- I'm Coyote Peterson and
I'm about to free-handle the Black Widow Spider. Are you ready? - [Cameraman] Let's do it. - Here we go. One. Two. Three. (adventure music) What's going on, guys? Who's ready to
catch some spiders? - I am.
- Yeah? Okay. So, right now, we are on
location in Tucson, Arizona. And as you can see, we're
right outside the house. You know what lives
on houses in Arizona? Black Widow Spiders. And right now, we're gonna
use this little container and this stick and
try to find one. Are you ready? - [Cameraman] Okay. - Now, you're probably
thinking to yourselves, really, Coyote, you're gonna
find a Black Widow Spider right outside your house? I have seen webs everywhere. You see this? All up here in the
edges of these rocks? Those spider webs are most
likely made by a Black Widow. And what we're gonna do is
move all around the house, look in the plants,
look in the crevices, look by the gutters,
and I guarantee you, it won't take me long to find
one of these venomous spiders. Come on, let's go. Now, I could just start
lifting up rocks like this, looking for them, but
I'm hoping to find one already naturally
hanging out in its web. In this real open rock
structure like this is absolutely perfect for them. - [Cameraman] So, Coyote, why
is it that we're not like out in the desert looking
for Black Widows? Like, why are we looking
around our house? - Black Widows are
actually drawn to houses. Can you imagine why? What do spiders eat? Other bugs. Bugs are drawn into lights
so where there are lights at night and the bugs
come in, the spiders have the chance for a feast. That's why I'm looking
right here around the edge of the house. - [Cameraman] And that
would worry a lot of people. - Oh yeah, well people, as
we know, the fear of spiders, arachnophobia, people are
absolutely terrified of spiders and Black Widows specifically
because of the potency of their venom. Look at this. Oh, there's one! Oh! - [Cameraman] Did you see one? - Totally saw it, there's
no way you saw it, this is definitely a Black
Widow web right here. It was hanging just down
on the edge of this rock. Hold on. They're actually really
quick when they dart, yeah, no, it's back up in there. Yep, 100%, that's a Black
Widow hole right there. Well, not actually
on the house but just a couple feet away from it. Alright, let's move down
this way and keep looking. We're gonna get one. Let's check out
the fire pit here. - [Cameraman] You were telling
me you had a good feeling about the fire pit. - [Coyote] I see some webs. Oh, I see one right there. - [Cameraman] You got one? - Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Oh, it's going back there. Hold on a second. Oh, there it is, right there. Look at that. Okay, let me get it
into the container. Oh, it's going towards my thumb. Okay. Let's see if she'll
walk right in there. Go, go, go. Yes!
- Ha ha! - There we go. Little bit of air got
her into the container and there you have it. That is a female Black Widow. Exactly what we
were looking for. Sure enough, right
here in the fire pit, it's kind of a dangerous spot
to be leaving your web there. Wow, okay, well, now I'm
gonna show you why this is an arachnid you just need
to admire from a safe distance and not necessarily
be afraid of. What I'm about to do here is
prove that the Black Widow is not out to bite you. I'm going to actually
free-handle this spider. - [Cameraman] Oh boy. - You guys ready for this? - [Cameraman] You told us
you were gonna try this if we found a Black Widow. - Well I didn't tell you at
the beginning of the episode, I know I told you and
I know I told Mario and I said to really
disprove that the Black Widow is just out there to bite
you, I'm going to let it walk on my hands and on my
arms and, hopefully, not take a bite. Now, you can see she's just
laying on the bottom there, actually playing dead,
rolled up in a little ball. That is a defense
mechanism, especially when there's nowhere to escape to. I will note that there is
no one in the past 10 years that has died from the
bite of a Black Widow. The bite is very painful, it
can cause stomach cramping, it can cause vomiting,
it can cause dry mouth, lot of pain for several hours
so I do not want to be bitten. Either way, I will
admit that I am nervous, I do not have
arachnophobia, which we know is the fear of spiders,
but when you're looking at the Widow, it definitely
gets your heart racing. I'm Coyote Peterson and
I'm about to free-handle the Black Widow Spider. Are you ready? - [Cameraman] Let's do it. - Here we go. One. Two. Three. (intense music) Oh my. Went right on to the
edge of my finger. Okay now she's
going down my arm. She's actually spun a
little thread of web, like she's becoming
secured to me. Oh, I thought she
was about to bite. Now, one thing most
people don't realize about the Black Widow Spider
is that if it does inflict a bite, that bite is
oftentimes just a warning and they aren't actually
injecting as much venom as they would into,
say, a prey item. They're not looking to
kill you as a human, they're simply looking
to startle you so that they can ultimately get away. Can you see that? She is just tangling
my arms up with web. It's almost invisible to
the eye but I can feel it all over me, tangling me up. Kinda makes me a bit
nervous, I'm getting covered in spiderweb right now. Let me actually get her
back onto the stick. Oh, oh, oh. - [Cameraman] That
looks dangerous. - I scared her there. I'm gonna get her
on the stick here. I gotta get some of this
webbing off of my arm. There you go. It's really sticky
and every single time that I move my arm, I
can feel that web pulling and pulling her and what
I'm afraid of is that she's gonna get startled
and then inflicted a bite. Now this is a female. Females are larger than
the males and they have that quintessential red
hourglass shape on the abdomen. That is the easiest way to
identify one of these spiders. You know she's very
dark in coloration as that big, bulbous abdomen. - [Cameraman] Do you
think she's calm enough to go back on your hand? - The question is
am I calm enough to let her get back on my hand? Yeah, let's see. - [Cameraman] So why is
the spider not biting you? - The spider's not biting
me because I'm not applying any pressure to its body,
ooh, now I can't see her, where is she? - On your thumb.
