Better Leave Her Be

  Every now and again, I come across something that most folks would smash in a heartbeat.  I do not.  I have learned that it is better to just leave things be than to maltreat them.  Take, for example, the Wolf Spider that, for the time being, was living in a bag of potting soil.  I had no idea that the spider had taken up residence in the bag.  While grabbing a large handful to fill a flower pot, I was alerted to her presence.  An intense wiggling and tickling inside my hand alerted me that I had grabbed more than soil.  I opened my hand to discover the lovely lady. She was gently set in the flower pot and I just worked around her.  The Wolf Spider now resides in the flower pot in the greenhouse.  I think she will be happy there and she can earn her keep by eating lots of bugs.

  While finding a Wolf Spider in my hand is interesting enough, this particular spider intrigued me far more than others.  She was guarding a large egg sac! Each time I added more soil to the pot, she would rear up and threaten my hand.  She was doing a fine job of exposing those huge fangs for my benefit.  "You dare touch my babies and I will eat you for supper!", she seemed to be saying.  Little did she know that I had no intentions of harming her or her babies.  One would think that I would be the first to smash any spiders since I am forever being bitten.  To my way of thinking, while Wolf Spider bites are not fun, they are not as bad as the fear of being bitten.  It is best to just ease away from the spider as Wolf Spiders do not attack unless extremely provoked. Like this one, they will rear back and threaten an attack but usually prefer to scurry back into their nooks.  

  Hopefully, my intrusion did not alarm Mama Spider too much.  She and her little ones can have free rein in the greenhouse and in the garden. Spiders of this sort are a gardeners' friend and should not be killed. Just move away and leave her be.  She will not bother you if you do not bother her.