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7pilot

7pilot

Well Known Member
Warm Weather in Texas, time for getting some work done, but also time for a few other creatures to come out....:eek: Maybe that fiberglass tip can wait for another day :rolleyes:

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http://www.7pilot.com/Images/Bad%20day%20for%20fiberglass.JPG
 
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Ack! My skin is now crawling. If I found that thing in my shop I would have to sell the project, as I would never be able to touch it again. Ugh... I hate spiders! :eek: :eek:
 
Yikes!

If something like that happened at my house - there would be a "for sale" sign up the next day!

Does it bite or just scare it's victims to death?? :eek:
 
Texas creatures...

I used to own a company that bought a lot of materials from Texas...we were always finding spiders (like the tarantula in the pic), snakes and other desert creatures that hitched a ride. The worst one was a semi load of palletized material where all the pallets were full of dozens of scorpions...my warehousemen were ready to walk off the job! I never had a problem getting the guys to wear gloves after that...
 
WOW!

Bleack! I would have smashed that wingtip into a hundred million little pieces, and happily ordered a new one from Vans.

Well actually I would have used this as an excuse to buy more tools, specifically a REALLY big hammer. And hey, if that big 'ol nasty spider was gone by the time I got back from Home Depot, well then I'd just sell my house. I hate spiders too. :mad:
 
AZ must be like TX....

Yes... and the smaller ones can get inside your house.... :)

spider-(Small).JPG


gil in Tucson
 
That spider could wrestle a bear and win. It could probably flip me my on my back just by grabbing ahold of me by the fingertip and swinging. What do you use to kill those things...a 12 gauge with slugs? A .357 would just **** him off.

Dave
 
Looks like you have a bucker for those tight spots.

Check the thread on how planes are named - looks like "Spider" would be a great name for an RV. Think of the paint scheme you could have with this one, not to mention the nose or tail art! :D

Jekyll

Edit: I once ran over a very large tarrantula in CA. I felt it under both tires. Ya gots to respect an arachnid that doubles as a speed bump.
 
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David Johnson said:
What do you use to kill those things...a 12 gauge with slugs? A .357 would just **** him off.
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LOL! True story... a few months ago I found a quarter sized black widow in the house. I ran out to the garage to retrieve some Raid Roach & Spider spray I had on hand for occasions such as this. I sprayed a good amount onto it... nothing! Apparently all I did was upset it because it went on the offensive chasing me down the hall. I must have emptied half a can of spray onto that thing before it was affected in the slightest bit, meanwhile I was about to pass out from the fumes. The battle lasted a good 20 minutes, but in the end it was I that claimed victory. Did I mention I hate spiders?!?!?
 
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Spiders eat bugs. They are GOOD.

I recon a chicken snake in your corn crib would be out of the question. <g>
 
Time to turn on the shop vac. They get a pretty good jolt when they hit the inside of the thing.
 
RV7Factory said:
LOL! True story... a few months ago I found a quarter sized black widow in the house. I ran out to the garage to retrieve some Raid Roach & Spider spray I had on hand for occasions such as this. I sprayed a good amount onto it... nothing! Apparently all I did was upset it because it went on the offensive chasing me down the hall. I must have emptied half a can of spray onto that thing before it was affected in the slightest bit, meanwhile I was about to pass out from the fumes. The battle lasted a good 20 minutes, but in the end it was I that claimed victory. Did I mention I hate spiders?!?!?
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Wow - That's disturbing, since there has been a Black Widow sighting in our garage. What is recomended for these things?
The only spiders (around here) that concern me are Black Widows and Brown Recluses. Other than that, I'm with Dan.
 
I don't recommend sucking them up in the shop vac. They WILL survive.
 
Chickens

Our chickens love eating spiders and they are too stupid not too.

Last night we caught a skunk in the live trap (I've just shot it and waiting for the stink to die down). Apparently all day the chickens have been trying to make friends with it in its temporary holding pen...

So there is your answer..Chickens..:)

Frank
 
Two weeks ago Nora brought me two copper heads to kill. (She had the rake and I had the shovel.) She never even raised her voice, just hooked them with the rake and brought them over to me. There must be something about that TX blood in her that helps her keep her cool.

Last weekend the neighbor came running over because he found a snake and wanted to know what he should use to kill it. Turns out it was a 2 foot long black snake. It took some doing but I convinced him and his wife to leave it alone because it will keep the copper heads away. I suppose I shouldn't have chased it under their house. ;)
 
I doubt that spiders could survive being sucked up in my shop vac. I get rid of yellowjackets with it when ever I find one and they don't come back out. It is a fairly strong shop vac. As they get sucked in, they hit the filter or some other structure, I forget what exactly, and that does them in. I find their bodies when I clean it out.

