black widow

I have a black widow living in the back of my pickup truck. I dont want to kill it. I bought a small terrarium and have placed it underneath where she hangs out. I am hoping she will spin her web into the terrarium and i have started to put insects in the terrarium. She is use to me feeding her.  I dont drive the truck every day but she does not seem to mind going 65 down the highway. Any ideas on luring her to the terrarium ? I want my truck back and dont want to worry about her getting inside the cab or having babies.

I caught a black widow when I was young, and kept her in a big jar. I put some small branches, rocks, and other items in it for her habitat. I would feed her different insects and moths, and it was fascinating to watch her stalk her entangled prey, pounce upon it, and wrap it up in silk. She was huge, and at a certain point created a fittingly large egg sac. I had a dream that the sac hatched, and hundreds of tiny, transparent, baby spiders swarmed out through the air holes in the lid and into my living space. I returned her and her future brood to the great outdoors the next day.. haha! Thanks for the memories, and best wishes to you and your stowaway.

Welcome to Permies, where we understand things like feeding spiders!!

I had a boyfriend in high school who kept black widows in terrariums, I saw him move several in.

Be prepared to move fast, have your plan straight and then:
Get a stick, and hook her web about 3 inches above her, twirl the stick to wind up some of the web, lift it up, she will come with it (and quite probably charge up the stick faster than you expect she can move) drop the stick into the terrarium, put a lid that lets air through it on it, break the excess stick off if you need to to get the lid on (might measure the stick before you start, make sure it fits) make sure there is food in the terrarium, and leave the lid on for a couple of days. She'll be fine at that point.

They DO move fast when upset. Once they are calm they go back to not moving much. They are territorial, so she won't voluntarily change her territory, you'll have to make her, but then she'll claim the new place as territory.

:D

Thanks to all who responded. Come to find out she is highly food motivated. She is living the dream in the terrarium in my living room and doing great.

Pearl Sutton wrote:Welcome to Permies, where we understand things like feeding spiders!!

I had a boyfriend in high school who kept black widows in terrariums, I saw him move several in.

Be prepared to move fast, have your plan straight and then:
Get a stick, and hook her web about 3 inches above her, twirl the stick to wind up some of the web, lift it up, she will come with it (and quite probably charge up the stick faster than you expect she can move) drop the stick into the terrarium, put a lid that lets air through it on it, break the excess stick off if you need to to get the lid on (might measure the stick before you start, make sure it fits) make sure there is food in the terrarium, and leave the lid on for a couple of days. She'll be fine at that point.

They DO move fast when upset. Once they are calm they go back to not moving much. They are territorial, so she won't voluntarily change her territory, you'll have to make her, but then she'll claim the new place as territory.

:D