+Poidawg Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 It seems every other cache I find, has at least one spider guarding the egg casing attached to the cache, making a home or in some other way menacing my attempts to pull the cache out to get into it. Im considering getting gloves after the last two caches. One had a mating pair of wolf spiders guarding an egg casing which had little babies crawling all over it. The male wolf spider was ready to go again with his front legs all swollen and discolored. I had a time getting them to move away for a bit until I finished my log and trades. Today I met a nice sized black widow, and have run into some false widows before, Im not interested in getting bit, and todays black widow was pretty close to my fingers. Do you cachers were gloves, or just hope you wont get bit? And what about the scorpions? I turned over a log and found a scorpion a bit dazed and confused, but not agressive at all. We parted ways, both living and without bothering each other further, but....eeep Quote Link to comment
+4leafclover Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 my garsh! I got the heeby jeebies just reading that! Quote Link to comment
snowfoxrox Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I carry 2 types of gloves, the latex type (usefull for dirty sites- like today's bird poo encrusted hide) and heavy duty leather gloves for sticking hands in questionable places. (I HATE the idea of being bitten by a spiders and other creepy crawleys) ICK! Quote Link to comment
+Tumbleweed45 Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 About 3 years ago I got bit on the finger by a Brown Recluse. (I wasn't geocaching at the time) You can find pictures online to see the damage those bites cause. I didn't lose my finger but it is now stiff because the venom dissolved the cartilidge in the joints and the bones fused together. So, I not only wear gloves but use a stick with a hook on it to pull caches out of holes. I would recommend all cachers do the same. Tumbleweed45 Quote Link to comment
+Airmapper Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 ... I got bit on the finger by a Brown Recluse. ... Is your avatar a photo taken of this in progress? Quote Link to comment
+switchdoc Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 I often use spider webs to try and determine if the cache I am looking for is in the particular hidey-hole I am staring into. Unbroken webs usually mean thats not the right spot if the last find in the cache logs was recent. At the same time there are definitely places where I THINK I know where the cache might be but the entire area just screams "I AM NOT PUTTING MY HAND IN THERE NUH UH NO WAY NO HOW". For those occasions, I am thinking of buying some tough work gloves. I imagine those would be handy for the dang prickly bushes that seem to be surrounding every urban cache out here as well Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 I usually have a trekking pole with me and I use that to poke around for and retreive many caches. Quote Link to comment
+Runfrog Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 switchdoc had a good tip.... if the web ain't broken the cache ain't there. better yet if you find a fellow cacher wrapped in spider silk..BEWARE. you can also use their old, dead, dried out limbs to poke around with. hey better them than you. Quote Link to comment
+Colorado Cacher Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Was doing a cache in the Pueblo Reservoir area this last summer when I was watching my step and observed two large black very hairy legs reverse back down a hole I just walked by with a round webbing in the front of it (ill see if I can find the picture & post). I did a double take and realized that I did just see a Tarantula scurry back down into the hole as I walked by it two inches from my foot. Quote Link to comment
Rebelgent Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 I not only carry a very large walking stick to poke around holes and crevices, but consider it a handy thing to have to fend off an unfriendly dog, snake, raccoon, or some other critter not happy with my geo caching hobby. (It doesn't work against mosquitos though!) Thankfully, I've never needed to put it to such use. I also wear ankle high leather safety shoes with steel toes in them. I have kicked and tripped over my share of stones and tree roots and this seems to prevent the stubbed toe thing. The ankle high leather boots do give me some sense of security against a snakebite too. . .though most snakes I've seen are in a hurry to get away from me. Almost all the caches hidden around me are on or around natural trails with a lot of wildlife . . .and I suppose you have to be ready for whatever you run across while you're out on the trails. Quote Link to comment
+Lone Duck Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 switchdoc had a good tip.... if the web ain't broken the cache ain't there. better yet if you find a fellow cacher wrapped in spider silk..BEWARE. you can also use their old, dead, dried out limbs to poke around with. hey better them than you. A spider can build a web overnight. They get hungry and want to eat NOW! Quote Link to comment
+MAG315 Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 For me, the best defense is a good, bright flashlight. I usually carry a Brinkman Maxfire which is bright enough to illuminate just about any dark area. I also look around until I find a good, strong stick to poke around with to flush out any "critters' the flashlight may not have revealed. I had a friend that was bitten by a brown recluse while working in his yard and I sure don't want to go through what he did. Quote Link to comment
