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By Lisa Parent

Black widow mating season, what to do if you find one in your house

Sep 27, 2023 | 5:47 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – If you’re finding more spiders in and around your homes lately, it’s because it’s spider mating season. Black widows may wander into your house as they look for a mate, but they do not give birth to spiderlings until the spring. The interpretive center at Police Point Park has been receiving calls asking what to do if you find a black widow in your house.

Black widow spiders are commonly found in Medicine Hat, because they like the dry coulee conditions. The females are black with a red hourglass on their belly, more venomous than the brown males. Baby black widow spiders are smaller and not very venomous. Black widow bites can be very painful, but are rarely fatal.

Mhairi Donnelly is the assistant chief interpreter at Police Point Park and she says you can remove a black widow from your house by gently pushing it into a jar with a spoon. Then, take it into the coulee and set it free.

However, Donnelly says black widows are rarely a threat to humans, and can usually be left alone.

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“Anything that has venom, whether it’s spider or snake, they really don’t want to use it on us because we’re not their natural prey. They’re smart enough to know that if they waste their venom on us, it’s going to take them a long time to build that venom store back up,” explains Donnelly.

She adds, “black widows are generally quite a territorial spider. We’ve been saying to people, ‘if you find one, you’re probably not going to find another, or at least not in that immediate area, because they don’t really tolerate each other very well.’”

Children, pets and those with existing health-conditions may be more at risk to black widow bites. Donnelly says it’s important to educate children on giving spiders space and respecting them. If you suspect you were bit by a black widow, do seek hospital treatment.