Brown Recluse Spiders

[Mutley]

Apparently they're all over the mid-atlantic area.

:scared: :hide:

http://images.google.com/images?q=brown+recluse&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

[peekaloo]

1. Bad news.

squish 'em if ya see 'em.

[Mutley]

2. I'd be too busy screaming and running in the other direction.

Then having a heart attack.

[havocmom]

3. They are very shy so your chances of a bite are slim.

But if you get a funny boo-boo that looks sorta like a burn/blister, have somebody check it out just to be safe. My mom was chomped by one of them a long time ago. She carried the scare the rest of her life.

[Mutley]

6. Really?

I heard they are very aggressive.

[havocmom]

86. How many people have you met that have been bitten by them?

There are two reasons they are called Brown Recluse.

[Mutley]

90. I'm just saying that I HEARD they are aggressive.

Sheesh.

[havocmom]

96. Just pointing to the logic of believing something one hears

as opposed to thinking about the rest of what one hears

Sheesh back at ya

[northzax]

98. you want agressive?

try the Sydney Funnel Web

damn things will actually go after you not fun.

[6000eliot]

99. I was bitten by one

about 9 years ago. I still have a dent in my leg from where the flesh was eaten away!

[grace0418]

104. My mom was sitting on the sofa with her arm around my dad

when she got bit in the arm by a brown recluse. That was one gross spider bite. Happened six years ago in Olympia Washington.

[Lowell]

105. I was

I was running a cable under my house. I felt a burning sensation on my left calf. It got swollen and black very quickly. Fortunately I still had the crushed critter on my leg when I crawled out from under the house. I took it in with me when I went to see my doctor and he said it was a brown recluse. They had to excise the entire area around the bite and it took a couple months to get back to normal. Now I have a deep scar the size of a quarter where the little bastard bit me. They are dangerous.

[BikeWriter]

4. ACK! I don't like them!

[Mutley]

8. me either!

:scared:

[BikeWriter]

22. ...or Black Widows!

[Mutley]

37. eeewww

I don't like any spiders. Especially this one:

[BikeWriter]

76. Those look icky, but they're not dangerous, unless they scare you!

[Mutley]

78. i know.

i had to do research on them. they do scare me though

[Shell Beau]

5. I found one in my house a couple of weeks ago.

And I also found a black widow under my ottoman! :scared:

[Mutley]

9. OMG!

I would move.

[Shell Beau]

12. I live in an area that no matter where you go, there they are.

Almost everyone I know has been bitten at one time or had a relative to be bitten by the brown recluse. It usually happens in the bed when they are asleep. They get in your sheets. But I found mine on my carpeted part of the house where I walk barefooted. No more bare-footing for me!! My husband still has a scar from being bitten.

[Mutley]

19. :shiver:

I woke up some time last week with a bug bite that looked like a spider bite. I know it wasn't a brown recluse or I'd be sick by now, but I'm super paranoid about it anyway.

:hide:

[Shell Beau]

30. Most spiders are harmless. You may have gotten

bit by one, just a harmless one! But still....

[Mutley]

33. Still.

I always try to let spiders live when I see them in my house... but now I may have to get a can of raid.

[Shell Beau]

40. I hate killing any bug. I don't know why.

But if it is a roach, I call my husband in the room and demand for the roach's death. I'd rather deal with a spider any day of the week compared to a nasty, disgusting, vulgar roach! Ugh! Yuck!

[Mutley]

43. We get these "waterbugs" that look like Godzilla sized roaches

sometimes in the summer. EVERYONE in my house is afraid of them, including my SO and my dog.

[Shell Beau]

45. Well when I saw a cockroach flying in my direction, I thought

I would have a heart attack. What could possibly be more disgusting than a flying roach? It landed on my husbands neck and he didn't even know it. It was about 3 inches long, no joke!

[Mutley]

47. Flying?!?

My life was much much better not knowing that roaches can fly.

[Shell Beau]

51. Oh yeah, the big ones can fly! How horrible is that?

[Mutley]

55. That makes me want to cry.

:cry:

[Shell Beau]

77. Me too!

I've seen a quite a few do it, too! Eeewww!!
I've even seen some albino roaches, which is almost grosser!

[Mutley]

79. ugh.

:puke:

[Shell Beau]

80. Warning!!!

[Mutley]

82. eeew

is that a cricket?

[Shell Beau]

84. Albino roach!

Makes it grosser!

[Mutley]

91. even eeeeeewwwwwer!

[barb162]

100. "747s"

[Midlodemocrat]

20. I had a black widow in my house not that long ago.

The dog was barking like crazy at the shelf where we keep the kids' videos. Finally, my husband pulled the shelf from the wall, and there it was.


Pretty scary because the kids are always going over there. Thank God for the dog. She knew something was up.


I once had a scorpion in my house, too. They are not indigenous to VA, and the one I had came from CA. I think it might have come in with some fruit I got at Costco. Last time for that, that's for sure.

