There's a black widow in my pc

[skippy1130]

yeah so basically i went to clean my pc today and i found a black spider with a red hourglass hanging out on my graphics card. it is now hanging around the cable management in the back and im petrified. i immediately closed the glass panel and im debating what to do. will heat kill the spider? how the hell did it get in there? what are my options here? so far ive turned off my fans and im benchmarking constantly to attempt to kill it with heat. 

 

Edit: I called pest control and after they removed the spider, I tore apart my pc, removed all the webs and I can confirm there are no eggs. I put it back together, closed my window (where I assume it came from) and I think we're good now. Thanks for the help y'all.

[skippy1130]

also, will a spider corpse damage my mobo at all? not the biggest of my concerns, but i still hope to not destroy it.

[PeachGr]

You can always use a vaccine cleaner I guess. I can also give you nightmares to tell you two things:

1) SHE HAS EGGS THERE ALREADY!!!

2) As she got inside, SHE CAN GET OUTSIDE OF THE CASE AS WELL!!!

[SnowyMus]

Are you sure that the hourglass is not just the ghost of Windows Me trying to haunt you?

 

Anyway, the heat might not be effective at killing it, as it's possible it'll retreat to a cooler part of the case (or outside of the case entirely) and, as a result, will be harder to actually find. Also, it's unlikely that it'll even try to bite you.

 

You can probably get it out of the case with a can of compressed air. You don't risk static electricity, and it's pretty effective at convincing bugs to promptly evacuate an area you don't want them in. Inverting the can and spraying (basically doing what the can tells you NOT to do) can quickly freeze it, too, and the freezing liquid evaporates quickly.

 

Then when it leaves, remove it from your house. I'd just trap it in a glass and let it out (if it's not dead), but you can also kill it outright.

[SansVarnic]

@skippy1130 Black widows like dark warm spaces, which is probably why she is in there (yes it is a she, males are small and not marked the same).

The heat will not kill her. I would suggest you take your case outside and see if you can dump out onto the ground, then remove everything from the case to make sure she did not lay an egg sack. If so use a vacuum cleaner to remove it properly. ( a vacuum cleaner would work on her as well ...)

 

 

For basic comparison the larger on is the Female. Females depending on which species will on average will grow to 1.5 inches.

 

2 hours ago, skippy1130 said:

also, will a spider corpse damage my mobo at all? not the biggest of my concerns, but i still hope to not destroy it.

No, the likeliness is very remote.

[thisisderpy]

Don't worry, bites will rarely cause death or produce serious complications!

[gloop]

God, log onto the forums just expecting to answer some tech questions and @SansVarnic shows up with a picture of a massive spider, igniting my arachnophobia.

[Roswell]

31 minutes ago, thisisderpy said:

Don't worry, bites will rarely cause death or produce serious complications!

You absolutely need to seek treatment after being bit by one, regardless. Uncontrollable spasms and serious hypertension/stroke is no joke.

[thisisderpy]

1 minute ago, Vitamanic said:

You absolutely need to seek treatment after being bit by one, regardless. Uncontrollable spasms and serious hypertension/stroke is no joke.

Oh, I'm definitely not saying you shouldn't seek medical treatment, just saying death isn't likely.

[mr moose]

Just kill it,  A Bit of fly spray should sort it out.

[Statik]

There's one solution.

[Eighjan]

8 hours ago, gloop said:

God, log onto the forums just expecting to answer some tech questions and @SansVarnic shows up with a picture of a massive spider, igniting my arachnophobia.

You DO know that the typical size of a female Black Widow is about 1½"/38mm long...

 

That ain't big... Theraphosa Blondi - THAT'S big.

[gloop]

5 minutes ago, Eighjan said:

You DO know that the typical size of a female Black Widow is about 1½"/38mm long...

 

That ain't big... Theraphosa Blondi - THAT'S big.

 

jesus christ

[Eighjan]

1 minute ago, gloop said:

 

jesus christ

TOLD ya...

 

Cute, ain't it...?  

[TetraSky]

48 minutes ago, gloop said:

-snip-

 

jesus christ

 

The fact you found one in your PC, could also indicate that there are more in your home. I'm highly doubtful that the one Black Widow in your house found her way into your PC. I'd get an exterminator to vaporize the house with chemicals at the least, too. 

[X-System]

I prefer jumping spider, it's cuter and funny

[Reytime]

What region are you from? I'd burn my house and move far away if I ever found a black widow in my PC.

[Tan3l6]

Bats or ants nest would be worse i think... but I'm no expert.

[Letgomyleghoe]

1 minute ago, X-System said:

I prefer jumping spider, it's cuter and funny

I always get a few in my house around spring time, I’m always happy to see them, I always keep a few and make them a little enclosure.

 

1 minute ago, Tan3l6 said:

Bats or ants nest would be worse i think... but I'm no expert.

Bat nest, eh, not really to scary to me, I find bats cute. Ants are annoying but are uh, *

”susceptible” to high psi pressure washers.

[Tan3l6]

4 minutes ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

Bat nest, eh, not really to scary to me, I find bats cute. Ants are annoying but are uh, *

”susceptible” to high psi pressure washers.

There's a differtence between bats and flying foxes though. Flying foxes would be great news to me...

otherwise:

I guess the reference system would be Schmidt sting pain index. Bullet ant seems bad, at least from Coyote Petersons videos..

[Intergalacticbits]

I'd just vacuum it out.

I wouldn't spray bug killer in a pc case because bug spray can be flammable. 

I wouldn't squish it in the case because depending on the size of it, squishy bug guts in your pc might just draw more bugs in the case (ants probably love squishy spider guts). 

 

 

 

 

[SansVarnic]

9 hours ago, gloop said:

God, log onto the forums just expecting to answer some tech questions and @SansVarnic shows up with a picture of a massive spider, igniting my arachnophobia.

Just for you... hope this helps

Spoiler

 

[gloop]

Just now, SansVarnic said:

Just for you... hope this helps

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

I hate you.

 

jk obviously. pls no ban hammer

[SansVarnic]

I live in Iowa, Black Widows are a thing.

[Lord Vile]

17 minutes ago, SansVarnic said:

I live in Iowa, Black Widows are a thing.

I live in the UK so the worst venomous thing here is an adder but from reading around is it true that though the bites can fucking hurt they not super lethal outside of the usual elderly, children and health issues crowd?