The female black widow is the most widely recognized due to the infamous red hourglass design on the underside of her abdomen. Although it’s widely perceived that the female black widow will eat the male after fertilization, it hasn’t been observed much in their natural environment.

Females will look for the optimal environment to lay her eggs and then build a web, which is used to store the eggs as well as capture her prey. A mature female black widow spider can lay up to 3,600 eggs per summer, out of which around 30% survive to maturity.

What makes black widows so intimidating is the fact that their venom is highly dangerous to humans. Black widows are a predatory insect and will attack humans if they feel threatened or intruded upon. Black widow venom can result in muscle aches, nausea and paralysis of the diaphragm in humans.

Black widows love to create their homes within piles of debris and trash. Making sure the outside of your home is free from these piles is a major first step towards ensuring you are free from black widows. They also feed on other insects, so pressure washing the outside of your home free of their webs is also a good way to eliminate not only the black widows web but also their food source.

Finally, if you suspect that there might be black widows near your home, make sure that all cracks at the bottom of home and around external piping have been sealed tightly. Also make sure that all holes in screen doors and windows are repaired. These steps can help to eliminate entryways into the home for black widows.

As a reminder, never handle a black widow spider, or risk a black widow bite. Call a spider control expert right away!