Can anyone tell me where I can find a site that has info on black widows without pictures?

Question

I have found black spiders running on the ground of my new apartment from time to time (7 in two months!) that look suspiciously like black widows from what I have seen. I know nothing about this, and cannot read up on them because the pictures online with the sites make me hyperventilate and sick. I am terrified of spiders, but since I have only seen them scattering on the floor, I have the courage to squash them with shoes (better dead than not knowing where they are). I still can't stand pictures. PLEASE, PLEASE help! I need info on what these spiders are. (BTW, I live in NC).

Answer 1

I pasted some info from wiki so you don't have to look at the pictures. Spiders also freak me out! I hope this helps.

The black widow spider (Latrodectus spp.) is a spider notorious for its neurotoxic venom. It is a large widow spider found throughout the world and commonly associated with urban habitats or agricultural areas. Although the name 'black widow spider' is most commonly used to refer to the three North American species best known for their dark coloration and red hourglass pattern, it is occasionally also applied to several other members of the Latrodectus (widow spider) genus in which there are 31 recognized species including the Australian red-back, brown widow spider (sometimes called the gray widow), and the red widow spider. In South Africa, widow spiders are also known as the button spiders.
Currently, there are three recognized species of black widow found in North America: The southern black widow (L. mactans), the northern black widow (L. variolus), and the western black widow (L. hesperus). As the name indicates, the southern widow is primarily found (and is indigenous to) the southeastern United States, ranging from Florida to New York, and west to Texas and Oklahoma. Specimens have been found in California as well. The northern widow is found primarily in the northeastern US and southeastern Canada (only on the Bruce Peninsula), though its ranges overlap that of L. mactans quite a bit. The western widow is found in the western half of the United States, as well as in southwestern Canada and much of Mexico. Prior to 1970, when the current taxonomic divisions for North American black widows were set forth by Kaston, all three varieties were classified as a single species, L. mactans. As a result, there exist numerous references which claim that "black widow" (without any geographic modifier) applies to L. mactans alone. As common usage of the term "black widow" makes no distinction between the three species (and many laypersons are unaware of the differences between them), and as the three species have much in common, this article treats all three species of black widow equally. Except where otherwise indicated, the remainder of the article applies to all three of the above species.

Description:
Adult female black widow spiders are gloss black with an hourglass shaped marking on the underside of its abdomen which, although most commonly red, may range in color from white to yellow to various shades of orange and red. They also bear a small, usually red (colors vary) dot near the spinerettes, which is separate from the hourglass. In L. variolus, the two halves of the hourglass shape may be separated into two separate patches. A large female black widow spider can grow to about 1.5 inches (38 mm), counting legspan. The body is about 0.5-0.6 inches (12-16 mm). Male black widow spiders are half the size of the female or smaller. They have longer legs and a smaller abdomen in relation to their body size. They are also usually dark brown with varying colors of stripes/dots, with no hourglass mark. Adult males can be distinguished from juvenile females by their more-slender body, longer legs and large pedipalps typical of most other male spiders.
As with many venomous creatures, the brightly colored markings serve as a warning to predators. Eating a black widow will normally not kill a small predator (birds, et cetera), but the sickness that follows digestion is enough for the creature to remember that the bright red marking means "do not eat." Because the adult female black widow typically hangs and moves about its web upside down, its hourglass is on its front. However, juvenile widows (female) spend a large quantity of time in search of an optimal environment. Once an optimal location is found, adult female widows often spend their entire lives in one place. However, because juvenile females must first find this optimal location, they bear brightly colored marks upon their backs, so that they may be seen by predators when the widow is traveling upon its legs. Males bear similar marks to the females to serve as warning while they are searching for mates, however, the marks are not as prominent (not as brightly colored, or as large). Males, being less venomous, are less of a threat to predators, so having similar marks not as prominent helps predators to better judge their prey (some large birds can eat male widows without adverse effect, and so only avoid female widows. Those who cannot eat any widow without adverse effect eat nothing with the marks). Female juveniles develop an hourglass before the dorsal markings are shed. As is characteristic of all arthropods, black widow spiders have a hard exoskeleton composed of chitin and protein (5).

