A few years back I attended a property inspection in San Jose and we found an unwanted resident in the garage: a black widow spider. Needless to say, did not stick around after she was found!
In case you haven’t seen one, I thought I’d share the pic here (click to see more below). Sadly she wasn’t my last encounter with these spooky locals. In fact, I’ve been seeing all too much of them over the last three years! At least this time, we always found her outside.
Black Widow Hanging Out On A Silicon Valley Patio
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- What’s this under my garden bench?
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- The tangled web, a big black spider, and – oh no, the red hourglass!
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- She’s beautiful, but I think I’ll take another seat!
Thankfully these painted beauties aren’t usually looking to pick a fight. They tend to remain fairly low to the ground and stay out of the sun. If you run into one it will probably be when you’re around a firewood pile or tidying up infrequently used patio furniture (as I was doing in the pictures above).
Want to identify or learn more about Widow spiders, their relatives, and local look-alikes? The University of California Integrated Pest Management Program page on Widows is an excellent resource.
If bitten, seek medical attention immediately!