[Mutley]

59. Goood Doggy!

Mine would just run away. :rofl:

[cedahlia]

62. aw, doggies are so good!

They really do look out for us! The other night, my dog was making a big production out of trying to squeeze in between the loveseat and couch (which she is waaay to big to fit through.) At first I told her to just quit it and settle down, but then, I though about it...maybe there's a good reason she wants to get back there. Well, sure enough, there was a big spider back there! (Doggie got lots of praise and kisses for being such a good spider hunter.) :-)

And cats are helpful, too! My one kitty can frequently be seen vaulting through the air to catch whatever foolish winged creatures are unfortunate enough to make it into our house. And her and the dog have been known to team up and stalk bugs together...it's so cute to watch. :-)

Another good reason to shower our pets with love!!

[clydefrand]

7. I have a friend who was bitten by one of these on 4/15. She was one

sick lady and had to be hospitalized and had surgery. Still more surgery...skin grafting...is needed to close the wound.

[Mutley]

10. Ouch.

If you looked at the link I posted there are some really horrendous looking infections caused by those suckers.

[supernova]

23. One doc is recommending nitrogylcerin patches

because nitro penetrates the skin and opens up the veins so healing can continue.

[Cannikin]

11. We've got em down here in Arkansas too..

[Mutley]

14. AHHHHH

That picture freaked me out!

[Shell Beau]

17. Notice the violin shape on the back!

That shows you it is a brown recluse. But who wants to get that close to make sure?

[Mutley]

28. Thats what I was going to say.

I wouldn't be able to get close enough to see that.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

13. ewww this thread is creeping me out

:scared:

[Mutley]

15. me too.

Hey mods, care to delete this thread? I'm experiencing thread starters remorse.

[ghostsofgiants]

25. I don't hide threads very often

But this is definitely a perfect candidate.

[Mutley]

44. Sorry.

I'll think twice next time.

[intheflow]

16. Here's a map

They're invading my territory! Aaaaaaaaaah! :scared:

[ET Awful]

21. OMG . . . they have the same spread pattern as Republicans

:)

[Cannikin]

29. Very observant. Cracked me up

[intheflow]

31. OMG! You're right!

I'm not sure if :rofl: or :scared: is the appropriate smilie response to this observation. :shrug:

[Mutley]

24. According to that they're not too bad in MD

But a cable guy I know said he sees them in every 3rd or 4th house he goes to.

[NewJeffCT]

42. yet another reason not to move to Texas...

or most of the South.

[mainegreen]

54. That maps crap!

We have them in Maine.

[intheflow]

60. My fella once told me they were in Massachusetts.

That was when I lived there. We were ripping up my back deck, encountering many creepy things. This map reassured me, because my son still lives out there. Now I have to worry about him again! :(

[Mutley]

61. Apparently they're EVERYWHERE!

[smbolisnch]

75. Must....Move....North.

I am too close for comfort. :scared:

[intheflow]

81. Another reason to emigrate to Canada.

As if we needed one!

[Lauri16]

83. Try Maine

We've got 'em here in Upstate NY.
Cute little beggars, really. *squish* :)

[Lauri16]

18. They're more widespread than that one map shows

I'm in Upstate NY, and found one in my kitchen two days ago.

[Mutley]

26. Scary!

:scared:

[ismnotwasm]

27. Ok, that is completly gross

it took me many years to get over a spider phobia. Now it's no doubt back. dammit

[Mutley]

32. I don't think my spider phobia will EVER go away.

[ismnotwasm]

35. Well, it never totally went away

But I got the heart papitations and the cold sweats to stop. I even will but the little buggers outside instead of killing them once in a while. But--YUK.

[Mutley]

39. I'm okay when I see a fairly little one

but I can't go near it. If I see a big one, or one of those fuzzy ones that look like they will swallow you whole, I nearly go into a panic attack!

[tyedyeto]

34. Arachnophobia, the movie

scared the shit out of me. But I can handle stomping on one in my house or talking about them. Had a black widow in the house the other day....no, I wasn't kind enough to give it freedom in the great outdoors.

[Mutley]

38. I would have to get someone else to kill it.

I wouldn't be able to go near it.

[Lauri16]

46. I loved that movie!

I like spiders, I think they're cool. I usually just put them outside, but with the Brown Recluse, they just come right back in so you really have no choice but to kill them. My cats like to play with spiders, and I don't want them to get bit.

[progressoid]

36. The first house we owned had a colony of babies

living under the front steps when we moved in. A couple weeks later I killed another huge one a few yards from our newborn's room. Creepy.

[Mutley]

41. Wow! Near the baby's room!

That is so uncool.

[progressoid]

48. Yeah, that's when we decided to leave the house for a while and fumigate.

[Mutley]

49. No kidding!

I would too.

[AlCzervik]

50. nasty little things, when i lived in Texas we always checked inside shoes

before you put them on.

