes and mouth. Be sure you clean your ears every morning, because they like to plant their eggs in the ear canal because its warm, moist, and out of the way. When the eggs hatch, the larvae will attach to the brain stem and render the victim succeptible to the power of suggestion, then cause paralysis and death.
At night they'll spin a web across the ceiling and drop down into your mouth while you sleep.
And boy can they breed like crazy!
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Originally posted by gofaster
They're like spitting cobras - they can shoot their venom with pinpoint accuracy and go for your eyes and mouth. Be sure you clean your ears every morning, because they like to plant their eggs in the ear canal because its warm, moist, and out of the way. When the eggs hatch, the larvae will attach to the brain stem and render the victim succeptible to the power of suggestion, then cause paralysis and death.
At night they'll spin a web across the ceiling and drop down into your mouth while you sleep.
And boy can they breed like crazy!
Let me guess...you're really into 1950's sci-fi movies, right?:rolleyes:
STFU!!! You're scarin' me!! *won't sleep for a week now*
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LOL...
You guys crack me up.
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btw. we talking about the North American black widow or the Caribean black widow which is more redish in color?
adult caribbean black widow (size of a small cat):
(http://www.oakparkjournal.com/Stories2002/Monster-Creepy-Crawlies-Peggy-Notebaert-Spider-1-11-2003-01sm.jpg)
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Just be glad you don't have camel spiders. Now THOSE are some nasty arachnids!
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LMAO!
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That stump is 2 feet across, right? Or more? My god man, look at the FANGS!
(http://www.oakparkjournal.com/Stories2002/Monster-Creepy-Crawlies-Peggy-Notebaert-Spider-1-11-2003-01sm.jpg)
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Brown Recluse
(http://www.death-valley.us/modules/dv_gallery/dv_sets/album43/ady.jpg)
Bite after 3 days:
(http://www.death-valley.us/modules/dv_gallery/dv_sets/album43/adw.jpg)
...after 10 days...
(http://www.death-valley.us/modules/dv_gallery/dv_sets/album43/adx.jpg)
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YIKES...that is really horrible. That guy needs to get some maggots on that thumb to have them munch up the dead skin.
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Half dollar size sounds extremely large for a black widow. Most of them dont get that large. They are actually pretty small for such a deadly sounding creature.
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Originally posted by gofaster
Just be glad you don't have camel spiders. Now THOSE are some nasty arachnids!
Camel spiders aren't poisonous.
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Originally posted by midnight Target
They are very common here. Nothing to worry about.
The further south you go the bigger they get, had one bite me in the back twice in florida(once in the middle of the back and once on the shoulder within a minute), was in ICU for 14 hours. My heart stopped twice. I would not call them nothing to worry about, they have been known to kill cattle. They normally do not target humans and only travel at night when it's cool and damp. I was laying out tanning, but my lounge chair had rusty water in it, so I laid out on the walkway leading out to the washroom(separate from the house), big mistake. I sat up to put on some oil and laid back down right on it. The one that bit me had the body of a good size bumble bee. I was in alot of pain. I hear they have an antidote now, back then they didn't(cept an experimental one that they didn't have there). My back peeled for over a week, huge pieces, it killed many layers of skin.
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"Camel spiders aren't poisonous."
No. But they'll eat a dingo and dingo's eat babies so if you see one of those carnivourous bastidges you better hide the kids PERIOD.
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2bighorn, looks like that guy scratched the bite and burst the venom sack.
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Originally posted by NUKE
An spraying them with insecticide doesn't do much normally.....you have to smash them.
I've had good results with insecticides. Windex also works really well. You spray the Windex on the bottom of your shoe, and then step on the spider.
When my daughter was about two-years old, she walked into the kitchen and said, "Daddy, look." In the palm of her hand was a live black widow. My heart skipped a beat or two.
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Anyone ever watch Venom ER? Mostly it's snake bite victims, but now and then a spider bite comes in too. Black widow spider can do some nasty things to you and put you in agony for a couple of days, but you'll most likely live.
When I was a teen i got bitten on my back by a recluse. Nowhere near as bad for me as for the guy a few posts ago, but I still have a small scar where the tissue damage occured. Blargh...hate em.
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Originally posted by VOR
Anyone ever watch Venom ER? Mostly it's snake bite victims, but now and then a spider bite comes in too. Black widow spider can do some nasty things to you and put you in agony for a couple of days, but you'll most likely live.
Actually I have seen Venom ER, but only episodes on snakes.