Spiders are not easily killed with regular bug spray. If I remember correctly, the wasp & hornet killer spray does them in nicely. This is the stuff that you can use from 10 ft. away to kill stinging insects. It has a powerful central nervous system toxin and the yellowjackets drop right now! They squirm for a few seconds and that's that.
 
spiders

Way up here on the northern most tip of the Sonora Desert (yes it extends
from WAY down South, North through Las Vagas,Ne through Yakima, Wa and ending just south of a little town named Oliver, B.C.) we have lots of Black Widows. They only grow to about the size of a quarter$ and the bite is much like a bee sting....except, it's tough to keep the swelling down. Now, I'm not one for chemicals to take out these little critters. I think physics is best in these situations. You see a size 10 boot pressing down with 200 pounds of force is more than adequate. :) Oh, and tons of Rattlers :)
 
Suck 'em up...

Mel said:
I don't recommend sucking them up in the shop vac. They WILL survive.
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I prefer a cordless mini type vacuum like this for nasty bugs - small tarantulas, scorpions and anything my wife screams at - they have a nice "one-way" flap at the entrance.

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You just have to be careful emptying the container.... :)

We did find out after moving to Tucson that our cat is immune to scorpion bites... :D ... haven't tested the adults yet...

gil in Tucson
 
Vacuum!

I like Gil's answer, but maaannnn.....you gotta get real close with one of those little hand-helds....I use my big shop Vac with about three extension hoses and two wands..... :eek:

Gad, I hate spiders! :eek:
 
Skeeters

This great thread reminds me of when I was painting my plane. I had built a nice enclosure in the garage, complete with blowers and filters. It was May in Minnesota, and I directed the blower exhaust out under a partially opened garage door. It was a warm, muggy evening, and I emerged from the enclosure into the main garage area around 10:00pm in my bunny suit. Off came the bunny suit, since I was croaking in it. I was at the little fume hood I used to clean the gun, when this wall of skeeters came pouring into my face. Understand, we crazy Minnesotans are more or less used to these things, but there were hundreds of them. It became clear that there was no way I could actually get the gun cleaned no matter how much I concentrated. So, I got the shop vac, turned it on and slung the hose over my shoulder. About every 5 seconds, I would grab the hose, furiously wave it at the little invaders and suck up around 20. This went on for what seemed like forever, but I started to realize I was winning the battle. I would guess that by the time I got the gun cleaned (which took 10 times as long as normal), I'd sucked up around 2 or 3 hundred of the miserable creatures. It was quite sporting.
 
black widows

man those suckers are everywhere in my shop. hate em with a passion. watch out pulling the door down. :eek:
 
Canada ain't so bad

There are some reasons I'm glad I live in Canada and that's one, The only thing that startles me up here from time to time is the extremely dangerous ,venom spitting ,constricting,rattling, etc.etc. 2' Garter snake.They reduce this 6' ,220lb weight lifting fool to cowardly acts, such as hiding behind my 5'3" honey until it's safe to proceed.The guys I work with and friends alike get a huge charge out of my reaction to snakes, thus set me up to be ambushed at every opertunity :D You seldom see me walk point in the summer. I HATE !!! snakes. :eek:
 
A friend of mine went fishing and was running across the lake when he felt something crawling up his leg. You guessed it....it was a snake.

I'm not sure he has been fishing since that time. Apparently it curled up underneath his console.
 
DanH said:
Spiders eat bugs. They are GOOD.

I recon a chicken snake in your corn crib would be out of the question. <g>
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I have to admit that the appearance of all of those legs working at the same time gives me the creeps but I have to agree with Dan. Don't kill spiders just because they give you the creeps. You would not believe the number of bugs that one tarantula will devour. Most tarantulas in our country are not dangerous to humans. There are some species in South America that can be dangerous but not here and especially not the brown one shown in this picture. They are definitely more beneficial than harmful so please think twice before indiscriminately killing a spider just because you see it. In our part of the world the Brown Recluse (also known as the "Fiddle Back") and the Black Widow can be dangerous and I would not think twice about killing either of these types of spiders but most all others will benefit you to have them around. In fact the larger spiders such as this tarantula tend to actually be the more beneficial ones.
 
Spiders

I've got dozens of spiders in my shop - they've never bothered me. I just think of them as tiny lobsters.