[Mutley]

53. I've been doing that since I got bit by something that was in my shoe.

I don't know what it was but the bite got really swollen and I got dizzy. My foot hurt so bad I couldn't walk on it. I went to this little all night clinic and by the time the doctor saw me the swelling had gone down and the pain was mostly gone and he thought I was being a hypochondriac.

[Cannikin]

52. GRAPHIC PHOTO WARNING Bites

[Mutley]

56. those were on the link I posted.

:scared: :hide: :scared: :hide: :scared: :hide: :scared:

[Cannikin]

57. Oh! Sorry about the dupe

[Mutley]

58. oh no, it's cool

Why does my own thread creep me out so much?

[barb162]

101. I think you should have written "super graphic" as in ohmygod

[Red State Prisoner]

63. I've been bitten below the belt

It felt like someone was putting a cigarette out on me. No scarring though. Kept a freshly cut sliver of Olivera bandaged on.

[Mutley]

64. Below the belt...

I thought that was going to be some kind of joke. :rofl:

[Red State Prisoner]

65. I wish

[peacebuzzard]

66. Hi Red State Prisoner! So am I...but spiders are not my worry.....

I was gone for about 8 days and when I came home, I opened my desk drawer and found a nest of baby mice......I am going to get a cat ......Do cats catch spiders too???

[Mutley]

67. some do.

my parent's one cat is afraid of bugs. as is my dog :eyes:

[Red State Prisoner]

68. Hi There!

My cat does catch spiders. I've got the vet bills to prove it.

[graywarrior]

69. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[Mutley]

71. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

not every thread is this gross and scary. Some are worse! :scared:

[Felix Mala]

70. Saw the first one living under an old doghouse we were pitching...

Those things can move. It definitely wanted to get away. Required a considerable amount of stomping. I can only imagine if we'd picked up the doghouse without looking underneath first. We weren't wearing gloves.

[Mutley]

72. ooo that would have been bad....

[Felix Mala]

73. If you keep the area under your house dry and ventilated, you

shouldn't have a problem.

[Mutley]

74. I rent.

I don't have access to the area under my house.

[blindpig]

85. The Bug Guys

are on SC public radio, one from Clemson and one from SC Agriculture, have a call in show like the Car Guys, as entertaining and informative. They say Recluse is very rarely found in SC and those that had been found here were most likely introduced. Also say that many spider bites can cause that necrotic ring thing and many, including doctors, jump to the wrong conclusion. I'll take their word to the bank, those boys are sharp.

Just another thing to fear. As someone who likes to poke around in old buildings and damp, wretched places the recluse is not on my concern list.

The range map on your link shows the species restricted to the southern portion of the Mississippi drainage, just across the mountains fron SC but nowhere near the Mid- Atlantic. Huh??

[Mutley]

92. that wasn't my map but

i was confused by that too.

[blindpig]

102. so where are these spiders?

range maps are usually pretty reliable if not too old. I'm a native of Baltimore and though we heard about them we never saw them. Have specimens been properly identified by state authorities? There are quite a few similar looking species.

When I was growing up many people swore that there were water moccasins in the Bay area, which was patently false. A few critters might have come in with freight but I suspect this is mostly urban legend.

[Mutley]

103. I live in Baltimore

and people STILL say there are water moccasins in the Bay. I didn't know it wasn't true. :blush:

[blindpig]

106. amazing

check our any field guide, they don't get closer than the Dismal swamp in southern Virginia. I caught water snakes(non-venomous) by the hundreds in about every western shore county until I fled town like a rat. No water moccasins, no matter what they say. This can be the source of some profitable bets if you don't mind the minor scratches and stench bath one often get handling those buggers.

blindpig, an old time Highlandtowner

[Mutley]

107. Nice!

I'm in Federal Hill. And, lol, I don't know that I'll be handling any wild snakes anytime soon.

[hfojvt]

87. it is not always a bad thing

when a species becomes extinct.

[Mutley]

93. no kidding!

[newportdadde]

88. I just realized I had these all around me growing up.

I just realized I had these all around me growing up.

Never noticed till I saw those pics and I live in Missouri. I grew up in an old rural farm house around 100 years old. I often would kill 2 or 3 of these a night between the space heater and the old plaster wall next to my bed. Ugh.... in fact I use to kill them with a funky ink pen which had a flat head about the size of a dime as a 'challenge'.

[Mutley]

94. heh. you're lucky one of 'em didn't get you!

[BreweryYardRat]

89. I saw the nastiest pic of a brown recluse bite ever...

Fortunately, I don't have the link, but here's a brief description:

Guy had a bite on his ankle. Flesh was rotting and the hole was deep enough that you could see the bones.

[Mutley]

95. eeewwww

check the link in my OP, there are some nasty pics in there too.

[LeftyMom]

97. My Uncle got bit by one a few months back

We know for sure that's what it was because he grew up on a farm in Okiehoma and had seen a million of them before. I had no idea we had them in Sacramento, but I've seen all kinds of bugs and other weird critters I've never seen before lately, including a leach that latched onto leftydad's leg.

I blame global warming, our climate around here is definitely changing.