World's deadliest spider found in Tulsa

[karibear]

Originally Posted by ICvegan

[English major rears ugly head] The absolute hilarious thing is how many people ever referred to the spider as "poisonous". It could have been "venomous", but I don't think too many people go around EATING or touching spiders and getting poisoned by them. Now, getting BITTEN by them and getting sick from venom that gets injected into their bodies (the human bodies, not the spider bodies....that's another story. [/ugly head hides again]

I never even thought of that! I've always split the poisonous/venomous thing between insects and reptiles, rather than ingestion vs injection. Probably it was because of when and where I grew up, and hearing of them both referred to those ways. I've never been overly fond of insects, but herpetology was one of my choices at college. But I slid over to the fine arts side anyway.

[OkieWolf]

Well, the sad thing, or funny thing depending on how you look at it, is that all spiders are venomous, with the exception of the spider family Uloboridae, which do not possess venom. How it affects you when you get bitten varies from person to person. Someone with an immuno-suppressed immune system, a young child, or the elderly are much more susceptible to venom toxicity than an average person with a normal functioning immune system. One person could get bitten with absolutely no ill affects but another person could get bitten by the very same spider and go into anaphylactic shock or even death if not treated properly. Many people also can get secondary infections from the bite wound itself. But, the majority of people can handle being bitten by most spiders with no problems. That's why you don't read in the newspaper or see on tv about people dying right and left from spider bites. People get bitten by spiders a lot more than they realize because you rarely even know you've been bitten, especially if you never see the spider.

[HeatherDawn]

I've been bitten several times but not by anything deadly. You can usually tell because there will be a raised, feverish hard spot. You can mix water with meat tenderizer to make a paste and put on it to pull some of the poison out.

[OkieWolf]

Yeah, I've been bitten, stung, clawed, stabbed, poked, spit on, or sprayed by just about every critter Oklahoma has to offer with no problems. I guess my immune system is on overdrive most of the time.

[OkieWolf]

If anyone is interested you can see an article I did on BugGuide concerning spiders here.
Or you can visit my website critter pics page here or more specifically the spider pics here.

[Synopsis]

Wolf spiders creep me out. I can't even look at pictures of them. I do understand that spiders are beneficial for the most part, however. And I never go out of my way to hurt or kill them.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by OkieWolf

If anyone is interested you can see an article I did on BugGuide concerning spiders here.
Or you can visit my website critter pics page here or more specifically the spider pics here.

OkieWolf,

Thanks for the pics! Very helpful.

[Bill236c]

Good point Vegan. Thanks.