From what I know of tarantulas, you'd have to try pretty hard to get one to bite you. A friend of mine has one as a pet, and when he gets home, he sticks his hand in the "aquarium" and it runs right up and sits on his shoulder. It sits there all evening with him while he works around the house, watches TV, drives to the store, whatever. Before bed, he puts his arm back in the aquarium, and it runs down his arm. It's really quite affectionate!
 
spyders are cool

Its those darn wasps that I abhor (hate is too kind of a word). Yes, I run at near takeoff speed from them, gain my composure, and then find a way to rid the earth of the pest.

disclaimer: brown recluse and black widow spiders are decidedly NOT cool.
 
Garfield the cat has the answer

I grew up and have lived in the southeast for about 65 years. Spiders and snakes are very common here. My wife grew up in south Texas where they have snakes, spiders, scorpions, etc. We find this thread very amusing. Only a few of the snakes and spiders carry venom that is toxic. They normally aren't interested in biting you - you aren't suitable food.

A good friend once said that all the spiders around our house simply show the air is okay and not likely a problem. (remember the canary in the coal mine)

My wife and I aren't snake or tarantula (or spider) fans but we can live with them. Generally they are beneficial. I do kill black widow spiders if I find them simply because they are poisonus.

The Garfield method, whack them, works great. For spiders almost anything works. Step on them if they are on the floor. A fly swatter works great. You don't have to stand 10 feet away! A rolled up piece of paper works. Mash them with any tool at hand. Bucking bars really flatten them when applied.

Snakes are a little more trouble but if you must kill them any long tool such as a hoe or shovel will do the job. Farmers have been doing it for many centuries.

I think we see too many Hollywood movies like Snakes on a Plane and other fright stuff. We are afraid of critters that have been with us since the dawn of man. If you can keep your cool and fly your plane use the same cool and deal with the critter. I've known people to crash their car because a bee flew in and they went crazy trying to kill or get away from it.

Actually you shouldn't unload a can of insecticide in closed spaces that you inhabit. Not very healthy. It might be more of a long term hazard than the spider.

Remember - stay calm and deal with it.

Larry Dickinson
RV-9A 135 hours
Atlanta, GA
KLZU
 
rv8ch said:
A friend of mine has one as a pet, and when he gets home, he sticks his hand in the "aquarium" and it runs right up and sits on his shoulder. It sits there all evening with him while he works around the house, watches TV, drives to the store, whatever. Before bed, he puts his arm back in the aquarium, and it runs down his arm. It's really quite affectionate!
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That is so wrong in so many ways! :eek: ;) :D
 
I was bitten by a Black Widow when I was 5. Family says I was very sick for over a month. I don't remember being sick.
Other spiders, except for the brown recluse, are good. Also snakes eat mice, a good thing.
 
Not poisons?

The "Brown Recluse" will kill you. One or two people die in this area, usually very young or very old. They call it a "Recluse" for a reason.

What specie is that? Any one know.

Chance is its not poisons. I agree don't kill them, they eat bad bugs. And as someone said you have to work to get a bite from one.
 
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soapy water for spiders

Believe it or not, a soapy water spray will kill black widows. I walk around my buildings at night every so often with a big spray bottle full of water with a little dish detergent in it. I spray the widows I see, and they're dead the next day. Now, they don't die immediately - but you don't have to inhale really toxic bug spray or leave it spread all over your carpet or floor.

I haven't tried this on snakes.
 
Recluse bites

Generally these are local wound problems that get secondary infections. Occasionally a person will have an anaphylactic response but that is more common with any of a variety of critter bites.

They can produce some VERY challenging wound problems requiring complex reconstructive surgery especially on the hands and feet. Plenty of such pics are floating around out there with massive areas of wet gangrene.

Be careful in dark attics, barns, hangers, etc. especially in the South and West. Recluse spiders have been reported in all 48 continental states.
 
Larry D said:
If you can keep your cool and fly your plane use the same cool and deal with the critter. I've known people to crash their car because a bee flew in and they went crazy trying to kill or get away from it.
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This reminds me of my flight training days 20+ years ago.

I was just post solo and flying with my instructor when on short final we noticed a bee in the 152 along with us. He was buzzing around in front of the windshield and generally being (Pun intended) annoying.

We landed and as soon as the plane slowed down we pulled off on to the grass while pulling the mixture. As soon as we stopped rolling we both bailed out. The tower thought we must be on fire and sent the trucks to investigate.

It turns out we were both deathly allergic to bee stings.

The firemen got a big laugh out of it and so did the tower.

FYI - I?ve been in ?bee sting? therapy for five years now and highly recommend it to anyone who is allergic. Last fall, while on a backpacking trip I was stung five times by yellow jackets out in the middle of nowhere and all is good. Prior to this therapy I was stung once and woke up three hours later in the ER. Well worth the time, money, and pain of three full venom shots every month for five years. (Honey bees, wasps, and mixed vespids) Oh, and the best part is I no longer react to those dreaded fire ants, which are actually a wasp.
 
