Brown Recluse Spider . . .. Remember what this Spider looks like !

[fredball]

About 4 years ago I had a Doctor appointment. That morning they called and postponed it because our Dr. was in surgery. Two days later they called back and cancelled my appointment because our Doctor had died on the operating table. We thought that he was the one doing the operating He had been bitten by a Brown Recluse. He had tried treating himself instead of getting help. He was fairly young (late 40's) and the best Doctor we had ever had.
Brown Recluse Spider . . ..
At this time of year, this is worth seeing.
Show these picture to your spouse, your kids, grand kids, and friends. It could save their lives. Remember what this Spider looks like and be careful while cleaning, as told below.
It's summertime & cleanup is going on. Be careful where you put your hands. They like dark spaces & woodpiles. Also cool areas in the attic............................................
The Brown Recluse Spider is the most
dangerous spider that we have here in the USA.
A person can die from it's bite. We all should know what the spider looks like.
Send this around to people you love, because it is summer time.
People will be digging around, doing yard work, spring cleaning, and sometimes in their attics.
Please be careful.
Spider bites are dangerous and can have permanent and highly negative consequences.
They like the darkness and tend to live in storage sheds or attics or other areas that might not be frequented by people or light.
If you have a need to be in your attic, go up there and turn on a light and leave it on for about 30 minutes before you go in to do your work.

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[SrMachoSolo]

So they like wood piles...?


-Robert

 

[The Heretic]

Neighbor got bit by a hobo spider. Put him in the hospital.

 

[Alexx1401]

Neighbor got bit by a hobo spider. Put him in the hospital.

I was surprised long ago to find those could be nasty. It's rare for anyone who is not allergic but the bite can turn into a necrosing wound that will not heal without help. Made me look at those sucker's in a new light when I found out. BURN EM ALL

 

[Certaindeaf]

Foghorn Leghorn says there's little difference between a wida hen and a black widow.

 

[SrMachoSolo]

Neighbor got bit by a hobo spider. Put him in the hospital.

Downtown Portland has a lot of these; however, specific conditions have allowed their population to grow, and now they're rapidly spreading into the suburbs.

-Robert

 

[The Heretic]

I was surprised long ago to find those could be nasty. It's rare for anyone who is not allergic but the bite can turn into a necrosing wound that will not heal without help. Made me look at those sucker's in a new light when I found out. BURN EM ALL

That's what it did for him - he basically wound up with a hole in his leg near his knee.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

We have lots of Hobo spiders here in Pdx. Have seen black widows here and in eastern wa and or more often than I would like. Once I was driving on freeway and black widow slowly descended from my rear view mirror!

Have never seen a "fiddler-back" as I can recall. Wolf spider and other household spiders look similar but brown recluse can be identified by fiddle shape on its thorax and by eye pattern (see below). I have been bitten by hobo which causes a leprosy-like wound that takes quite a while to heal. Just annoying, not dangerous imo unless allergic.

brown recluse, look for dark violin shape:

Eye pattern:

Other household spiders that look similar:

Hobo, no banding on legs compared to wolf spider:

One of the best ways to control spiders imo is to get rid of all of them in your entire yard, walks, outside of house, landscaping etc. a spray solution of water with lemon dish soap and mineral oil works good. I also add cigar tea (cigars soaked in water for a few days) to the spray. I also add peppermint oil but I'm not sure that peppermint oil actually does much. That spray will not harm plants.

 

[gryghin]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bob D]

Edit: I have been informed and confirmed that there are no Recluses in this area. Boggles my mind, and I don't like to admit it, but it appears I have likely been wrong about this and many other spider encounters. I need to go reevaluate my entire life!

I got hit by a brown recluse a couple of weeks ago on my forearm. I saw the bugger do it (he ded); but I decided to wait and see if it was going to be worth getting medical attention for. I'm not really allergic to most insect venom, but this one swelled the area and gave a concerning "bullseye" red and white pattern for a few days. No necrosis, only one tiny initial blister, which popped unintentionally. The most concerning symptom was two nights after the bite when my shoulder, elbow, and hand joints were aching all night.

But after a week it had cleared up entirely. I thought when I as a kid that a recluse bite was a certain death sentence, but have learned that the majority of them don't require any real attention and will go away on their own. That said, if you see any spiderwebbing dark veins, the redness expands past an inch or two in diameter, or the bite location itself starts to necrotize, you should seek immediate attention.

