Anonymous
Post 10/11/2025 09:29     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:Best part of the article is where someone asks why no one who cleans the classrooms has noticed them. People, I work in a school, and I promise you that no one cleans the classrooms. Someone comes in right after the kids leave and empties the trash and runs a large broom/dry dust mop through one or two of the aisles between the desks and then they leave. It's gross. It gets cleaned in summer and that's it.


What? How many janitors work in each school?
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 19:16     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Best part of the article is where someone asks why no one who cleans the classrooms has noticed them. People, I work in a school, and I promise you that no one cleans the classrooms. Someone comes in right after the kids leave and empties the trash and runs a large broom/dry dust mop through one or two of the aisles between the desks and then they leave. It's gross. It gets cleaned in summer and that's it.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 16:26     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:My garage has black widows. Hidden Oaks has black widows. Welcome to Virginia. We also have copperheads, brown recluses, and bears. This is not news


Bears in a school should probably make the news.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 14:45     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My garage has black widows. Hidden Oaks has black widows. Welcome to Virginia. We also have copperheads, brown recluses, and bears. This is not news


Black widows are not native to northern Virginia.


Neither are white Europeans and yet….


Textbook example of what happens when you fail to secure your borders... err, courtyards, against non-native invaders.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 14:24     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My garage has black widows. Hidden Oaks has black widows. Welcome to Virginia. We also have copperheads, brown recluses, and bears. This is not news


Black widows are not native to northern Virginia.


What's your point? Do you think that means it doesn't live here?

Northern Virginia hosts many non-native species that are now well-established. These species have adapted to the region and often outcompete native flora and fauna, disrupting local ecosystems.

To name just a few non-native, but very well-established, plants and animals:

- English Ivy
- Butterfly bush
- Japanese Honeysuckle
- Asian Wisteria
- Multiflora Rose
- Phragmites
- Crepe Myrtle
- Hydrilla
- Spotted Lanternfly
- Emerald Ash Borer
- Gypsy Moth / Spongy Moth
- Northern Snakehead
- Nutria
- Rusty Crayfish
- Zebra Mussel
- Rapa Whelk
- Asian Lady Beetle
- Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
- European Earwig
- Yellow Garden Spider
- European Starling
- House Sparrow
- Mute Swan
- Rock Pigeon
- Callery Pear
- Tree of Heaven
- Norway Maple
- Heavenly Bamboo


To anyone with english ivy in your yard, it is horrible, often screws over your neighbors by infiltrating their yard, should probably be outlawed from being sold, and makes mosquitoes worse. Rip it out (which will take constant, repeated effort with how it comes back).
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 12:13     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
They moved 20 classrooms yesterday. My guess is the problem is bigger than they are admitting.

Hopefully they are using some common sense and taking the long weekend to fumigate and then air out the building.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 20:22     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My garage has black widows. Hidden Oaks has black widows. Welcome to Virginia. We also have copperheads, brown recluses, and bears. This is not news


Black widows are not native to northern Virginia.


Neither are white Europeans and yet….
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 18:20     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My garage has black widows. Hidden Oaks has black widows. Welcome to Virginia. We also have copperheads, brown recluses, and bears. This is not news


Black widows are not native to northern Virginia.


There are two types that are native to northern Virginia Latrodectus mactans and Latrodectus variolus
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 17:15     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My garage has black widows. Hidden Oaks has black widows. Welcome to Virginia. We also have copperheads, brown recluses, and bears. This is not news


Black widows are not native to northern Virginia.


What's your point? Do you think that means it doesn't live here?

Northern Virginia hosts many non-native species that are now well-established. These species have adapted to the region and often outcompete native flora and fauna, disrupting local ecosystems.

To name just a few non-native, but very well-established, plants and animals:

- English Ivy
- Butterfly bush
- Japanese Honeysuckle
- Asian Wisteria
- Multiflora Rose
- Phragmites
- Crepe Myrtle
- Hydrilla
- Spotted Lanternfly
- Emerald Ash Borer
- Gypsy Moth / Spongy Moth
- Northern Snakehead
- Nutria
- Rusty Crayfish
- Zebra Mussel
- Rapa Whelk
- Asian Lady Beetle
- Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
- European Earwig
- Yellow Garden Spider
- European Starling
- House Sparrow
- Mute Swan
- Rock Pigeon
- Callery Pear
- Tree of Heaven
- Norway Maple
- Heavenly Bamboo
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 17:09     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Ha I clicked thinking Black Widows was a gang of some kind, like the Pink Ladies.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 17:04     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Also, it says that these spiders originated from new planters in a courtyard that isn't used by students.

Why do they have a courtyard that isn't used by students? Who is using it?


It's probably enclosed on all sides (interior to building) and is decorative. My middle school had one. They kept a goat in it to mow the lawn and for our amusement. Students didn't access it.


It is the senior court yard. Seniors use it. No idea why the principal is saying its not an area students go into.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 17:03     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
They found spiders in the school and moved a bunch of classes today.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 14:16     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:My garage has black widows. Hidden Oaks has black widows. Welcome to Virginia. We also have copperheads, brown recluses, and bears. This is not news


Black widows are not native to northern Virginia.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 13:25     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:Black widows are not native to this area so it is doubtful that a fairfax county school has a black widow issue.

Black widows are native to the southwest (Texas and New Mexico), west (California and Arizona), and Florida. They reside in really warm states.

Of all the issues going on right now in FCPS, "hiding" a black widow nest is not one of them.


I'm not panicking about this, but just for clarity, yes Virginia does have black widow spiders. I am on a local naturalist list serv and it is not uncommon for folks to find them in the state.

https://med.virginia.edu/brpc/wp-content/uploads/sites/274/2015/10/Spiders.pdf
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 13:08     Subject: Black Widows at Westfield
Anonymous wrote:This isn't a story. The spiders were outside and not in an area students can access. The one in the picture isn't even a black widow. Bored busybodies are the only people who would try to make a story out of this.


+1

The comments calling this a "cover up" and/or implying that this is newsworthy are ridiculous.

Spiders, even black widow spiders, are common and are generally not a big deal. The odds are high that most of us have black widow spiders in our yards, garages, sheds, or even in our homes.

Had there been multiple black widows inside the school or had there been multiple bites, and the school hadn't said anything, that would be a bigger issue.