Darwin Material? Man Using Blowtorch to Kill Spider...

... burns his house down, causes $60,000 in damages and no one knows if the spider is even dead?

Quote:

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A man who apparently took the expression “kill it with fire” just a tad too literally caused his house to go up in flames after he attempted to kill a spider with a lighter and a can of spray paint. He spotted the eight-legged intruder in the laundry room of his West Seattle home Tuesday evening and promptly went after it, local ABC affiliate KOMO reports. Firefighters arrived at the scene and eventually extinguished the blaze, but the fire had already caused significant damage. It will cost around $40,000 to repair the house and another $20,000 to repair or replace the items inside.

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If not Darwin material, then the stuff that Brainiacs are made of.

Man Tries to Kill a Spider and Ends Up Burning His House Down

http://i62.tinypic.com/zjuuwy.gif

I like this, from the end of the article:

You’re probably thinking, Well, at least the fire must have killed the spider! Ha-ha-ha! But no. Nobody can confirm if the spider survived or not. So basically, this spider could have gotten out alive and then watched the house burn from the safety of a nearby tree, probably petting a white cat and laughing maniacally.

And this is from Time magazine, no less.

We used to use an actual propane torch to wipe out black widow nests in California. You didn't need to get close enough to set the house on fire, just close enough to fry the webs and anything in them. A pair of welder's gloves added a measure of safety from scorched spiders if you got a little too close. http://www.bernzomatic.com/index.html
Those things would build their nests anyplace they could get into. They weren't a big problem in the Bay Area, but in the Central Valley, they were everywhere. Every time somebody had to go under the house, they'd make the first pass with a propane torch.

I usually leave most spiders alone but when I absolutely MUST kill one, a shoe or sandal suffices.
ETA: This year in April I did something I usually refrain from, chemical pest control.
In years past I've tried the natural solutions using homemade, nicotine based spray. Just wasn't working out anymore. The crawly critters were getting to where they started lining up to get sprayed.

http://gifshost.com/042011/130340756...-cigarette.gif

^^^ Gotta love those Aussie grabby critters! In some parts of the world, they're grilled on an open wood fire.

Fozizzle yo!

I killed 3 brown recluse spiders here in the last week. One came out on the monitor as I was typing here. Two decided to set up shop in the bathroom. Had to kill them all - I can't afford to be bit by one with compromised immunity and nerve damage in the legs.