GGA Blog

If you have a tempting garden to protect, you may be familiar with voles

Many people are under the impression that the brown recluse spider has a violin shape on its abdomen. It is further believed that all BR's including males and females, have this mark in common. Actually, this method of identification is completely worthless since many spiders sport similar markings.

Most people probably assume that spiders have amazing eyes that have adapted to see anything during the jungle nights. Actually, with the exception of a few spiders, most spiders stumble around like fools in the dark just as we humans do. And like humans, spiders need tools to help them navigate through the dark. The jungle dwelling whip spider uses its legs as its primary tool for successfully navigating itself home during the black of night. However, the whip spider does not just use its legs for the obvious task of crawling, it also uses its legs to smell

We have all heard of the dreaded illness known as Lyme disease. This disease is spread to humans via the blacklegged tick. The Centers for Disease Control Estimates that three hundred thousand people per year become infected with Lyme disease. There is exists another type of Lyme spreading tick, but luckily, this second tick, Ixodes affinis

Who doesn't like to take a dip in a nice cool swimming pool during the summer months? During heat waves the local swimming pool can be a life saver for people, and apparently, for spiders as well. Spiders seeking out cool bodies of water, which includes swimming pools, is an understandable behavior for a cold blooded creature looking for relief in the summer heat. Finding spiders heading for swimming pools, and actually finding spiders inside of swimming pools

To this day there is still no solid evidence that spiders carry infectious bacteria on their fangs. However, this does not necessarily mean you are safe from infected bug bites. A study conducted in Brazil demonstrated that gangrene causing bacteria can be present

There is a longstanding myth that spiders are able to avoid sticking to their own webs by secreting some kind of oil on their feet

Since spiders have two fangs you would think that a spider bite would leave two puncture wounds on a person's skin. And this is somewhat true. Both of a spider's fangs inject venom into its victim's bloodstream, but not all wounds will appear to be from two fangs. In any spider that is smaller than a tarantula, the two fangs will be so close together

There have been stories in the past that pop up telling about a spider that brutally maimed and mutilated a poor blind grandmother, or something of that nature. However, the truth is rarely as dramatic