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

[Alexx1401]

I've read and heard repeatedly that there are no Brown Recluse in the Pacific Northwest, and that people when they do capture the "brown recluse" that bit them, later learn from the biologist identifying it that they were bitten by a Hobo.

https://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Pests/Spiders



Does anyone have actual proof that there are actual Brown Recluse in the area and that all of the resident biologists and experts are full of beans? ?

I get the impression that spiders in this neck of the woods is a lot like mushrooms. A LOT of varieties, and unless you really know your stuff you can miss identify.
A lot of the people "thinking" someone got bit by the bad one was most likely someone who had an allergic reaction to one that was not the bad one. Most of us get bit by bugs and nothing happens. A few unlucky people have a nasty reaction, some times it can be fatal if not treated. A lot of those people probably of course thought they got hit by the bad guy.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Dumb question. If you get bit (badly) by a large spider and can capture/kill it should you save it for the medical treatment? Kind of like a snake or are their toxins/poisons/infections all the same. I was out in my storage shed last night and a monster went running past .... ugh.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Dumb question. If you get bit (badly) by a large spider and can capture/kill it should you save it for the medical treatment? Kind of like a snake or are their toxins/poisons/infections all the same. I was out in my storage shed last night and a monster went running past .... ugh.

Yes the doctors/experts will have a better idea of exactly what nailed you, and how best to treat you, by all means if possible, save the bugger that nailed ya! A can of carb cleaner works wonders, give um a spritz and wait a few min, spoon into a sammich baggy and off to the E.R. with ya!

 

[Provincial]

Wouldn't be a bad thing. Worst they could do is ignore it.

Edit to add: Starting Fluid (ether), brake cleaner, electric motor cleaner, and wasp spray all work well. Starting Fluid leaves no residue, but is quite flammable. It evaporates quickly, so the hazard is very short lived.

 

[Flopsweat]

Yes the doctors/experts will have a better idea of exactly what nailed you, and how best to treat you, by all means if possible, save the bugger that nailed ya! A can of carb cleaner works wonders, give um a spritz and wait a few min, spoon into a sammich baggy and off to the E.R. with ya!

I keep a stick, a paper bag and a picture of Nancy Pelosi in my pocket. If I get bit, I quickly show the spider the picture, then while it's busy vomiting, I scoop it up in the bag and beat the bag with the stick.

 

[Fishonshawn]

I've been bit 3 times by brown recluse. This was back in the summer of 2003. All 3 bites happened in the $hit hole that is South Carolina while I was there for basic training and AIT. First night I got bit I got bit in 2 places. Right in the middle on top of my right thigh and directly behind my knee on the same leg. Didnt think to much of in the morning when I noticed the bites. After a day or 2 though the bites had swollen considerably. The one behind my knee just stuck out comically like a giant knot. Like in a old cartoon when someone gets bonked on the head. My theory to this was every time I walked it just kept all the puss and crap forming in there in the same spot and didn't allow it to spread. The bite on my thigh however had formed a big swollen nasty bump the size of a softball. On my weekend off (this all happened during AIT and we got the weekend to chill) I took a needle and just jabbed like 20 times into my thigh and squeezed out what I could of all the puss and crap. The next day (monday) i went to hit the shower and when I pulled my spandex underwear off (don't judge, that bubblegum is a lifesaver in hot weather) the scab from me stabbing my wound stuck in the fibers of the underwear and it just pulled a big quarter size chunk out of my leg. No pain. But you could see in my leg. Some guys went and got a drill Sargeant and he sent me to the clinic. They just squeezed the rest of the puss and crap out of my thigh which was painless. The knot on the back of my knee though...that sucked. They squeezed it till it burst which hurt like a mofo then they stuck tweezers in the back of my leg and started pulling out what they said were pockets of puss and gunk. Nothing for pain was given. It hurt so freaking bad and it felt like they were ripping little chunks of meat out from behind my knee. I remember feeling the tweezers in my leg. That little clinic sucked.

2 weeks later I notice another red bump on my left hip. It starts swelling the same way my other bites did and this time instead of going to the clinic I went to the base hospital. They were awesome. They gave me drugs for pain, knocked me out and they did actual surgery on my hip. Apparently my hip bite was actually worse than the other 2. It had ate away at the flesh inside my hip down into my left thigh and formed a little rotten tunnel in there. So after surgery I had to stay in the hospital for 2 weeks. They would come into my room every morning to pack my leg which I think is the single worse pain I've ever felt in my life. They didn't sew the wound shut, it was open and packed with a strip of medicated guaze. So they would come in and grab the tab of guaze hanging out of my hip, ask if I was ready and they would give it a yank and pull the strip out. I swear this strip was like 18" long... then they would get a new strip and with one of those long Qtips, they would pack another strip in there. I remember that very vividly but not much else of my stay there. They kept me pretty drugged up.. My wife was staying off base in a motel so she got my visit me at the hospital and I didn't know it til I left the hospital but apparently the main reason I had to stay for 2 weeks was I also got staph infection and almost bit the dust. They ended up having to move me classes so I didn't get to graduate with he guys I knew. They threw me into a different class and I had to finish AIT late. Owell.

I hated spiders before all this happened....

 

[SrMachoSolo]

I was winding down, watching a show before bed late at night in the dark. Out of the corner of my eye I see movement along the floor. Even with all the lights off, only the TV on, this guy was big enough to get noticed. I quickly grab my beer glass off the table and sealed his fate... pun intended.



Appears to be a hobo spider. I regularly see these things in the house, maybe one every 3 or 4 months. I normally let the other spiders go, but not this kind... I don't want anyone to get accidentally bit, even though the net says they're not deadly.

And now I am hyper aware... lol... going to take me longer to fall asleep.

-Robert

 

[Alexx1401]

I was winding down, watching a show before bed late at night in the dark. Out of the corner of my eye I see movement along the floor. Even with all the lights off, only the TV on, this guy was big enough to get noticed. I quickly grab my beer glass off the table and seal his fate... pun intended.

View attachment 1002877

Appears to be a hobo spider. I regularly see these things in the house, maybe one every 3 or 4 months. I normally let the other spiders go, but not this kind... I don't want anyone to get accidentally bit, even though the net says they're not deadly.

And now I am hyper aware... lol... going to take me longer to fall asleep.

-Robert

Burn'em all!

 

[Certaindeaf]

 

[GWS]

They're ALL brown recluses as far as I'm concerned.
This mimicry by other spiders is a road to extinction at my house.

Well let's see, toxic, reclusive, and dangerous. It's scientific name should Josephus Robinetticus Bidenica.

But senile and stupid wasn't part of the description, so that's a NO on the bidenica species

 

[NeSeR13]

Pretty sure I had to squash one of those in my kitchen Monday morning. He was pretty big. Almost walked right into him(yes, assuming gender). Freaking scared me awake, that was how my week stared. Still have the willies from that! I wanted to blast the MFer with a 12ga!