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Topic: What causes cobwebs?
HillFolk's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:20 AM
Is it bad lighting? Low air circulation? Not enough windows opened up? I used to think it was very small spiders.laugh

adj4u's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:23 AM
i just wanna know were the cobs are

that left the webs

MsTeddyBear2u's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:32 AM
Spiders leave webs...
Dusting may help...:wink:

adj4u's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:35 AM
but why are they called cob webs

are they left by cob spiders

hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

MsTeddyBear2u's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:40 AM
laugh
eight legged little cobs...
oh shudder.........................................

adj4u's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:42 AM
oh nice tail ya got there

HillFolk's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:44 AM
Yeah. I got this little duster the other day at Walmart and today I decided I just stand these little strands every where. It was starting to look like the Addams Family house in here.laugh

HillFolk's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:46 AM
I guess I just made a lot of spiders homeless but they can go outside if they want to string these gossamer threads.laugh

MsTeddyBear2u's photo
Mon 10/08/07 09:51 AM
Ad-blushing why thankyou
you too...laugh






Hill- poor little homeless cobblers...laugh

HillFolk's photo
Mon 10/08/07 10:00 AM
One of the most strongly allergenic materials found indoors is house dust, often heavily contaminated with the fecal pellets and cast skins of House Dust Mites. Estimates are that dust mites may be a factor in 50 to 80 percent of asthmatics, as well as in countless cases of eczema, hay fever and other allergic ailments. Common causes of allergy include house dust mites, cat dander, cockroach droppings and grass pollen. Symptoms are usually respiratory in nature (sneezing, itching, watery eyes, wheezing, etc.), usually NOT A RASH. However, there are reports of a red rash around the neck. Other allergic reactions may include headaches, fatigue and depression.

The wheeze-inducing proteins are digestive juices from the mite gut which are quite potent. An exposure to the mites in the first, crucial year of life can trigger a lifelong allergy. There is no cure, only prevention. One must control house dust mite levels.

Beds are a prime habitat (where 1/3 of life occurs). A typical used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside. (Ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings.) Mites prefer warm, moist surroundings such as the inside of a mattress when someone is on it. A favorite food is dander (both human and animal skin flakes). Humans shed about 1/5 ounce of dander (dead skin) each week. About 80 percent of the material seen floating in a sunbeam is actually skin flakes. Also, bedroom carpeting and household upholstery support high mite populations.

Identification
House dust mites, due to their very small size (250 to 300 microns in length) and translucent bodies, are not visible to the unaided eye. For accurate identification, one needs at least 10X magnification. The adult mite's cuticle (covering) has simple striations that can be seen from both the dorsal (top) view and from the ventral (bottom) view. The ventral view of the house dust mite reveals long setae (hairs) extending from the outer margins of the body and shorter setae on the rest of the body. Through the microscope, one will see many oval-shaped mites scuttling around and over one another. There are eight hairy legs, no eyes, no antennae, a mouthpart group in front of the body (resembles head) and a tough, translucent shell, giving a "fearsome appearance."

Biology and Life Cycle
Adult females lay up to 40 to 80 eggs singly or in small groups of three to five. After eggs hatch, a six-legged larva emerges. After the first molt, an eight-legged nymph appears. After two nymphal stages occur, an eight-legged adult emerges. The life cycle from egg to adult is about one month with the adult living an additional one to three months.

The diet is varied with the primary food source, consisting of dander (skin scales) from humans and animals. However, needed nutrients can be provided from fish food flakes, pet food, fungi, cereals, crumbs, etc. Many mite species live in bird's nests, in barns, among stored grain, straw, etc.

House dust mites are cosmopolitan in distribution with much of the research previously done in Europe.

One of the major limiting factors in mite survival and population development is the availability of water for sorption. Highest mite densities occur in the humid summer months and lowest in drier winter periods. Dust mite populations are highest in humid regions and lowest in areas of high altitude and/or dry climates.

