Scare in the Woodpile

I was moving my wood around today and found this red and black spider. I thought it was a black widow so I took a picture so I could look it up. My wife was freaking out. Because it did look like a B.W. I was thinking she was going ask me to get rid of the wood.I just got 5 cords of logs and this spider was in one of the piles.
After looking up the B.W on the web I found that the red hour glass is marking on abdomen. This one had 3 reds dot on it's back.
I'm not sure what would have done if it was a black widow. I guess I would have spayed the wood or something.

Its probably a recluse spider. Much more dangerous than a widow. They like wood piles and other dark places. Some people have lost limbs after a bite.

brown recluse are usually brown and smaller.... never know though

it does not look like a brown recluse at all. if it was a black widow i would just be extra cautios when handling your wood i have dealt with black widows on almost a daily basis when i lived out in AZ you get used to it after a while. just have to be cautios. oh yeah rattle snakes in my backyard to boot!! LOL

Doesn't match brown recluse.. they have "violin" markings, and not red. Black widow can have red dots instead of red hourglass afaik. You should assume it's something very dangerous, I think.

Definitely not a Recluse. Black Widow- I don't know. Didn't know there was a non- hourglass variant. I was always told the hourglass on the abdomen was the positive ID. If it's any consolation, the bite of either type is rarely fatal. OTOH it is a very serious and painful bite. Be careful. But I wouldn't be so freaked out that you give up your wood and wood burning over this. Just be careful. Wear gloves. Watch what you are doing. That should be more than enough.

Get rid of pile of outdoor firewood because a spider was found in it? What happens when she sees how hot the stove gets? There's fire in there!

Male and immature black widow spiders have red or white markings on the top of their abdomens as well as the red hourglass underneath.

Black widows can have red on their back, but your pic looks like the wrong body type. Black widow have large abdomens and small head and thorax - similar body type to the brown spiders we have in abundance here in MA.

Here is a pic that shows the body type and red dots on the back:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.c...es/animals/images/1024/black-widow-spider.jpg

Pete

Wear gloves, cover up etc, etc... Squish it

I have an all white skunk that likes to run under the pallets in the early AM, THAT scares me

You seriously think she would say get rid of your woodpile over a spider???

I like your stance on dealing with the spiders BEGREEN. In all the years I have been fumbling around in the back of the barn and garage getting out the tiller or canning supplies I have never been bitten by a spider. They run for the exits whenever I come crashing into their webs/homes.Same deal with snakes.I have a pair of Blue racers that have lived in my barn for years and keep the mice population in check. They know me well enough to even let me touch them once in a while without fleeing. I value the spiders and snakes as fellow creatures to share my buildings with. Now wasps and hornets are a different story...

I'm pretty sure that it is not a Black widow, if it had been I would have tented the pile with a tarp and and set off a bug bomb. I'm
glad I took a picture so I could compare. There no way I would get rid of wood unless it burned.

Spider control here! Give me your address, and I will be over right away. I will probably have to remove all the wood on your property though, just to be safe. Don't worry, I know how to handle these ugly situations. Damn spiders!

Yeah, you should definitely get rid of five cords of wood over a spider sighting. Best way to kill them is to wear gloves when handling the wood, and then burn it a few pieces at a time in some sort of enclosed box that's fireproof and attached to a chimney. Could take all winter, but it's worth it to be safe!

Unless it was eating splits I would ignore it.

can you post a better pic? I have a contact that I send pics of my spiders to. The person is an antimologist or whatever they are called. basically a specialist in insects. She identifies them real quick. I emailed her the pic.

The professional person told me that without a better pic and information about the web structure it is almost impossible to identify. My guess is that it is some form of garden spider. They can be very colorful and mean looking and very very large

Whoooooa

This picture is what my wife feared.

John.... That spider stuff is really dangerous. You should dispose of the wood properly, please pack it all up nica and neat, ship it to my house pre-paid and I will dispose of it for you properly. ;-P Your Welcome!

-Sheepdog

That pic was great . . . started laughing out loud . . . and I can't do that . . . otherwise the folks here will realize that I'm goofing off instead of doing real work.