Black Widow

Recently had an exterminator come and "neutralize" the overwhelming number of black widow spiders that seem to thrive on my property. As much as it pains me to kill them, the alternative, keeping them alive, scares the crap out of me.

Let me put this into perspective for you. One female spider can produce up to 4 egg sacs per year. Each sac can contain 400-600 little ones. At any one time I can have 2-5 webs in the back yard. Not to mention the front, side, neighbours, community, ugh. The breeding power of these spiders is amazing.

I have become a self proclaimed expert, studying them over the past two years. After, the exterminator came, I decided to harvest a dead spider for a specimen (maybe to gift my father). The spider looked dead for 4 days (curled up; lifeless).

Today, when I walked by its jar home it was fully erect, legs extended like tiny grandma fingers. I am still amazed, and left with a dilemma, do I let it go since it obviously came back from the dead, keep it in the glass prison, or finish the job?