This guy should just wear a kilt

[Iolaus]

I was working under a multi-unit duplex complex once, re-plumbing the place, when I looked up at the bottom of the floorboards in the light of the flashlight to realize that an egg sack must have just hatched; there were little black spiders everywhere! I taped off all the vents and tossed four bombs in, and left for a long lunch.

Yeah, I've got a few "pets" around the house, that I pretty much just leave alone for insect control (or because it doesn't hurt to have them around - why bother them), but I've a healthy respect for something that can crawl under my collar and kill me!

But as much as I respect the Black Widow, it's the Brown recluse that worries me the most; the affects of their venom can be like an attack of a flesh-eating bacteria!

[ckelly327]

Iolaus,

I worked in a manufacturing plant in NC for several years. One day someone brought in a new set of wood pallets and when he cut off the plastic out came a whole army of baby brown recluse spiders. They were all over and we were out to get all of them for about 3 hours. I don't think anyone ever found "mom" in the pallets but they also got put back outside in a hurry.

I also had copperheads in the yard and saw water mocassins on the golf courses. I'm sure you've had your share of runins with rattlesnakes and scorpions in the desert. I played golf in Tuscon early one morning in March and since I was the first on the course they warned me about how the rattlers like to lay on the warmer cart paths in the mornings and nights instead of the cooler sand. I kept my eyes open and didn't spend too much time looking for possible lost balls.

[Southern Breeze]

I agree, a crawl space is no place for a kilt.

[KiltedKnight]

Iolaus,

I worked in a manufacturing plant in NC for several years. One day someone brought in a new set of wood pallets and when he cut off the plastic out came a whole army of baby brown recluse spiders. They were all over and we were out to get all of them for about 3 hours. I don't think anyone ever found "mom" in the pallets but they also got put back outside in a hurry.

I also had copperheads in the yard and saw water mocassins on the golf courses. I'm sure you've had your share of runins with rattlesnakes and scorpions in the desert. I played golf in Tuscon early one morning in March and since I was the first on the course they warned me about how the rattlers like to lay on the warmer cart paths in the mornings and nights instead of the cooler sand. I kept my eyes open and didn't spend too much time looking for possible lost balls.

Years ago I remember bowhunting the better part of a day when I sat down beside a mountain stream in Azuza Canyon in California and took my boots off to cool my feet down and when I looked to my right side there was a Mohave Green all coiled up just watching me, it never made any noise and I carefully moved away from it, I must have been there right next to this critter for a good three minutes. I guess his feet must have been too tired to close the two foot distance between us.

Chris...

[Frank McGrath]

I worked for a major retail toy chain in the distribution center where we would get containers from overseas filled with not only product, but the occaisional critter. I dont know how long it takes to deliver a container from China, but I was always surprised that critters would live that long. We had a couple of cats delivered and the occaisional snake. Mostly spiders and one dog. Maintenance dept was always called to rid the building of the larger critters. What did they think I was, part of the humane society. If we did happen to trap them, the cops usuall just disposed of them. We were close to the training academy.

FM