- 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)