In the last three years I've found eight black widow spiders near my parent's house (within 100 feet). This is near Fairfax Town Center, in an old neighborhood (1950s). We never had them growing up... now they seem to be everywhere. Usually I'm helping my parents with yard work when I find them. They are always on man made objects (bottom of trash can, inside landscaping light timer box, jack stands by the woodpile, under a bird bath, on a tarp, etc). Anyone else find these? Kinda blows. Hoping they are not found in the house eventually... Here is a video of the last one I found, about a month ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzmWXT9ynR0

I live in South Riding and have found a few in my garage over the last 10 years. We have them and brown recluse in this area, you have to be careful. My son was bit by a recluse on his leg. The spot got very ugly and stayed nasty looking for over a week but he recovered and has an ugly scar.

Yeah thats what I heard happens from the brown recluse... it leaves a scar. Sorry to hear about that. Have never seen a brown reculse here (knock on wood).

Brown recluse is way worse than a black widow toxicity wise. That being said I have also seen black widows around my house in the Reston area.

According to "the experts" the Brown Recluse spider is not this far north. There is a lot of mis-identifcation of spiders as "brown recluse".

Black Widows are everywhere, it seems - I've found a few in my garage.

Web searching clears a lot up - some folks have gone to the trouble of quashing some of the bad info: http://insects.about.com/od/spiders/tp/brown-recluse-lies.htm

Believe me, if you have a firewood stack you'll see plenty of black widow spiders. Be careful not to bring any indoors with you with the firewood.

Black widow spiders are a vacation compared to a Brown Recluse. The brown is a really fucked up deal. I also have noticed the increase of the Black Widow in the fairfax area.

black widows have ALWAYS been common around here.

never heard of a Brown Recluse until I went out west..............and GOTDAMN, can those bites be nasty :( - like life-scarring, you pray the flesh will come back, big ass bloody pus-hole in yr arm/leg/whatever type of nasty, yo...........

Olde Farte, II Wrote:
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> According to "the experts" the Brown Recluse
> spider is not this far north. There is a lot of
> mis-identifcation of spiders as "brown recluse".
>
> Black Widows are everywhere, it seems - I've found
> a few in my garage.


Yes, there are brown recluses in Virginia. Mostly in the Western part of the state. Mainly they are in the Midwest, though. Lots of them in Kansas and Missouri.

Very cool. I've see a lot of black widows around NOVA. The one on the left was under a hand rail at a park, the one on the right in a warehouse.
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newgatedenizen Wrote:
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> Very cool. I've see a lot of black widows around
> NOVA. The one on the left was under a hand rail
> at a park, the one on the right in a warehouse.

Sloppy web, shiny black exterior, round abdomen, bright red marking. Yup yup yup.

those black widows with the red belly are female and are more dangerous than the male BW.

ive never seen either of those *knocks on wood* in ffx county. dunno what id do if i did.

I read that the brown recluse can go several years without eating anything. It just sits there in stand-by mode until something comes along.