Fighting Spiders

I went spider hunting this weekend. I was going to mow the lawn, which admittedly, I hadn't done in a while. During the summer, I keep the riding mower (I know, I have NO excuse for not mowing!) parked in the garage and my car lives outside. So I really hadn't been in there in a long time. The place was COVERED with spiders. Big ones, little ones, spindly ones, dark ones, light ones, and baby ones in sacs. I lost count after 20. I sprayed them & stomped on them & smacked them with a broom. I was very concerned about unseen spidies jumping on my legs once I got on the mower to back it out of the garage. Thus, my spider-fighting uniform. I know, I'm such a superhero. (Note to anyone who might publish this blog again. Kindly do not include this picture. Thanks.)


It didn't occur to me to document this spider infestation until I was finished. Instead I took pictures of the granddaddy long legs that live on my house. These pictures were taken in about a 5-foot area on the side of my house. (The second picture is sideways, not that it matters.) I want you to imagine 5 times that number of spiders in the same space.





And now imagine most of them look like this:



At least, I think that's what they looked like. They were dark and had big round butts. I did not get close enough to examine markings. I choose to believe it was the extended family of that one above, and not of this lady here below:

[Edit: I found a big-butted spider on one of my glue traps, and it is, thank goodness, the former & not the latter. I also caught a wolf spider.]