Due to the large quantity of skin scales sloughed off daily by humans, mites have an abundant food supply. Dust mite antigen levels are measured in bed dust, floor dust, and room air samples. Detection in room air was best during cleaning and bed-making activities.

Control Measures
House dust mite presence is often suspected before they are actually seen and accurately identified. Requests for control often come from individuals who have been diagnosed by medical personnel as allergic to the house dust mite or the allergens produced.

Detection
The presence of house dust mites can be confirmed microscopically which requires collecting samples from mattresses, couches or carpets. Also, it requires the use of a microscope with sufficient magnification and the technical ability to recognize house dust mites under the microscope.

Another diagnostic test known as "Acarex" is sold and distributed by Fisons in the United States. This is a "dipstick-type" test similar to those sold in drugstores for glucose, etc. The test actually detects the presence of house dust mite feces.

One must collect dust samples and mix a portion of the sample with reagents packed with the test. One then places the dipstick into the mixture, removes it, and compares the color change to a chart packed with the test. It will give an indication of the level of infestation. Keep test kits refrigerated. Contact drugstores and specialty shops dealing with water and air purification systems and related environmental control for the diagnostic kit.

Sanitation
Recommendations focus on "dust control." One must reduce the concentration of dust borne allergens in the living environment by controlling both allergen production and the dust which serves to transport it. For the bedroom environment:

Replace feather and down pillows with those having synthetic fillings.
Enclose the mattress top and sides with a plastic cover, thoroughly vacuuming mattress pillows and the base of the bed.
Daily damp dust the plastic mattress cover.
Weekly change and wash pillowcases, sheets, and under blankets, and vacuum the bed base and around the covered mattress.
Replace woolen blankets with nylon or cotton cellulose ones.
Frequently wash all bedding (blankets, mattress pads and comforters) in hot water (130 degrees F weekly). Also wash curtains.
Remove carpet and replace with wood, tile, linoleum, or vinyl floor covering. (If you have carpet, vacuum every day.)
Mattresses covered with "fitted sheets" help prevent the accumulation of human skin scales on the surface (an alternate to encasing mattresses and box springs in non-allergenic, impermeable, plastic covers).

Oh ok. I guess this means one should dust once in a while.laugh

hotandspicey's photo
Mon 10/08/07 10:03 AM
Well you know how it is with all things scientific...The first person to say oh look at this? what shall we call it? they deside on web, which is appropriate and then since their name is cob they decide that since they discovered it and are naming it....it should be cobweb and thats how it happened! laugh laugh

adj4u's photo
Mon 10/08/07 10:20 AM
well makes sense to me

:wink:

HillFolk's photo
Mon 10/08/07 01:16 PM
It makes sense to me. I have read Charlotte's Web and used to watch Jack Webb on Dragnet. Jack Webb was a huge fan of baseball and Babe Ruth. To honor The Babe, he numbered his badge "714" - the famed number of home runs Ruth hit in his career.

Jtevans's photo
Mon 10/08/07 01:51 PM
I think it's spiders that start a web and than change their mind and want to place it somewheres else,so they just leave the unfinished one.

adj4u's photo
Mon 10/08/07 02:14 PM
spiders have minds

hhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

interesting

very interesting

heatherrae's photo
Mon 10/08/07 02:47 PM
ok,now i'm afraid of my bed. fantastic. think i'll camp outside tonite. or maybe sleep on the leather couch after vacuuming it, wiping it with a damp cloth, and then turning it on its side and banging on the back of it just in case. and i wont sleep with a blanket, i'll just be safe and use saran wrap insteead.

lulu24's photo
Mon 10/08/07 03:40 PM
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/spiders/cobweb/cobweb.htm

Glass_eyes's photo
Mon 10/08/07 03:54 PM
Did you seriously just ask that question?

Glass_eyes's photo
Mon 10/08/07 03:55 PM
cobwebs are from not dusting, and the particles get attatched to eachother. So it's just a bunch of dust/debris from the air.

no photo
Mon 10/08/07 03:57 PM
Cob webs are woven by magical animated corn late at night. laugh

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