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Spider Colony

SkutSkutSkutSkut Registered User regular
edited August 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Now, I like spiders, and these seem like your docile old yard spider, but we've happened upon a colony that runs the entire length of a tree by the house. There's thousands of em, mostly young ones. Any way to get rid of them without burning the tree down? I don't think bug spray will cut it as it goes the full length of the tree and it's a decent sized tree.

SkutSkut on

Posts

  • FuzzFuzz Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    You can't just hose down the tree?

    Fuzz on
  • SkutSkutSkutSkut Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    They don't mind water, it's been raining hard enough to knock trees off limbs lately and they don't care.

    SkutSkut on
  • FuzzFuzz Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Trees off limbs, you say..

    I'd say call an exterminator. If that's too pricey you could try lighting it on fire and be ready to extinguish it..

    Do spiders live together once they're born in mass like that? I always figured they travel from the nest..

    Fuzz on
  • EskimoDaveEskimoDave Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Most of them will die anyways. Thats why there are so many of the fuckers currently.

    EskimoDave on
  • SkutSkutSkutSkut Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Well that's what I thought but I think they've set up a colony not just a nest, cat that stayed in that tree was almost always covered in bites, and now I have an idea why. I'll see how it goes in a few weeks I guess, at least it's not another widow nest.

    SkutSkut on
  • KivutarKivutar Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Fuzz wrote: »
    Do spiders live together once they're born in mass like that? I always figured they travel from the nest..
    That's what I thought, I was under the impression that they were rather territorial, and killed/drove off 95% of their siblings not long after hatching.

    Kivutar on
  • Salvation122Salvation122 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    SkutSkut wrote: »
    Well that's what I thought but I think they've set up a colony not just a nest, cat that stayed in that tree was almost always covered in bites, and now I have an idea why. I'll see how it goes in a few weeks I guess, at least it's not another widow nest.

    Spiders are not communal and do not form colonies. They will presently eat the dick out of each other and reduce the population via cannibalism.

    Salvation122 on
  • FuzzFuzz Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Vacuum?

    Fuzz on
  • EskimoDaveEskimoDave Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Fuzz wrote: »
    Vacuum?

    That pretty much creates the deadliest short range weapon of all time.

    "I got a vacuum with 5000 fucking spiders in it, just give a reason to switch it to blow. Punk."

    EskimoDave on
  • admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    EskimoDave wrote: »
    Fuzz wrote: »
    Vacuum?

    That pretty much creates the deadliest short range weapon of all time.

    "I got a vacuum with 5000 fucking spiders in it, just give a reason to switch it to blow. Punk."

    *silent scream*

    admanb on
  • HevachHevach Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    SkutSkut wrote: »
    Well that's what I thought but I think they've set up a colony not just a nest, cat that stayed in that tree was almost always covered in bites, and now I have an idea why. I'll see how it goes in a few weeks I guess, at least it's not another widow nest.

    Spiders are not communal and do not form colonies. They will presently eat the dick out of each other and reduce the population via cannibalism.

    There are spiders that live in breeding colonies. There have been some extreme examples, too: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/lake_tawakoni/media/images/web_600x450.jpg

    Quite a fewspiders will tolerate neighbors and form colonies like this if there's enough food to support them all, Michigan gets spider trees like the OP describes quite a bit in the hot part of the summer when mosquitoes are at their worst, but just checking google, colonies spanning hundreds of yards have been photographed all over North America and Europe. They aren't just temporary swarms of babies, because they sometimes last for months until the insect population tapers off enough that the colony isn't getting enough food and turns on each other.

    A number of species throughout the world are also truly social and build communal webs. None of them live in North America or Europe as far as I know, but there are species in South America and Asia.

    Whatever you do, don't burn it. You'd be surprised how quickly a tree can go up if the conditions are right, and they aren't easy to put out. If it's a particularly large tree, burning leaves blowing off above roof level can fly all over the place, potentially catching other trees, leaves stuck in gutters, dead grass, firewood piles, all the various flammable stuff people have around their houses and yards.

    Hevach on
  • PolloDiabloPolloDiablo Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Jesus that's a scary picture.

    PolloDiablo on
  • edited August 2009
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  • Raiden333Raiden333 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Oh god they're going to evolve sentience at eat us all...

    Raiden333 on
  • Captain VashCaptain Vash Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I think we all saw Lost In Space.

    you know what to do.. blow the warp core before they mutate us into horrific monsters that force young boy geniouses to invent time travel.

    Captain Vash on
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