In one episode there was a guy who had a really, really bad bite and was sponatenously bleeding out of his ear, nose, mouth...everywhere. I don't think he survived.
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Originally posted by Curval
Actually I have seen Venom ER, but only episodes on snakes.
In one episode there was a guy who had a really, really bad bite and was sponatenously bleeding out of his ear, nose, mouth...everywhere. I don't think he survived.
I know the episode you're talking about. Yeah, that guy had a severe reaction to the Mojave rattlesnake bite. Believe it or not...he lived! Thought for sure he was going to be a goner...
Even the doc on the show said it was the worst case he had ever seen.
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(http://www.artechock.de/film/image/kritik/a/aratta.jpg)
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If you sleep naked with vasoline all over you, you will not be bitten.... I'm pretty sure.
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Originally posted by VOR
I know the episode you're talking about. Yeah, that guy had a severe reaction to the Mojave rattlesnake bite. Believe it or not...he lived! Thought for sure he was going to be a goner...
Even the doc on the show said it was the worst case he had ever seen.
Mojave rattlers are extremely nasty.
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Sandy
The black widow in your kids hand freaks me out..... like made me shudder! lol
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They said the same on the show. This snake has a mix of both hemotoxic (predominant) and neurotoxic venom. This guy was reacting severely to both..bleeding like Curval said and convulsing/spasming from the neuro. I suppose if you decide to get a snakebite, do it in CA. Good treatment. ;)
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Did you notice the guys legs? They looked like there was an alien inside his legs going up and down inside his skin. Really freaky because it was his muscles spasming out.
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Yeah. Freaked me out. You'd think he drank a gallon of sarin or something. Mercifully, he was comatose during the worst of it. They brought him in at the end of that show and he watched a video of himself lying in the ER. He was equally freaked.
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Venom ER is shot about 5 miles from here. Loma Linda University MC. I supposedly live in the middle of rattlesnake heaven... and I haven't seen one for at least 10 years.
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Black widows are the only poisonos spiders that can kill you in the US. However there are a bunch of other very common looking ones that have some serious poison and can damage tissue. I know someone who was bitten by a very common looking spider and now he has a small crater on his face because of it. Thats why I kill all the spiders I find in the house. Outside, their safe unless its a black widow. Takes alot for a widow to actually bite you (they usually just scurry away) but Id rather see them dead than take chances. Yuck.
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GTOra....you got any 74's layin around?
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It has been all over the news here. A workman found some black widow spiders in some construction equipment last week.
I have several around the outside of my house as I sit here and type. Many crickets and roaches in Arizona, especially on the outskirts of developed areas, like where I live. BW spiders help control these other pests and since BW's are orb weavers, they never leave their nest, ergo you always know where they are.
Scorpions however are another matter. We have them here and they are roaming hunters who can squeeze themselves very flat to fit in the tightest of cracks. They are also highly resistant to insecticides. One species here in AZ, (bark scorpion) is deadly to small children, the sick and the infirm. They are small and almost clear so they can be very hard to see.
Saw a rather large scorpion in one of my garages the other day, not 3 feet from my open hockey bag. wonderful.......
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Originally posted by Steve
BW spiders help control these other pests and since BW's are orb weavers, they never leave their nest, ergo you always know where they are.
See, I have a mixed blessing in that I have a cat who looks after all of our rodent problems. It isn't my cat, but in exchange for a few pieces of meat every couple of weeks he takes care of any mice or rats in our area.
Now...here we have lizards that handle our insects. Big ones, almost like Iguanas. BUT...the cats have a tendancy to kill the lizards.
So...I think I will try and catch a lizard and put him inside. They eats all types of insects including roaches and spiders. I like them, they are clean and quite tame if they have been inside a house for a while.
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Originally posted by Steve
Saw a rather large scorpion in one of my garages the other day, not 3 feet from my open hockey bag
how aggressive are those? how poisonous? how do you get rid of them?
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I caught a small scorpion in my office yesterday, about 1.5 inches long... I let it go outside.
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Originally posted by xrtoronto
how aggressive are those? how poisonous? how do you get rid of them?
hire an ex-f16 pilot/CIA agent/flight-sim "designer" to take care of them for you.
he's expensive tho' as you have to pay all medical bills for a brain tumor.
:cool:
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how aggressive are those? how poisonous? how do you get rid of them?