 

[BBQ Guy]

 

[Alexx1401]

That's what it did for him - he basically wound up with a hole in his leg near his knee.

Yep, the first time I head of this is was a story of gal who got bit on her heel outside. At first she did not really notice. Felt the bite, saw the spider, went on with life. After weeks the "sore" just kept getting worse and would not heal, rather got larger. Finally went to see Doc. They had to cut it out and she was laid up while the hole healed. Said if allowed to get to the bone it can lead to loss of the limb.
Never real big on spiders anyway but after that I really watched for those damn things.

 

[bigbearbear]

This article makes me feel a lot better and justified in my indiscriminate and high concentration broadcast of pesticides around the house.

My property borders a undeveloped land that belongs to my neighbor and when I first moved in, there were a ton of creepy crawlies all over the place and tons of spiders on the wall. I nuked the entire place with a variety of pesticide concentrate that you buy from specialty store such as domyown.com using a battery power sprayer. I also applied powder form pesticide with a duster. Works really well but you have to read the label carefully and mix them with the correct ratio.

Plus, I also seal up my attic with closed cell spray foam. Not only does it provide better insulation, it also blocks off an access area for insects and spiders into the house.

 

[Frank RW]

Probably a hobo spider. Too cold or wet or something up here for brown recluse.

Hasn't been a recluse bite reported since they kept records... and that started in the 50s if memory serves.

Yet everyone seems to know someone who's been bitten by one.

 

[Alexx1401]

Probably a hobo spider. Too cold or wet or something up here for brown recluse.

Hasn't been a recluse bite reported since they kept records... and that started in the 50s if memory serves.

Yet everyone seems to know someone who's been bitten by one.

I have never seen one where I work (Brown R), at least yet. The one I was talking about was those Hobo's. They are some distant relative and normally the bite, if they bite, is nothing unless the person has an allergic reaction. Like some have to bee stings. It's why the woman who got in trouble did not go to the Doc for a while. That article said it is rare for the Hobo bite to turn all nasty like that but, that it does happen. Ever since then when I see one of the Hobo's in the house I make sure I dispatch it. Creepy looking damn things because they are so much bigger than the run of the mill spiders we have up here.
I did know a co worker who got a BR bite when I was in the SW. Got him at night when sleeping. He did not even feel it. At first just itchy bite. It soon began to grow and it was when he went to see a Doc they told him what got him and had to cut out the damaged area.

 

[Mike_M57]

My supervisor at a place I used to work came in with a hobo spider bite on his leg one morning, said he'd been working in the yard the evening before. A blister formed at the bite location and was the diameter of a dime before he left home for work. It was the diameter of a nickel when I saw it about an hour later and he said it was the diameter of a silver dollar by the time he got to the doctor. Never did more than turn red, but he said it hurt like hell, enough that he used crutches for a couple of days to keep weight off that leg. If it had been a recluse bite, I think he would have been in trouble.


Washington State Dept. of Health says there are no brown recluse in this state.

 

[Flopsweat]

Foghorn Leghorn says there's little difference between a wida hen and a black widow.

Yep, gotta keep yer eye on 'em.

 

[Cavedweller]

Washington State Dept. of Health says there are no brown recluse in this state.

Brown recluse only occurs east of the Rockies. They might accidentally be encountered in goods shipped from their home range, but such encounters would be extremely rare.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I got nailed by an average garden spider just below the knee, that sucker swelled up and turned black and blue around the bite, about the size of a baseball! Went to the E.R and had to go through anti venom treatments which were quite painful, and I still got sicker then hell! Took weeks of recovery, and I still have a bit of a scar!

I knew this truck driver who ran between eastern Oregon and Portland, got bit by a Brown Recluse in his calf, by the time he got back to Portland, his leg was all swelled up and nasty looking! He went to the E.R. and ended up having a YUGE chunk of his calf removed, including some muscle tissue, flat nasty!

 

[clanhanson]

The black widow's venom is more dangerous than the brown recluse's as it affects the nervous system. I wouldn't want to be bitten by either, but I would choose the recluse over the black widow which requires hospitalization. We have them around here, especially in wood piles. Fortunately they're pretty unlikely to bite unless pressed against/threatened.