Components and effects
Although their venom is extremely potent, (15 times as potent than that of the rattlesnakes; it is also reported to be much more potent than the venom of cobras and coral snakes), these spiders are not especially large. Compared to many other species of spiders, their chelicerae are not very large or powerful. In the case of a mature female, the hollow, needle shaped part of each chelicera, the part that penetrates the skin, is approximately 1.0 mm (around .04 inch) long, sufficiently long to inject the venom to a dangerous depth. The males, being much smaller, can inject far less venom and inject it far less deeply. The actual amount injected, even by a mature female, is very small in physical volume. When this small amount of venom is diffused throughout the body of a healthy, mature human, it usually does not amount to a fatal dose (though it can produce the very unpleasant symptoms of Latrodectism). Deaths in healthy adults from Latrodectus bites are relatively rare in terms of the number of bites per thousand people. Only 63 deaths were reported in the United States between 1950 and 1989 (Miller, 1992). On the other hand, the geographical range of the widow spiders is very great. As a result, far more people are exposed, world-wide, to widow bites than are exposed to bites of more dangerous spiders, so the highest number of deaths world-wide are caused by members of their genus. Widow spiders have more potent venom than most spiders, and prior to the development of antivenom, 5% of reported bites result in fatalities.
Improvements in plumbing have greatly reduced the incidence of bites and fatalities in areas where outdoor privies have been replaced by flush toilets. "Nearly ninety percent of the black widow bites reported in the medical literature of the first 4 decades of [the twentieth] century were inflicted on the male genitalia by spiders lurking underneath the seats of outdoor toilets." 1 In Sweden there have been incidents with black widow spiders being found in cars imported from southern USA. Old cars standing unused are an attractive habitat for the spider.

Answer 2

I couldn't find any without pictures so I cut and pasted from a website for you. It's unlikely that what you're seeing are black widows. If you're not sure, then please let one of your friends take a look and compare against pictures on the web because if they are black widows, then they are extremely poisonous!
Black Widow Spider

Araneae: Theridiidae, Latrodectus mactans


SIZE: About 1 1/2 inches (38mm) long, 1/4 inch (6.4mm) in diameter

COLOR: Usually shiny black

DESCRIPTION: The female is usually black with a red spot or hourglass- shaped mark on its round abdomen. The male usually has light streaks on its abdomen.

HABITAT: Black widow spiders are common around wood piles, and are frequently encountered when homeowners carry firewood into the house. Also found under eaves, in boxes, outdoor toilets, meter boxes, and other unbothered places.

LIFE CYCLE: Egg sacs are brown, papery, about ½ inch long and oval. They hold from 25 to 900 or more eggs, which have an incubation period of 20 days. Growth requires two to three months, with older females dying in autumn after egg laying.

TYPE OF DAMAGE: The black widow is not aggressive. It will, however, bite instinctively when touched or pressed.

CONTROL: Be very careful when working around areas where black widow spiders may be established. Take proper precautions-wear gloves and pay attention to where you are working. Black widow bites are sharp and painful, and the victim should go to the doctor immediately for treatment. To control the black widow, carefully remove all materials where they might hide. They can be cleaned out of an area simply by knocking down the webs, spiders, and round tan egg sacs with a stick and crushing them underfoot.

INTERESTING FACTS: The female eats the male after mating. She hangs belly upward and rarely leaves the web.

Answer 3

Spiders should not be murdered. They have done nothing to deserve such treatment from you. Didn't you learn anything from Steve Irwin...Geeeez Get a long handled dust pan scoop them up in that and place them gently into there own environment outside.
If you squash a spider then its screams and ten more will show up to see what happened to its buddy. So you better put um outside!

Answer 4

most have drawings or photos--this one doesnt