I found a black widow spider in a plant pot today

The spider I found is a western black widow spider, one of three species of black widow that occur in North America.  The fact that this one has another red patch on the back of its abdomen above the spinnerettes tells us that it is an immature individual.

The one thing that people know about black widow spiders is that they are extremely poisonous.  Their venom is something like 15x more toxic than that of a rattlesnake.  The saving grace is that there is very little venom injected from a black widow bite than what a rattlesnake can deliver.  

The good news is that black widow bites seldom lead to death.  You are more likely to suffer nausea, muscle pain, and swelling around the bite.  Symptoms usually last only 12 hours or so.  Death may be a result in people with compromised immune systems or in the very young or the elderly.  

In 2018, it was reported that there were 1015 cases of people bitten by black widows.  Of those, there were no deaths, but 5 people had potentially life-threatening symptoms.  The bottom line is that, while a black widow bite may certainly ruin your day, it is not at all likely to kill you or cause lasting damage.  Now, the brown recluse spider is a very different story.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com