I killed a big Black Widow spider in my garage just last week. There are times and places here in AZ that they are EVERYWHERE.

 

But id put up with a little spider for a few extra months of riding anytime.
Mn. is a good place to be, for 3-4 months a year, lol.

06 Artic pearl white 883C
cycles shack slash cut.

 

Don't kid yourself. Black widow bites are BAD - the venom is 14 times more poisonous than rattlesnakes - but because they are so small, rarely will cause death. Just some nasty swelling, pain, nausea, etc. I have quite a number of them around my house as well. Brown recluses are bad news too, but people react differently to spider bites, just like with bee stings.

I read that when female black widows find an ideal "home" they will stay there for their entire life. Looks like yours might be of the biker variety

 

I spent a little over 2 1/2 years in Alamogordo (Holloman AFB) in the mid 90's, and I remember seeing quite a few BW's, rattlers and vinegaroon's in my time in the desert (if you don't know what a vinegaroon is, check out this link: http://www.georgiareptilerescue.com/...vinegaroon.jpg). NM is definitely a place whereyou need to watch out for the creepy-crawlies. I had a soft top Jeep in my time down there, and plenty of times I found BW's and other assorted "Land of Enchantment"critters waiting for me on my seats in the morning drive out to my squadron.

I'm glad to hear that you seem to have cleared your scoot of unwanted passengers!!!

 

Oh, I have that covered too. I have one living under my front porch. But I've yet tohave a scorpion in my house, so I prize that vinegaroon...ugly or not. I told ya....this is like living in Jurassic Park!

 

+1, Very nasty! A buddy at work was bit by one. He was laid out for 2 weeks in the hospital, he still hasn't fully recovered. the venom attacks the central nervous system and in his casehis joints give him grief, wicked...

 

Having grown up in Southwest Florida, I have a hatred for Scorpions. I worked in a State Park and lived in a state -owned trailer for awhile and the place was crawling with Scorpions. They would sit on top of the doors and when you opened the doors they would fall on you. They crawled on the floors, outside in the woods they could be found all over. You never stuck a hand under anything without looking first. I got hit three times in eleven years, the last time in a state vehicle when one came from behind and walked across my collar and nailed me in the chin while I was driving. We have the same kind here in the Pigeon Forge area in the higher elevations where it it is dry and desert-like. Not as potent as the Arizona species, but they hurt big time. If a BW could make a home in a Harley, a paper-thin scorpion could surely do it also.

 

That is why I like my big, ugly vinegaroon!