A few nights ago, my daughter and her boyfriend
were sitting on the couch downstairs in the family room, when all of a sudden Joe said, "something is walking down my leg". He had shorts on at the time, and fortunately a pair of tennis shoes, as this is where she -- a black widow spider – decided to stop.

My daughter, who is afflicted with arachnophobia, screamed and ran the other way, but was nice enough to get Joe something to kill her with. After she was dead, he pulled out the couch from the wall, and started searching for more with a flashlight. He didn’t find anymore, but my daughter will never sit on that couch again (I may not either).

I know that we and probably everybody else in the Western United States has them outside, but I never, and I mean never thought for a second that I would find one in the house. I thought that they were strictly an outdoor spider. Is it possible that she just somehow wandered in that night, or that she maybe had been here awhile? Maybe nesting under the couch cushions? This is really creeping me out, as black widows are the only spider that I fear.

I'd turn the furniture upside down to vaccum underneath real well; slide the 'fridge out to clean under it, move and clean ANY stash of firewood, magazines, etc.

The same kind of housekeeping should continue outside, too, as well as the garage and basement, if you have one. We have had to go through all of the outside cleaning around our home, since we've been bombarded with these spiders. Haven't found one inside YET. ;-)