+TetrAmigos Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 For me, the best defense is a good, bright flashlight. I usually carry a Brinkman Maxfire which is bright enough to illuminate just about any dark area. I also look around until I find a good, strong stick to poke around with to flush out any "critters' the flashlight may not have revealed. I had a friend that was bitten by a brown recluse while working in his yard and I sure don't want to go through what he did. My wife was bitten in the foot by a BR spider and boy, you aren't kidding. That's a hell I wish on nobody. Quote Link to comment
+Sue Gremlin Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 We are careful, but don't go insane trying to avoid spiders. To do so would make us nuts. We happened upon this colorful little guy in North Jersey over the summer. It doesn't hurt to use bug spray so they are more reluctant to bite you. I hope you don't let spiders keep you from enjoying your caching experience. Quote Link to comment
+EScout Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 Another fun thing you can find when you stick your hand in a hole are scorpions. It was painful but no lasting damage. I now use a stick and leather gloves when searching. Quote Link to comment
+The red-haired witch Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Gloves are certainly a good idea when caching... they protect you from frostbite too! (Not many spiders in the snow eh?) Quote Link to comment
+Poidawg Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 I would NEVER think of using bug spray to ward against spiders. Like snakes they are instrumental to a good balance in nature. It looks like the spiderling you are holding is a juvenile orb weaver. I could be wrong. They are beautiful garden spiders, and great to have around. I am not afraid of spiders, in fact I have sought out and taken some classes in spider behavior and life span etc.. However, getting bit by a false widow or a black widow can be most detrimental to ones health and can take years to recover from. I am always careful when reaching into a any covered close quartered area. Quote Link to comment
+sarhound Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 I always wear leather work gloves and poke with a stick before I reach in to get a cache. I got bitten on the inner thigh 20 years ago by a brown recluse spider; the resulting damage came within a couple of millimeters of the femoral artery, and I almost lost my leg. It took a few years to heal up the injury. I still carry a scar, and I've lost sensation in the area. Needless to say, if it has more than 4 legs, you'll usually see me headed in the opposite direction... Quote Link to comment
+nfa Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 I reached into a cache to grab a huge fake spider for my son, and with my fingers an inch away...it leapt straight up and out of the cache container...a move I mimic-ed... Jamie Quote Link to comment
+Henki Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 One had a mating pair of wolf spiders guarding an egg casing which had little babies crawling all over it. The male wolf spider was ready to go again with his front legs all swollen and discolored. I had a time getting them to move away for a bit until I finished my log and trades. It disturbs me that anyone recognizes the mating habits of spiders! I carry gloves in my backpack. Quote Link to comment
darwinmay Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 switchdoc had a good tip.... if the web ain't broken the cache ain't there. better yet if you find a fellow cacher wrapped in spider silk..BEWARE. you can also use their old, dead, dried out limbs to poke around with. hey better them than you. I'm not sure about that.... Some species of orbweaver such as neoscona (niascona?) can build their webs extremely quick for something so small, I've seen a totally new web built overnight under our porch roof. Quote Link to comment
+txknight Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I tend to use work gloves when caching. Not only do they help prevent pesky bug bites when sticking my hands in dark holes, but they help when I'm trying to push thorny brush aside (which seems to be everywhere). TXKnight Quote Link to comment
+lacey38655 Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 While out looking for my second cache, My husband and I had our 3 year old daughter with us. We had been walking through thick brush for about 30 minutes when my daughter started screaming out loud, SPIDER, this will make you look. Well come to find out, the owner of the cache had tied a fake halloween spider to a string then to the cache, which was hidden inside a water pipe. Once we explained to her that the spider wasn't real, and that we were treasure hunting, she was happier. You never know what you will come across out in the wild, put there or not. Quote Link to comment
+sayter liften Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 (edited) we have a spider here in vegas and he keeps stealing the caches and leaves his stupid calling cards Edited May 9, 2006 by sayter liften Quote Link to comment
+SUp3rFM & Cruella Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 We met this beauty at GCRE96 (in Portugal) inside the outer bag of the cache: It's harmless. Think that Portugal doesn't have any of those dangerous spider species. Quote Link to comment
+Lumpy_The_Great Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 Yeesh I hate spiders. When I was working as a courier in Houston I got bit by something while I was napping in front of Chase Tower I have no idea what bit me but it never hurt, didn't rot my forearm and never even turned black or bruised or anything. But, my left forearm looked like there was a golf ball under the skin for about a week and there were two little puncture marks about 2mm apart. Really glad I didn't see the dadgum thing as I would have gone nuts. Quote Link to comment
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