She Was Attacked By Black Widow Spiders

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A few years back, on a hot summer’s day, a woman in Spokane fell asleep on a couch that was outdoors. She awoke to find black widows all over her. She had been bitten several times. Her family rushed her to emergency and she was given a shot of the antidote. She lived to tell her story. Apparently there was a black widow nest in the couch and the woman disturbed the nest. So they attacked the source. Now that I have you all creeped out about sleeping on couches outdoors, here are some facts I have learned over the years either from articles by arachnologist or shows on PBS. A black widow bite will not kill a heathy adult. If you do get bit by a black widow wash the spot right away with hand sanitizer or a good soap. Once you are given the black widow antidote it will never be effective again. The antidote only works once. Black widows usually do not bite unless they feel threatened. Or if they feel their “home” is threatened. Or if they think you are dinner. Many people have been bitten in outhouses when they sat down to do their business and didn’t make sure there wasn’t a spider web across the hole. Unfortunately these bites were usually on the genitals. Be happy outhouse are mostly a thing of the past. The black widow got it’s name because after mating it will bite the male and kill it. However, there are males that are slick enough to escape to mate again although it is a rarity and a rarity they escape a second time. Now here’s a spider story from my past. In the first grade we all lined up to enter the school. As we head into the school I saw a spider in the doorjamb. I pointed the spider out to a teacher. It was caught. Later on in the day the jar with the spider in it was passed around from class to class for students to see what a black widow looks like and its red hourglass on its abdomen. I suppose if a black widow was found in a school today all the students would be sent home while the school was fumigated. But no such thing happened back in the days I was in grade school. A final thought about spiders. They are just as afraid of you as you are of them. That is why they are usually hidden. I hope I was able to teach you a few things like never fall asleep on an outdoors couch. Oh, yeah, and a few things about black widows as well.