- Going round that side. And, as long as I
don't apply pressure, hopefully she will stay calm
and I will not be bitten. Alright, she feels very
comfortable right there on the edge of my thumb, I'm going to keep my
hand incredibly still. You may notice that
the tone of my voice has slightly changed. That is because she is right
on the edge of my thumb. Can you see that? - [Cameraman] Mm-hmm. - She feels hidden right
there, she's comfortable, she's in the crevice of my
thumb and, without me talking real loudly next to
her, she's just thinking okay, I'm hidden, I was
captured from my web. Don't worry, sweetie, we're
gonna put you right back in the web, nothing to fear. Now, I would never
recommend that you go out and try to pick
up a Black Widow. If you see a Black Widow
outside of your house, you do not need to
be afraid of it. Remember, these arachnids
are eating the pest insects that are out there. Could be mosquitoes, could
be moths, whatever it is the spider has no
interest in biting you. Oftentimes the way a bite
happens is when somebody grabs onto the spider
accidentally and is bitten. Now, let's say you walk through
the web of a Black Widow and you find it on your
person, do not panic. The best thing to do
is to just remain calm, try to pick up a stick,
something like this, let the spider
crawl onto the stick and then place it back
into the environment. I'm sure a lot of you out
there who have arachnophobia are watching me handle
this spider right now and you're just
cringing in your seats. And I will not lie, my
mouth is getting dry and I am trying my best to
not shake my hand right now, despite the fact that
I'm incredibly nervous. I'm gonna very
slowly turn my hand. There you go, sweetie. Don't move. Look at that. That is one of the
most venomous spiders in the United States. And it is just gently
clutched right there on the edge of my hand. I would definitely say that
this was pretty intense. Free-handling the one and
only Black Widow Spider. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave, stay wild, we'll see you on
the next location. I said it before and
I can't say it enough. Never attempt to
free-handle a Black Widow. Like all spiders,
they're venomous and a bite from this
specific species is incredibly painful. If you see a Black Widow
hanging out in a web near your residence, simply
admire it from a safe distance and you will be just fine. Okay, after getting
the macro shots, the most important part:
letting the spider back into its web. You ready?
- Yep. (creepy music) - [Coyote] If you though
handling the Black Widow was intense, make sure to go
back and watch the episode where I free-handled the
notorious Bark Scorpion. And don't forget, subscribe so
you can join me and the crew on our next location. (bear growls)
(eagle squawks)
Ah just went to post this also, this is honestly a great video, he does such a good job explaining why there's no need to fear even one of the most dangerous spiders out there, I love coyote for this exact reason, he's very good at educating people away from their fears while still making them aware of the potential danger
Plus he likes to get bit by stuff, and that's just damn good tv
Unfortunately, I felt like I had to crush a fair number when moving into my house, a year and a half ago. I have a toddler, and there were way too many large black widows around the house, so I really wanted to reduce their numbers, especially of the very large ones. They don't represent much danger to an adult, but their venom is a bit of a risk to a small child.
Coyote Peterson is one of my favorite people on YouTube. He's so educated, he knows what he's talking about and makes sure to take all kinds of safety precautions when handling animals. Quality YouTube channel
I'm sorry, but I draw the line at spiders that have dangerous-to-humans venom. They might be fine most of the time, but if they decide to climb in bed with me and I startle them, it could be very bad.
That said, I'm open to anyone who wants to CMV
This is a great video. Even though I knew he wasn't going to get bitten I was still nervous just watching the video. Just like everyone else on this sub I love spiders, but I have always been just a little scared of the black widows, but this really informed me that I still need to be careful around them