Housing idea for rearing black widow spiderlings...

[Code Monkey]

... without getting my building fumigated after someone finds one in their apartment three months down the road?

I've got an L. variolus that dropped an eggsac shortly after I caught her (she's such a good mom taking care of it :D) and in a fit of no common sense I'm planning on letting them hatch and try to rear the slings. She's currently in a pickle jar with some holes in the lid which I pretty much figure means 200 baby widows all over my home if I can't come up with a better idea for housing.

[johns]

Hi, Code-

Gordon Grice suggests using a large, portable wooden box with mesh screening on four sides so the L. variolus can't climb through.
Misting is to be done once a day, and let the strong cull the weak out, til they're large enough to accept the smallest prey item possible, which should be within the second molt or so...
Hope this helps.

John

[Alex S.]

I simply use plastic cups with moist paper-towel with wire-mesh rubberbanded to the top to raise my Latrodectus spiderlings. One of my three Latrodectus bishopi (red widow) females just dropped me an eggsac. :)

Alex S.

[Wade]

I use a cup-within-a-cup method to rear mantids, and I think it might work for widows. I also have an L. variolus sac right now and may try this.

I glue a very fine mesh (finer than window screen) accross the opening of a 32 oz deli cup. The bottom of said cup is cut off. The screen topped bottomless cup is dropped into a second, unaltered 32 oz deli. Twigs could be glued inside the upper cup for web attachment points, and the sac suspended in there. Whe the li'l boogers emerge, they can be fed by lifting the top cup (where all the spiders will be) and dropping fruit flies (or whatever tiny prey you offer) into the bottom cup. Of course, initially they'll probably eat one annother. Sooner or later, however, you're gonna have to open it and split 'em up. Escape risk high! It might be best to do this oudoors for obvious reasons. I talked to a guy once who deliberately put eggsacs behind his couch and returned to harvest them later!

Wade

[Alex S.]

Hey Wade, yeah, I also use that method for adult specimens, works great.

Alex S.