arachnophobe

Yesterday morning I saw a large/swollen looking & weird shaped bug under the porch, right by the pumpkin plant we were watering. Thanks to this recent piece by friend Ashley Lewis, I knew what I was looking at & snatched E up so fast he cried. It was certainly a black widow, possibly full of eggs, out in broad daylight! Not long ago a friend of ours (full grown woman mind you) was hospitalized for two days after a bite from one of these nasties. Needless to say, Mama went into fight-or-flight mode.

Wondering how many more might be lurking under cover (back outside sans babies, confirming a red hourglass on the abdomen), I called an exterminator. The nicest old gentleman came before lunch, took stock of the situation & put down several insecticides: powder under the porch, spray around the foundation, sticky traps indoors. We vacated for an hour while the crawl space was fogged. Upon returning home, the widow was belly-up & dead on the porch. Now I don't feel so hunted.