Good thing I remembered my gloves.
While turning the composters, I encountered my seasonal black widow—again. She was tucked into the handle of my big black plastic drum composter, the one that rolls on its side. It’s always the same setup: cool, dark, and bug-rich at the bottom. Perfect conditions for a widow to settle in.
This isn’t the first time. She seems to favor the handle cavity, where it’s quiet and undisturbed. With all the compost inside, there’s no shortage of insects to keep her fed.
Of course I had to document it for my readers and to show and tell others.
After filming, I took a brick and smooshed it. Later, I told my daughter, and she said she’d saved a spider that day. Hers was a wolf spider with babies clinging to her back on the pool ladder where she teaches. Mine was a black widow with her babies webbed into a white pea-sized sac nestled in the handle of my composter. I wasn’t about to move it.
So if you’re gardening—or reaching for the handle on a black composter—be careful. They could be deadly.