My son found a large Black Widow spider outside. I hate to kill it but I can't release it back in to my yard. Any suggestions on how/where to dispose of it?

Flush it. They like to swim!

just curious, what part of town did you find it?

We live in Bryan off of William Joel and Villa Maria.

gpr,

If you're worried that your backyard might have black widows in it; then yes it does, more than likely.

It at least has a high potential for them to be there unless treated regularly for pests.

Black widows do a number of good things, but remember that a bite from them can be serious for the health of you and your family, children even more so. As an entomologist I'm glad that your first choice is not to kill but to relocate, just be mindful of where you are placing it and hopefully it won't ever seen a human again.

And trust me, killing it will not destroy the species in CS/Bryan

ofn,

Is there any place I can take it? A&M maybe or local pest control establishment? If I lived near the country or woods, I would release it there, but keeping it in a cup is out of of the questions.

Smash it. There are a billion more where that thing came from.

Just kill it, their egg sacks produce around 500 babies, they are not lacking for numbers.... Better than risking it getting out and biting you or your family. Your not Crock hunter you know.

This reminds me one time I was bike riding with the kids and one of them road over a copper head near our home. I corraled it and told my daughter to run get a shovel. While she went on the errand a neighbor came up with friends from Germany, asked what I was going to do. They said oh you can't kill it, they are rare. I looked incredulously at them "a copperhead...? Rare?"... They said call the city to come get it and release it somewhere. Well wanting to be polite I agreed to let them make the call. While they were gone I was imitating Crock hunter for my daughter and making here laugh. Oh what a beauty we need to catch this and release it in the wild. Well the lady comes back all dejected and I ask what did they say, " they said just to kill it"... LOL so I bopped it on the head and went on about my bike ride. Not that I kill snakes as a habit, just poisonous ones near my home. And since copperheads are a dime a dozen around here... I do so without any guilt whatsoever.

Billy will make it all better.

[This message has been edited by Hammerheadjim (edited 8/19/2010 8:48a).]

I find Black widows often in my garden. Kill it. they are abundant and nasty. i wouldnt kill a creature that was just beneficial but those things pack a nasty bite and if your kids got bit youd regret not smashing the thing. and some of the ones I have found have not 1 but 2 egg sacks filled with 500+ babies. seriously, smash it.

Black Widow spiders are pretty common around here. We include them in our general pest control service.

Black widows don't wander around biting stuff, but hang out on their web. That means bites are usually accidental and happen when people stick their hands where they can't see. It's pretty rare for us to find one inside a house. More often, they are hidden away in garages or porches and patios.

People emotionally react strongly to black widows, but their reputation is probably more than they deserve. You might be surprised to know that there hasn't been a death from a black widow bite reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers since they started reporting such things in 1983. There have been plenty of bites reported - 2500 in 2005. You can smash it. There's plenty around. You can relocate it. They aren't that dangerous. Or.... You can hire Venus Pest Company to come kill it for you!

[This message has been edited by VenusPest (edited 8/19/2010 2:54p).]

Found this one around my koi pond. Since it's near the house and my puppies I took care of it. Had to take a few photos first though.

Yes, I would certainly relocate it... to the bottom of my shoe!

I let crickets, earwigs, and other small spiders out of my house. Pretty much anything. But saving or going through the trouble of RELOCATING a black widow? You're on a whole other level.