Family Finds Black Widow Spider in Garage

Editor's note: We were lucky that Mirror reporter Amelia Herron was on the scene for this unusual discovery, however it isn't surprising as the spider was discovered in her family's garage!

The only thing worse then finding a garage full of spiders, is finding a black widow spider among them. Manchester resident, Theresa Herron, found just that in her garage yesterday. The spider was already dead.

Black widows are infamous for two things: their lethal bite and that the female black widows kill their mates and eat them. Although widely believed that black widows are not native to Michigan, black widows are common all over the United States and are found in temperate regions all around the world. An amateur entomologist, 12-year-old George Gurney, cousin and nephew to the Herron family, says that, “black widows are most common in the southern United States. These areas are more suitable for their life cycles and activities. Black widows prefer dry and dark locations and will seek warm dwelling in winter. However, specimens have been found as far north as Canada. Worldwide, widow species can be found on almost every continent.”

A common misconception in the general public, that a black widow’s bite is fatal, is just that – a misconception. The reason that their bites are feared is because the venom is reported to be almost 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake’s venom.  In humans, common symptoms of black widow bites include nausea, muscle aches, and diaphragm paralysis, which can make breathing hard, however, it’s only fatal in small children, elderly people, and the weak and frail. Black widow spiders only inject small amounts of poison. Fatalities from a bite are fairly rare because of that. In addition, they don’t tend to bite unless extremely provoked.

Female black widow spiders do, in fact, eat their mates, but only after mating. They are usually solitary year round, except during this violent mating ritual. Their prey consists of bugs like mosquitoes, flies, grasshoppers, and other bugs and beetles that can get ensnared in their webs.

Black widow spider found in Manchester garage early Sunday morning. photo by Theresa Herron

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