On Oct 3, 2005, at 4:01 PM, Robert Seeberger wrote:
Most Recluse bite I've seen occured when people rolled over the spider
in their sleep or crawled over one when working under their house. The
spider bites when trapped.
Also, apparently, true of Black Widows -- they'd rather escape than
bite.
Rolling over on spiders in one's sleep reminded me of a spider myth that
has come up twice in the past week among people I know: that most people
unwittingly swallow four or five spiders per year in their sleep...
Here's Washington University's debunking of that myth:
http://tinyurl.com/3tk8h
The same site also debunks my practice of ushering my spider friends
outdoors when I find them inside:
Myth: "I'm very kind to spiders; when I find one in the house, I
put it back outside instead of killing it."
Fact: You can't put something "back" outside which was never
outside in the first place. Although some house spider
species
can survive outdoors, most don't do well there, and some
(which
are native to other climates) will perish rather quickly when
removed from the protective indoor habitat. You're not doing
them a favor.
In any case, house spiders are mostly harmless and
beneficial.
Human property rights mean nothing to other species. There
was
spider habitat for millions of years where your home is
now. My
advice is, "just wave as they go by."
Dave
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