One Reason Why Oklahoma Shouldn’t Kill Those Pesky Black Widows

As Oklahoma gets into our summer outdoor living season - grilling out, spending time in the backyard, pool time, lawncare, and the like - here's a good reminder of why you might want to let those dreaded black widow spiders live.

Black widows hunt and kill the other dangerous spider native to the Sooner State, fiddlebacks.

While populations vary greatly depending on where in Oklahoma you live, both of these spiders can be found very commonly in every corner of the state.

Brown recluse spiders provide no benefit to humans. 

You can search the entire internet for an excuse to keep a fiddleback around in that live and let live sort of way, but the world is united against this vicious little spider.

First off, the work these spiders do to control pests isn't nearly what you might assume. They feed mostly on dead insects, have adapted to indoor life better than other spiders, and have a bite that can literally kill people in the right conditions.

Most people get a small black circle of dead tissue when bitten. It may take weeks to heal on it's own, and worse, getting help from a doctor doesn't usually speed up the process. The elderly, small children, and those with compounded health issues can have it much worse.

Alternatively, black widows are shockingly beneficial to us. 

I know it's weird that science deems one a deadly pest and the other a benefit to the environment, but it's apparently true.

While it can be a worry to see a black widow in your garden, they do the lion's share of the work in keeping pests off your plants. They consume massive amounts of flies and mosquitoes, but more importantly, they kill and eat fiddlebacks.

Are black widows bad for humans? Of course. They're a venomous species, though bites are less worry than a brown recluse, but can still be just as deadly.

Luckily, neither will randomly lurch out and attack you. 99.999% of bites happen when either species is trapped and feel threatened - aka - you accidentally step on or reach for one in a dark hole.

So we're letting black widows live with us in Oklahoma? 

That's a bit of a stretch, but sort of. Mainly, while it's totally kosher to kill any fiddleback on sight, if a black widow is outside and not an immediate risk to you, your pets, or kids, it's best to leave them be.

How to protect your home from venomous spiders. 

Most people likely spray their homes with one insecticide or another. Tons of people have subscription services to big pest control conglomerates just for that, but it's not doing what you think it is.

Of the spiders in Oklahoma, the brown recluse and black widow aren't affected by spraying the baseboards with poison. It's just the way they're built, they're not affected by it.

Instead, in addition to the spray, put out sticky traps to catch these unwanted guests. Seal up your doors and windows, check for cracks in the exterior they may be getting in through, and keep a clean and tidy home. Venomous spiders live in clutter, take it away and they'll seek out a new home.