Was cleaning out a basement room that opens to the outside and between some boards saw a huge fat black spider and some eggs it was guarding. Took out the board to crush them and got a close look at the spider, black with a red hourglass on its back. Freaked me out. We killed it and crushed its eggs and threw everything away in the trash. However, the fact that it was able to breed means there is more than one and probably a sizeable population, right?

Went to home depot and bought 4 trap strips that advertised they bait and kill widows, also bought some foggers we'll release soon. That little basement room I found it in that opens to the outside is a 5*10 rectangular space. It also has pipes with little holes around them leading to a walled large crawl under the house. Was thinking about fogging that too.

Any advice?

Any thoughts in calling out an exterminator to take a look?

Here's some info on a website that discusses more than regular household exterminating products.

There's a link at the bottom for how to treat, if you self treat. Good info whether you call someone out, or not.

http://www.pestproducts.com/blackwid.htm

Send the wife, kids and family pets on vacation, get yourself a flamethrower, and burn your House 'o Spiders down?

No, Kill them all.

Kill their Children, their Families and their Friends too.

I know a guy....

http://www.washingtontreeservice.com/pe ... r-control/

I see them around here all the time.
Nothing to worry about really. Isn't like a brown recluse where your limbs melt off if he/she bites you.

I heard that if you eat their eggs you will grow immune to their venom.

I'd like to see the study on that.

Maybe like eating Tide Pods? I guess the kids do that nowdays on a dare or something.

Honestly I'm surprised I didn't think they existed in this wet climate.

Where I grew up in Cali black widows were everywhere. You just assumed that every dark spot outdoors or in a garage had one until proven otherwise. Kill them and a new one shows up next week. They never came in the house and I never did meet anyone who actually got bit by one despite how ubiquitous they were.

In your original post you said the red hourglass was on its back. Not sure if you meant belly. Black widows have the red hourglass on the belly.

I dont think that Washington has black widows as much people would like to think. More of a Southern climate sort of aracnid.

This is my exact thoughts/upbringing.

IF you saw a black widow spider, it most likely immigrated from elsewhere. BUT they are around WA state.

https://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvi ... ts/Spiders

All over the place when I was growing up in Ellensburg.

A lot of spiders not indigenous to WA travel here from warmer climates in fruit crates.

I guess it's too late to make an omelette?