[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by linicx

Wow! I thought being bit by Brown Recluse 5 times was bad. The only scorpion I ever saw was sunning itself one day on a friend's dry pond rock. In your face? Freaky!

In OKC there generally won't be any scorpions. However, it IS important to have your house sprayed for brown recluse. You DON'T want to get bit by one of those things. And they do live in houses in town if you don't treat for them.

[Rubi3]

Oh my, I'm sure there are those who have their house sprayed for spiders, but I've never in my long life heard anyone say they have. No one in my family has, I know that for sure. Of course, I don't doubt it happens, but I don't think it is typical. I've seen no advertising about it either. These spiders are timid and nonaggressive. Not sure why anyone needs to do anything other than be aware they exist and act accordingly. If I plan to wear something that's been in the closet awhile without being worn, I shake it out, but that's all. There are rattlesnakes in Oklahoma also and can slitter into a house. People are killed in automobile accidents, too. Those who spend a lot of time worried about all the bad things that can happen are in for a hard life. Armadillos are in Oklahoma. Some armadillos carry rabies and will get in a garage if the door is left open. The list is endless.

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

In OKC there generally won't be any scorpions. However, it IS important to have your house sprayed for brown recluse. You DON'T want to get bit by one of those things. And they do live in houses in town if you don't treat for them.

When I lived in North Tulsa during the 1960's there were many Scorpions in the North Tulsa area.

However they weren't aggressive if you left them along, however for people who cut theirs stinger off
and played with them they still could bite Ouch.....

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Rubi3

Oh my, I'm sure there are those who have their house sprayed for spiders, but I've never in my long life heard anyone say they have. No one in my family has, I know that for sure. Of course, I don't doubt it happens, but I don't think it is typical. I've seen no advertising about it either. These spiders are timid and nonaggressive. Not sure why anyone needs to do anything other than be aware they exist and act accordingly. If I plan to wear something that's been in the closet awhile without being worn, I shake it out, but that's all. There are rattlesnakes in Oklahoma also and can slitter into a house. People are killed in automobile accidents, too. Those who spend a lot of time worried about all the bad things that can happen are in for a hard life. Armadillos are in Oklahoma. Some armadillos carry rabies and will get in a garage if the door is left open. The list is endless.

I'd venture to guess you don't work in a hospital and have to treat brown recluse bites like I do. It's not pretty.

Here you go:

Brown Recluse Spider Bite Causes, Symptoms, Treatment - Pictures of Brown Recluse Spider Bite 11 Days to 10 Months - eMedicineHealth

Here is how it usually happens:

"The most common bite site, however, may be people’s beds. A brown recluse wanders onto the sheets at night, looking for prey. The sleeper rolls over and surprises the spider. So it reacts. The sleeper may wake up feeling a sharp pain. In many cases, however, people don’t feel the bite and don’t develop any symptoms for another six to 12 hours," Zurek said.

I had to treat my own next door neighbor once who had the whole front of his thigh rot off.

[teakboat]

I learned about a new little spider that bites and has a similar but much less serious venom to the brown recluse. I was bitten by one on the finger while working in SE OK late this winter. Called a sac spider, they look like a cross between a regular grass spider and a brown recluse. They are quite a aggressive and bite readily. Apparently they came over from Europe in some cargo and have spread. They are active in winter. There was snow and ice around but these little guys were everywhere.

[minnesota nice]

It is amazing how a discussion about pests can bring this community together. I love that! Of all the pests discussed, brown recluse spiders scare me the most, more so than even scorpions and rattle snakes because I believe that some people react badly to their bites and consequently suffer from constant necrotizing tissue. I don't recall the process on how that occurs and it doesn't happen to everyone. Do you have to inspect your sheets before you sleep?

Since I have lived in Minnesota, and living in a foresty area like I do, I can't say that MN has too many pests in spring, summer (maybe mosquitoes) and obviously not winter but in the autumn...there are invasions of box elder bugs. It is frightening to see the outside of your home covered in these things because it resembles a carpet at times! I am not kidding! To rid them, temporarily, I found out that throwing a bucket of soapy water will kill them. I once found a brown marmorated stink bug in my house. It looked like a stone but it moved and that terrified me.

I think I was actually bitten by something a few weeks ago. I have no idea what it was. I had left the window of my house open, with a screen, at night and when I woke up, I felt a pain in my thigh and a very large bruise-like pattern on it. It also itched but when I scratched it, it hurt like a bruise. I also had severe back pain to the point where I could hardly get out of bed because it hurt. I almost tipped over the dresser, trying to pull myself out of bed. I ended up going to work anyway but still, I always wondered what it was. Friends suggested it was a tick bite but I never walked in any tall grass. Either way, it was very sudden and I thought it could have been an allergic reaction to a bite of some sort.

On a different note, does OKC have a decent import car community? Specifically older European cars? I was thinking of buying an Alfa Romeo 164 but I am not sure whether that is a good idea until I find a place that can work on such a car as it is very finicky. I had one in Minnesota here (the nightmarish 24V version) and it was incredibly difficult to find a reliable shop to change the timing belt so I ended up driving to Chicago to a specialty shop to perform the work.

Thank You

[Rubi3]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

I'd venture to guess you don't work in a hospital and have to treat brown recluse bites like I do. It's not pretty.

<snipped>

You're right. I don't work in a hospital and most likely never will. I don't doubt my viewpoint might be different if I did.

[swake]

Originally Posted by Rubi3

Oh my, I'm sure there are those who have their house sprayed for spiders, but I've never in my long life heard anyone say they have. No one in my family has, I know that for sure. Of course, I don't doubt it happens, but I don't think it is typical. I've seen no advertising about it either. These spiders are timid and nonaggressive. Not sure why anyone needs to do anything other than be aware they exist and act accordingly. If I plan to wear something that's been in the closet awhile without being worn, I shake it out, but that's all. There are rattlesnakes in Oklahoma also and can slitter into a house. People are killed in automobile accidents, too. Those who spend a lot of time worried about all the bad things that can happen are in for a hard life. Armadillos are in Oklahoma. Some armadillos carry rabies and will get in a garage if the door is left open. The list is endless.

My house gets treated inside and out once every 90 days as just part of a regular service. I expect most of my neighbors do too. It's not specifically for spiders but certainly covers them, I just don't want bugs or rodents in my house. I use Terminix but there are many other companies around. I see billboards and TV ads all the time for exterminators.

[Rubi3]

Originally Posted by swake

My house gets treated inside and out once every 90 days as just part of a regular service. I expect most of my neighbors do too. It's not specifically for spiders but certainly covers them, I just don't want bugs or rodents in my house. I use Terminix but there are many other companies around. I see billboards and TV ads all the time for exterminators.

Yes, I do also, but not ads specifically for spiders. I don't have bugs or rodents in my house unless one happens rarely, then I get rid of it and I don't go by not seeing them in daylight. I'm sure many have regular service. When I posted the subject was spiders, nothing else. That's all I was referring to. Had I been talking about other household pests I would have mentioned them. It makes me no difference what anyone does. In my post I merely stated my opinion, that's all and I don't have even a remote idea what my neighbors do or don't do.

[minnesota nice]

I am sure I'd rather be in the company of spiders or rodents than to stay in the state of Minnesota at this juncture of my life.

My Toyota 4Runner got keyed!