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Don't Kill a Spider with a Blow Torch


Jean in Newcastle
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We used to have spider conflagrations on a regular basis in FL.  One had to do something.  We always kept a hose handy, as well.  It was a very efficient way of reclaiming the underside of the porch roof.

 

 

ETA: this was a daytime activity.  I wouldn't trust myself with a blowtorch after 8 pm.

 

ETA #2: btw, I'm talking about outside, not inside, with a small propane blowtorch.  We would have thousands of spiders that would make their homes on the bushes (we'd just knock down those webs periodically with a broom) and hanging from the underside of the roof over the porch.  Their webs were very sticky, and they would wrap up little bundles of whatever they'd eat.  For months they'd be fine, but eventually the webs would start hanging down, like a string of sticky beads, so you couldn't use your porch.  That's when it would time for thinning the spider population again.

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Is this about that woman who was charged with arson for setting fire to her house in order to get rid of a spider? I don't recall seeing anything about a blowtorch though.

 

Wait, you mean there are others who think this is a good idea? Using fire inside your house to get rid of spiders, I mean.

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I thought there would be an interesting personal anecdote that went with this title.

 

I'm glad your house is intact. I'm a little disappointed.

Lol - no personal anecdote.  I was just watching the news with pictures of a  house in flames because a man (I think an older teen) tried to kill a spider with a blow torch.  It was a rental.  Can you imagine trying to explain that to your landlord?  

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We have black widows everywhere around my house. We use a small propane blowtorch to get rid of them OUTSIDE ( luckily I have never seen a widow inside ). They get up in all the kids outside toys, the swing set, EVERYWHERE! So every month or so, DH takes the blowtorch and burns out all the webs and egg sacks.

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Oh my goodness.  It sounds like a saying, not something anyone really did.  You know, it should be a saying.  Like, someone says they're about to go too far and you reply, "Well, that might be too much.  You don't want to kill a spider with a blowtorch."

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Is this about that woman who was charged with arson for setting fire to her house in order to get rid of a spider? I don't recall seeing anything about a blowtorch though.

 

Wait, you mean there are others who think this is a good idea? Using fire inside your house to get rid of spiders, I mean.

 

Yes, I saw this too. She caught a towel on fire or something like that. 

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Only time I've killed a spider was when I found a black widow and a big fat egg sack in my back yard. I doused both with bleach...not sure that was the best solution but it was what came to mind.

 

I don't like killing things, and rather like the harmless spider varieties we see most days, but draw the line at back widows.

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Just bc one person had a bad experience blow torching his spider doesn't mean this is an inherently bad idea.

 

I suppose our homeschooler souls can appreciate the guy's innovative spirit, but we will have to deduct several million points for common sense.

 

Everybody on the news is wondering: did the spider survive?

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Only time I've killed a spider was when I found a black widow and a big fat egg sack in my back yard. I doused both with bleach...not sure that was the best solution but it was what came to mind.

 

So, did the black widow spider become a white widow spider?!

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Oldest son once melted ice off our front steps with a blow torch. I didn't even know what he had been doing until he bolted into the house to grab the fire extinguisher. The bush next to the steps was aflame..and not even any voice of God coming from it. The bush is gone now, RIP, and I planted some flowers and ground cover in its place.

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