Bill,

Bees, hornets & yellow jackets have different proteins & you can be allergic to one but not another. I am highly allergic to honey bees, but react normally to yellow jackets.

BTW, if you live in yellowjacket country, put out traps in the spring when the temps start hitting about 75. You'll catch the queens, which are the only ones that survive the winter and in doing so prevent her from starting a family, and she can have as many as 1,000 children. I routinely catch about 50 queens in the spring & last year found only 2 nests on my 10 acres. For more info, Google "Rescue yellow jacket trap".
 
Spiders

Spiders are difficult to poison. Regular insect spray just doesn't do and we get lots of webs in our hanger here in Louisiana. See bugspray.com for information and some products. Then you don't have to move.
 
RScott said:
Bill,

Bees, hornets & yellow jackets have different proteins & you can be allergic to one but not another. I am highly allergic to honey bees, but react normally to yellow jackets.
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Yep, you are correct but I am (was?) allergic to all of them. If it stung, it could kill me. Thus the need for the three different shots every month, one for each type of stinging flying thing.

I was so allergic to all three that when they tested me, they gave me the smallest possible amount, stopped the test, and then kept me around for an hour to make sure I was going to be fine. It took six months before they could give me the equivalent of a full sting of all three. I started with three very, very small shots twice a week and then worked up to three full shots once a month. Even then, it took over four years before they had no effect.

The regime is not fun and there were times I thought they were going to kill me. Now that it is over, or almost so, I'm happy to have gone through it. With all the backpacking I do and to have never been stung in the woods until last year was truly tempting fate.
 
Wow, I learned more about spiders and snakes by reading these posts than watching a year of the Discovery channel.
Here's my story: Was flying along with my CFI in a 172 during my training days when I bee appeared and buzzed the cabin. I calmly held the yoke in in one hand and backhanded the intruder into the windscreen. My instructor admired my cajones because he is allergic to beestings.
 
Two Bees

bsacks05 said:
... during my training days when I bee appeared and buzzed the cabin. I calmly held the yoke in in one hand and backhanded the intruder into the windscreen. My instructor admired my cajones because he is allergic to beestings.
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Reminds me of a Learned about Flying article years ago... The pilot had bees in his cockpit that he was trying to tell the controller about so he could get priority handling. He told him he had two bees. Finally the controller cleared him to land and before he could taxi all the way in one of the bees managed to fly up his pants leg. So he shut down in front of the tower, jumped out and dropped his pants - the controllers thought he said he had to pee.
 
Wussies!!!

RV7Factory said:
Ack! My skin is now crawling. If I found that thing in my shop I would have to sell the project, as I would never be able to touch it again. Ugh... I hate spiders! :eek: :eek:
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Geez Brad, must be tough building that RV in a skirt. Hope your husband doesn't find out about your paranoia :D

As Gil noted, we have many interesting creatures in AZ. While building my plane I encountered 2 scorpions and numerous spiders. Even with monthly spraying. Black widows can make a web in minutes. I've found Black Widows in areas that were clear hours earlier.

I'm surprised Mark Chamberlin didn't post. He lives in North Phoenix in a somewhat rural area. While building his plane, he had a his spray stuff set up outside for priming. He coiled up his spray hose after priming. Later he walked out to find a rattlesnake coiled up inside the rolled up hose :eek: He could have easily reach for the hose to grab the end resulting in a potentially fatal bite.

I keep a can of Carb cleaner handy to spray critters in the hard to reach places. Works great, cheap.
 
more snakes.... missed photo...

RV7Guy said:
.....
I'm surprised Mark Chamberlin didn't post. He lives in North Phoenix in a somewhat rural area. While building his plane, he had a his spray stuff set up outside for priming. He coiled up his spray hose after priming. Later he walked out to find a rattlesnake coiled up inside the rolled up hose :eek: He could have easily reach for the hose to grab the end resulting in a potentially fatal bite.
......
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I missed a great photo for the RVator... my camera wasn't close by and I jumped a bit too quickly.

After I moved to Tucson, and before my hangar was built, all of the RV stuff was stored in our garage. I opened the door one spring day, and found two rattle snakes coiled up on my Lycoming!!

Would have been a great caption "How we protect our engines in AZ".... :D

The snakes were re-located by the airpark manager (one of his duties... :) ..) with my wife yelling after him "don't leave them by the mail box".

Unfortunately, they returned to their cozy hole under the drywall, and were beheaded the next time they were found.... :rolleyes:

gil in Tucson ... watch were you walk.... :) ... on 7 acres... but dogs seem to get it worse... they go up and sniff the rattlesakes... :eek:
 
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