Black Widow Spider

I first told you all about my black widow encounter earlier this year, so I know the little buggers are around my home on the outside. I still had yet to see another one since that fateful day – until this afternoon that is. This time, the spider was in my house. (okay it was on my back porch but that is close enough)

After months of begging me to clean out our enclosed back porch, my wife finally hit the jackpot with me today. I got off my tail and went back there and started moving all the junk around. I noticed a spider or two here and there, but none of them were dangerous at all.

Eventually, I made my way to the cedar chest that was back in the corner. I opened it and immediately saw the random web of a black widow, complete with egg sac. Carefully, I looked around and searched for mama. I saw no spider anywhere, and concluded it was an abandoned web, or dead spider sac. I then went about the task of digging the books out of the cedar chest and cleaning it out.

I was pulling out books and stacking them on the floor behind me. One by one, I was taking them out and stacking them. Out of nowhere, I noticed a flash of movement. Running across the next book I was going to pick up was a huge black widow. She was headed toward my finger and I yanked back just in the nick of time. (okay so I moved it in plenty of time but that is boring, right?)

Come to find out, she was none too happy about my intrusion of her home, and particularly about getting near her egg sac. Black widow spiders are dangerously aggressive sometimes when you get near their young or egg sac. Some don’t seem to care. This gal cared. In a big way.

Unfortunately, I had to dispose of this fine arachnid in spite of my hesitancy to do so. The thought of that egg sac bursting in a room just off mine and my wife’s bedroom was the clincher. I love spiders but even I have my limits.

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Indian Cobra Courtesy of Wikipedia user Kamalnv

The big four venomous snakes in Asia are the four snakes that are most common to kill. These snakes are all quick to bite and can be deadly in a very short period of time.  What truly makes the big four dangerous, however, is the fact that they are all found in and around the human population.  This leads to more venomous snake bites than in most countries, and in turn, more deaths.

Each of these powerful venomous snakes are capable of killing a human, and each of them can be readily found throughout the cities of India.  These venomous snakes are kind of a win/lose situation for the residents there – on the one hand they keep the vermin population in check, and on the other they are deadly if you are bitten.  Anti-venin is available widely throughout India in the event of a snake bite, and is a must if you are bitten by these big four snakes.

You will notice that the lengendary king cobra is not on this list of the big four.  The reason?  The king cobra is a reclusive snake that is content to hang out in the jungle.  For this reason, they do not come in contact with the people of India nearly as often.  Therefore they are not as dangerous.  A bite from a king cobra is as deadly as they come, but they are just much rarer.

Here are some interesting notes about each of the big four venomous snakes of Asia:

The Indian Cobra – also called a monocled cobra.  The Indian cobra is the cobra of legend that has a pair of monocled glasses on it’s back.  They are quite venomous, and will bite readily if you surprise or harrass them.  This is the snake that is used by snake charmers in India.

Russell's Viper Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons User Saleem Hameed

The Russell’s Viper – This snake is one of the most feared snakes in Asia.  One reason is because the snake is so tough to see, and so quick to bite.  They will strike without warning, and deliver a highly potent painful deadly snake bite.  The Russell’s viper is no joke in India.

The Saw-Scaled Viper – This little buggar is interesting in that it sounds much like a small rattlesnake.  The sound that it makes comes from rubbing it’s own scales against one another to create a buzzing noise.  This noise is sure to get people’s attention in India as they know the danger of this highly aggressive viper.

The Common Krait – Another potentially deadly snake that is famous in India.  It appears this

Saw Scaled Viper

snake is prone to climbing into bed with you in pursuit of a rodent or other vermin.  This is not a nightime surprise I would want to experience.  The common Krait is a beautiful but potentially deadly reptile.

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Black Widow

One fine day this past spring my wife sent me outside to finally gather and dispose of the trash that had been sitting for about a week or two.  Okay, so maybe it had been about a month, but a week or two sounds better.  Whatever the case, I let the trash go to long, and was now faced with gathering it up and getting it gone.  I headed out there and dove right in.

Now, seeing as how I am a bit of an expert on black widows, one would think I would have the sense to put on some gloves.  Why?  Well, black widows love trash.  Check.  Black widows love damp areas.  Check.  Black widows love dark areas.  Check.  Black widows go anywhere that insects might be.  Check.  I could go on.  The trash bags that had been sitting outside had been there quite a while, and they were the perfect homes for the black widow spider.  Yet I dove in with no gloves and even bare arms.  (legs too now that I think of it)

The black widow bite potential never crossed my mind as I was focused on trying to keep the bags from falling apart as I picked them up.  About six bags into my clean up, I reached down and grabbed a bag……As soon as i raised the bag off the ground, I looked just beyond my fingers and there she sat.  A big, fat, plump black widow.  She froze right away, and just looked at me.  We came face to fangs, if you will.

My initial reaction was to shiver because the dang spider was right there.  My hand could not have missed picking her up by more than a centimeter.  If I had reached just a hair farther, I would have picked her up in my bare hand.  A spider bite would have ensued.  As I stood there looking at her, I caught movement in my other hand.  Crawling from the top of the bag I was holding (with my other bare hand) was yet another plump black widow!!

I dropped the bag, and immediately backed away from the trash.  Amazingly I had come within a centimeter from two black widows and neither had bitten me.  Both black widows had plenty of opportunity and neither actually did.

I went and put on several layers to continue my work.  When I returned both spiders were gone. I dove into the rest of the trash with great care.  By the time I got through it, I encountered four more black widow spiders.  One of them actually crawled on my glove.

Yes, I crapped my pants but still did not get a venomous black widow spider bite.

The moral of the story?  Sometimes you can try to get bit, and not get bitten.  Then other times you can be minding your business and not even risking yourself and get bitten.  Black widows are not the aggressive spiders that they are put out to be.  I gave them plenty of chances that day for sure.

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Copperhead

Perhaps no other venomous snake in North America is more widely confused than the copperhead.  The copperhead actually has three different subspecies throughout North America.  These subspecies are all quite similar, and all venomous.  The copperhead snake is also the most common snakebite in North America among the dangerous snakes.  This fascinating reptile is not the evil serpent people think.

How Dangerous is The Copperhead

The copperhead has venom that is roughly half the toxicity of a rattlesnake.  Additionally, the copperhead also has relatively small fangs and delivers a much smaller amount of venom.  Because of these factors, the copperhead often is a much less serious snake bite than that of the cottonmouth or rattlesnake.  Still, as with any snake bite, it is considered a medical emergency and can be extremely dangerous.  The copperhead is not a ready biter, but will bite if it feels threatened.  Often, people accidentally step on them due to their fantastic talent of blending with their surroundings.  The vast number of a copperhead bite victims never see the snake.

Copperhead

Where Do You Find The Copperhead

The copperhead is found throughout the United States and is the most widely distributed venomous snake in the country.  They like to hang out in brush, under leaves, and anywhere that they can find a meal.  They are also the most likely venomous snake to encounter around your home.  The copperhead is very adaptive in this way.

What Does The Copperhead Look Like and How Big Do They Get?

A copperhead snake will generally grow to a maximum of about three feet.  They all have copper colored heads, and have a ground color of pink, brown, or even tan depending on the subspecies.  They have triangular shaped heads, and the trademark facial pits that pit vipers are known for.  They also have markings that are smaller around the spine and widen as they go towards the underside of the snake.  These markings are darker than the ground color of the copperhead.

Copperhead

What Does The Copperhead Eat?

The copperhead eats small rodents, vermin and anything else they can capture.  They have been known to kill and eat lizards and other similar types of prey as well.

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