Photo: Amanda Costa

Dr. Bennett says this is a female black widow spider with an 'unhappy grasshopper.'

Earlier this week, Amanda Costa and her family were headed out the front door as usual when she noticed a cluster of black spiders near her feet.

Right beside her front door step was a web of black widow spiders.

"Honestly, I don't like spiders but I am not afraid of it - as long as it's not a problem.  We just kept our daughter away from it," says Costa.

Costa says she saw about 4 spiders, some that looked like babies. She and her husband have been living in Kamloops for five years, but this is the first time they have had black widows so close to home.  

It turns out, black widows are more common in Kamloops than you think.

Castanet spoke to Dr. Robb Bennett, a spider biologist and research associate at the Royal BC Museum who verified that the spiders in the images were in fact black widows. He was not surprised at all.

"They like to be in hot and dry areas," says Dr. Bennett.  "You would never find them on the west coast because there's no habitat suitable for them."

"They are a web building spider, so if the females achieve hunting success where they have their web, they will stay there for pretty much their entire life.  They tend to be loyal to a particular area," Dr. Bennett continues.

Photo: Amanda Costa

Dr. Bennett confirms a smaller male black widow in the left of this image.

Although black widows are infamously venomous, Dr. Bennett says, Costa and all Kamloopsians need not worry.

"There have been four recorded uses of black widow antivenin [an anti-venom] in the last five years across Canada. They were all actually in British Columbia, and those were just presumed black widow spider bites - there was never actually any verification that they were in fact black widow spiders and treated accordingly," he explains.

"It's so extremely rare to be bitten by one, it's just not worth worrying about, in my opinion," says Dr. Bennett.  "Just be aware of where they are. Don't go sticking your hands into a pile of wood without gloves on. A place where they often end up settling, is at the bottom of a wall where the siding meets the concrete, those little gaps.  Just wear gloves, and you should be fine. It's less severe than being stung by a wasp." 

"To put things into perspective: they are all over the Kamloops area," Dr. Bennett continues. 

So, what do you do if you get bitten by one these creepy little inhabitants?

"Well first, if you can, catch the spider in a jar.  We routinely have people claiming to be bitten by a spider, but there is no confirmation of what type of spider.  It's important to collect the spider, get it into a vile or a pill bottle so that it can be identified by someone who specializes in spiders to decipher what actually bit you. Beyond that, it's just general first aid treatment," Dr. Bennett says.

"The way that the venom works is that usually enduces a tetnus type reaction. The classic symptoms are muscle tightness; stomach muscles, chest muscles, they all start to flex and go tight. The large majority of cases resolve themselves without undue intervention. Children, the elderly, people with respiratory issues should get to the hospital," he says.

Dr. Bennett says that humans are unlikely to be bitten by a black widow spider, it's not even worth worrying about.  

Despite the unlikeliness, Costa and her husband felt it was best to remove the spiders because they have a child.