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Post by sandrainsydney on Dec 10, 2016 2:38:22 GMT
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Dec 10, 2016 6:55:07 GMT
Thank you for the suggestions and links, Sandra. It was very considerate of you to spend the time looking those up.
I'm not concerned about identifying the spider. It is most likely a common house spider, although a local insect, etc., expert who saw my photo several years ago was hopeful it might be a Hobo spider. I didn't supply him with one to kill and examine, and he's since left my area, so I will never know.
I just don't want a sudden spider population explosion inside my nice warm house. I read that eggs take only one to four weeks to hatch.
I took action first thing after I got up and was dressed today. Whatever was hanging there, whether a tasty spider snack, or a hundred spider eggs, it is no longer there. It was given a properly respectful 'burial at sea', with a flushing sendoff, after I plucked it with my three foot long "grabber" stick.
As soon as the weather is above freezing in the daytime, (--likely not until March or April,) I will somehow capture Fast Freddy, or Frieda, as the case may be, and escort it to its new home outdoors.
I feel guilty about destroying the lump, in case it was a food supply. I haven't seen anything alive inside the house it could eat, other than some small spiders. I'm wondering if I carefully remove the small dead flies that have accumulated in my ceiling light fixture, and present them to the big spider in an inverted jar lid as a peace offering, would they be of any use to a spider that large? I may find out?
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Dec 10, 2016 6:58:39 GMT
Thank you for sharing the site Sandra. It looks very, very interesting and deserves my lengthy undivided attention. I'll save it until after things slow down around here again.
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Post by sandrainsydney on Dec 10, 2016 8:38:45 GMT
in the new year?
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maeve
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Post by maeve on Dec 10, 2016 13:53:01 GMT
That's a good suggestion, Sandra. Rags, the spiders we usually find inside are not adapted to life outside. We aren't doing them any big favor by taking them outside, where they will die. If you need to kill them so be it- but do ask for more info on this one if you have time.
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Dec 16, 2016 22:45:11 GMT
Thanks, maeve, In better weather, I have found these fellows outside the house in my flower beds when I'm weeding. I once found two in a small pail outside my laundry window. I've often found them in the laundry tub inside the house. I think they come in looking for water, warmth and romance. I should remove some siding and caulk along the top of the foundation. Maybe that will keep them out? Spidey is still in the same location. I collected dusty dried flies and moths from light fixtures and put them on a jar lid near where it lives. Nothing has been removed. I hope that it can find something to eat on its own.
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Post by sandrainsydney on Dec 17, 2016 0:35:40 GMT
maybe you needed to take the dust off & warm or cool them till they were at the preferred temperature
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maeve
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Post by maeve on Dec 17, 2016 14:37:09 GMT
Spiders need their meals juicy. Best of luck with spidey. On survival mode here. Last 2 night temps at -35F windchill, then last night -18F, no wind.
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Post by meganl on Dec 17, 2016 17:15:47 GMT
You be careful Maeve that's pretty snell wind you have there
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maeve
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Post by maeve on Dec 17, 2016 22:54:19 GMT
'Tis a snell wind blaws naebody guid. (Cheeky Maeve!) Thank you, Meg. We have plenty of good dry hardwood, just sometimes the cold settles into the building. Once the insulation and walls are finished we'll be snug.
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Post by sandrainsydney on Dec 18, 2016 0:13:33 GMT
shiver ...
do you have a date for the finishing of work?
sandra (who had never really met cold weather - occasional -1C when visiting friends in winter)
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Dec 18, 2016 6:20:01 GMT
Stay warm, Maeve. I hope that the cold spell will be short for you. This is shaping up to be a very strange winter. It will be warming here for a few days. While we have that relief I plan to do a lot of cold tasks that I've put off. It was a balmy -12C today. For some reason that made the streets very icy and treacherous. Can't win, it seems. Spiders need their meals juicy. Best of luck with spidey. Funny you should mention it. Yesterday, Spidey was gone. I thought it might just be hiding in the wall, but the space felt different somehow. I knew Spidey was no longer there. Later, I noticed that our resident dark brown orb spider in the basement bathroom had managed to capture a large prey in its web. That gave me hope that maybe Spidey could find something juicy to eat too. I hadn't seen anything alive in the basement for weeks, except spiders. I wondered what it could have caught. I got a light and looked. Maybe I should have soaked the flies?
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maeve
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Post by maeve on Dec 18, 2016 14:21:29 GMT
Haha... I think once the flies are dry there is no return to spider-palete juicyfication. Like Wilber's friend Charlotte, spiders drink more than eat their dinners. (True for all, I believe.) Bleh! Sandra- It's been 5 years, so I no longer hold on to imaginary work schedule dates. We'll have a beautiful working bathroom sink before Christmas, however! It's my gift from my husband this year, and a lovely one, too!
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Post by sandrainsydney on Dec 19, 2016 0:22:11 GMT
imaginary work schedule dates ... folks all over the world will recognise that phrase.
are you going to cut a ribbon on your sink?
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maeve
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Post by maeve on Dec 19, 2016 14:19:29 GMT
Good idea. More likely we will just celebrate by using it many times daily.
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