Toronto, they aren't very aggressive at all really. The problem is that they tend to get into places where they will become threatened. You know they get in shoes, gloves, cabinets, laundry. Had a friend get painfully stung when he got out of the shower and wrapped a scorpion hiding place around himself(otherwise known as a towel).
Only the bark scorpion is considered deadly(as far as North America). However, scorpion stings are VERY painful.
I used to live near a preserve here, woke up one morning, looked up and there was a scorpion on the ceiling directly over my head... they can go anywhere.
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Originally posted by NUKE
If you sleep naked with vasoline all over you, you will not be bitten.... I'm pretty sure.
Well maybe not by a spider, big boy.
(http://www.lollipoplingerie.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/LO4/265.jpg)
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I heard somewhere that the spider commonly known as the Grand Daddy Long Legs has the deadliest venom but its fangs are to small to harm us....
:lol
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The Mojave Greens have been out alot here at my work. Suprisingly enough the dang things aren't scared of chit. The one had recently come around came right up to our secure entrance gate. Some goof didn't think nothing of it and just walked right by it. The very next day we got a message warning that the Mojave Greens were running around.
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what's a mojave green?
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Originally posted by Steve
what's a mojave green?
Mojave Rattler
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Ahhh ty!
When he said "running" around, I naturally dismissed the critter as being a snake. :)
I've never been bitten by a rattler, I imagine it would be quite painful... make you sick?
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Originally posted by Steve
make you sick?
Hell yeah. It's the only snake I wouldn't mess with (in US that is)
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Originally posted by Steve
make you sick?
Take a look at this Western Diamondback bite to see what kind of consequences a bite may have.
(http://www.venomous.com/snake/armpic.jpg)
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(http://www.daveswarbirds.com/glennill/images/p-61.jpg)
Ok, back on subject.
BRING THE P-61 TO AHII!!!!!
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The scary thing is with some of the research I've done on the Mojave "Green" Rattler is that it is anywhere from 10 to 20 times more deadly than any of the rattler species.
To think that the Western Diamondback did that much damage and the fact it's not the most lethal is rather alarming. I couldn't imagine getting hit by a Mojave Rattler. The one major difference though from what I'm getting is the Mojave rattler won't cause that kind of localized damage.
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From what I've been taught, the bite of a Mojave Rattler isn't nearly as painful as the bite of a Sidewinder.
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DiabloTX
Who is the artist who did that? I had a book of paintings when I was a kid and that was one. Wasnt it a group?
What was the book title?
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I was bitten by a spider about 4 years ago, don't know what kind it was but I will never forget the experience.
I was getting the lawnmower dusted off and put my hand under the mower to inspect the blades. About an hour later I noticed a white spot on my left hand that began itching. I became very thirsty so I went to get some water in the kitchen.
I remember opening the refridgerator and seeing the light inside as VERY blury. I layed down on the couch and became very dizzy and nausious...then drowsey.
I woke up about 3 am and my head felt like it was going to explode. I walked out the front door to get some air and as I opened the door, our cat bolted into the house ( she often did this) and it scared the crap out of me. I jumped forward and up to get over the cat and it was then I noticed. I had jumped alright, but I now found myself about maybe 30 feet in the air as a result.
I landed hard, but vigerously and looked down upon my hands, both trembling. I had, in fact, become spiderman and nothing would be the same for me ever since.
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Lucky bastage. Kirsten Dunst is a hotty.... one fantastic rack on that slut.
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Spider venom and snake venom can also make you paranoid and imagine all sorts of things. Make you even hear things etc...
edit: nevermind
<-- stupid :D
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Nah, that never happened.... I made it all up.
Reminds me of the time I was riding my horse, Dusty and something felt lose in the saddle. I looked down, and *poof* the horse disapeared and I was now riding on the back of the very sexy Stacey, Steve's wife. Steve was in a butler's outfit, minus the pants and was pouring me a glass of whine.
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Originally posted by xrtoronto
I've lost several siblings to this member of the arachnid family....here is a picture of one of my sisters being attacked while preparing a 3 bean salad for lunch.
(http://www.bastroplibrary.org/summer03/bonniespiderherself.jpg)
Looks like she is enjoying the agony too much..
My kinda gal :D
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Anyone ever heard about Black Widow spider web strands being used for the crosshairs in sight reticles back in the old days? Like Nuke said, they're strong and I suppose they were sandwiched between two layers of optic lenses to make the crosshairs.
I know I heard about that somewhere before. Anyone know the particulars, or if they were used in the Norden bomb sight?
