19 Sep
1999
19 Sep
'99
7:47 p.m.
Are there any potential risks to my old beauties by
bug-bombing the
garage? I have had enough; I am still recovering from the effects of a
black widow bite I sustained while (stooopidly) reaching inside the main
cabinet of my HP-3000/37 the other day. Not too serious, apparently I'm
not particularly allergic and it was a rather mild bite, but I've felt
like I've had the flu for a few days. My doctor was amused that I got it
fooling around with computer artifacts, though, which led to me possibly
(crossed-fingers) inheriting some nifty old proprietary medical gear.
I'd like to just set off a few foggers in there, but my dilemma is that if
I cover up the gear with plastic well enough to keep the spray out, the
nasty little bastards may survive. Anyone done this? Thoughts?
Number one, bug bombing via foggers poses no threat to spiders. ;(
Something the fumigators will tell you is that to kill spiders you have to
tent for more than 24 hours, which is the standard for killing termites.
Spiders know how, and apparently when to hold their breath for as long as
24 hours. The cans non proffesionals can buy kill by DIRECT contact, ie
spray the spider. Wow, what an improvement over a flyswatter.
Yipes, sorry to hear about your bite though. Most adults don't have too
much trouble, depending a lot on the amount that the spider chooses to pump
into you. (humans aren't prey, so many times the bite has little or no
venom) The hazard to younger kids though is MUCH greater. You need to
remove the habitat, killing the spiders isn't sufficent unless you make it
a regular activity. Unfortunately you live in an area much like I grew up
in and its a black widow "ideal" climate etc.
Forget exterminators unless you want to add one to your monthy payroll.
Find a local bug person, or a internet bug group, and get some advice from
people who don't just want to replace one parasite with a bigger inc. one.