Les
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Steve was in a butler's outfit, minus the pants and was pouring me a glass of whine.
Am I up next or is it that you can't afford to buy me pants?
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Originally posted by NUKE
Nah, that never happened.... I made it all up.
Reminds me of the time I was riding my horse, Dusty and something felt lose in the saddle. I looked down, and *poof* the horse disapeared and I was now riding on the back of the very sexy Stacey, Steve's wife. Steve was in a butler's outfit, minus the pants and was pouring me a glass of whine.
(http://www.gilbertv.com/coppermine//albums/06142004/improper.jpg)
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Originally posted by Sandman
If you're worried about them, just keep an eye out for webs and then go out at night with a flashlight. They'll be out. Quick blast of insecticide and they're done.
Actually, using any household/glass cleaner (409, Windex, etc) is effective plus the added benefit of not worrying about poisoning the baby from overspray. Heck, if that area is around the house, you can clean up that 'dirty' area after the bug dies.
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I got bit s few weeks back from a spider...not sure what kind it was. Anyway...I noticed it after a show at 5am when I was hammered and climbing on a bus...thought it was a zit on my forearm...lol
Next day I got up at 2pm for load-in, and noticed that there was a red ring about the size of a quarter on my arm...lighter white in the middle and 2 little red dots in the center (fang marks?)
Anyway, I found the paramedic booth and got some antibiotic ointment from them. After that show, and I got back to my own vehicle, I had a 2 hour drive...towards the end of it I noticed that my breathing seemed labored..lol not too bad thought, figured all day in the sun, just tired tired....
Anyway - next day - on the internet...praying it wasn't a recluse bit, or if it was...I wouldn't have a "bad" reaction to it. I was counting hours from when I first noticed...lol
Anyway, the breathing thing, and small muscle twitches make me think it could've been a black widow...a less serious bite - maybe male. It's been about 3 weeks and it's pretty much gone now....
but you talk about being nervous about something.
Never went to the doctor, just treated it with antibiotics and some benadryl.
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black widowes eat scorpions (!!!)
allso how would antibiotics help in case of venom?
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Speaking of spiders, I remember when I was 4 or 5 years old I used to play in the garage part of our garage apartment out back.
There was a spider that lived there that was usually to be found in a small funnel of webbing between two wall joists. Once I discovered it, I was fascinated by it. I used to poke at it with a twig and it would usually come out after the twig.
One time it came out fast and I threw the stick on the floor. The spider had a body about 1/2 inch long and was about the size of a half dollar coin (or smaller) all together. It was very hairy, almost furry, and the entire back part (abdomen) was red. Strangest spider I'd ever seen, then and to this day. I remember it was very colorful. Never seen a spider like it since. Guess it could have been a BW, but it was furry and looked more like a wolf spider. Probably what it was.
Now we do have something called a Tiger ant in these parts, and I may be confusing these two. Tiger ant is about an inch long, furry, red in back and black up front. It's like an Army ant and its bite is worse than a regular ant bite. May be poisonous, don't know.
Fire ants will bite the hell out of you, and leave scars that last about a month.
Les
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lol - i didn;t know if it was a black widow..lol - course my mind was all over the place :) I didn't feel bad, and there was no pain..just a little where the bite was when pressure applied
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Originally posted by Sandman
From what I've been taught, the bite of a Mojave Rattler isn't nearly as painful as the bite of a Sidewinder.
It depends on the Mohave rattler. Most rattlesnake toxin contains various digestive enzymes that can cause severe local pain, swelling and tissue death -- as seen in the picture someone posted. Other pit vipers have similar toxins. Brown recluse toxin also contains digestive enzymes, causing a similar local tissue damage.
On the other hand, Mohave toxin affects the junction between nerves and muscles, resulting in paralysis. It is generally less painful because the local tissue damage is minimal Mohave toxin is the most lethal venom found in US snakes.
Only some Mohave snakes have this type of toxin. Other populations have the typical rattlesnake toxins, while even others have both types of toxins. The toxin type is largely dependent on the geographic region.
BTW coral snakes and black widows also have a nerve toxin.
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Black Widows can weight up to 5 pounds and only move at night. You'll never see them till it too late and they always go for the throat.
Your best bet is a Flame Thrower set to Max
BTW, Zoombies are not effected by BW bites. Keep that in mind.....
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Here's a Mojave Green... Friend at work took the pic... It's a beautiful thing.
http://www.pbase.com/image/29654947