Poisionous spiders in Virginia (Collinsville, Cana: lawyers, houses, club)

[blueva]

Originally Posted by Count Arioch the 28th

Occasionally, you'll find black widows hidden away in out of the way places. Their bites aren't terribly dangerous, but can make you sick if you do something careless like put your hands somewhere undistrubed without checking first.

Brown Recluse spiders don't live in Virginia at all, humans have a nasty habit of labeling any brownish, medium-sized spider with some sort of marking that even looks vaguely like a fiddle as a brown recluse. The fact of the matter is that they don't live this far north and east, and to identify one you'll need to get a stereoscopic microscope and dissect it to determine it's internal structure.


References:

Spider Myths: My aunt was bitten by one...

And

Spider Myths: The dreaded sign of the fiddle!

(I apologize for the faulty URL tags, I can't seem to get rid of them. Deleting the tags and the text does nothing, it would seem. Just copy and past the URL into your browser to see the references.)

In general, you don't have to worry too much about spiders in Virginia. I'd worry more about rattlesnakes, and even they're pretty tame compared to venomous snakes that live elsewhere in the world.

We're not that far north and east.

[j1n]

a bit off-topic, but we corralled what looked like a baby timber rattler in the inside hallway of our apt building yesterday

[seanpecor]

Oooooh, pictures j1n! That would be a rare find. The head is usually unmistakable, typically about twice as wide as the body:

http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/reptiles/snakes/timber-rattlesnake/sp_timberrattlesnake002.JPG (broken link)

I had my wife come up to the house this summer thinking the girls found a baby rattler. When I went down to the creek to check him out, he turned out to be a northern water snake, but I snapped some pics anyway. His head was accentuated which tricked the eye, but the little guy was just getting ready to molt. Which explains why he just hung out on the tree while I took pictures



Sean

[seanpecor]

It's incorrect to state that the Brown Recluse does not live in Virginia at all. According to the Virginia Tech Coop Extension Service (Brown Recluse Spider (http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/brownrec.html - broken link)) their range extends to the tip of Western Virginia. That said, they're incredibly rare. Even in Western Virginia you'd stand a better chance of getting struck by lightning while scratching off a winning lottery ticket than seeing a brown recluse in the wild here.

Sean

[blueva]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

It's incorrect to state that the Brown Recluse does not live in Virginia at all. According to the Virginia Tech Coop Extension Service (Brown Recluse Spider (http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/brownrec.html - broken link)) their range extends to the tip of Western Virginia. That said, they're incredibly rare. Even in Western Virginia you'd stand a better chance of getting struck by lightning while scratching off a winning lottery ticket than seeing a brown recluse in the wild here.

Sean

Indeed! They do live here. Especially in Southeastern Virginia. I know someone who was bitten by one! Got a rash on his arm.

Incidently- brown recluse spiders are in MO and KS-which are as far north as Virginia , so naturally they can live here.

Also in VA- cottonmouths, copperheads (You can find these are far north as Pennsylvania) and some rattle snakes (esp in the mountains)

[mel0one]

There have been very few cases of bites from Brown Recluses in VA. I have lived here most of my life and have a huge fear of spiders, therefore, I have researched the subject in length. Of the cases that have been confirmed, almost all of them could be contributed to the spiders being brought in from another location, i.e. in a warehouse that receives packages from another state, schools that have also received packages recently, etc... so, I do not believe that recluses are a permanent VA resident. Black Widows are another story... they do live with us, but, I still have never seen a female, only the male...

[daniel roberts]

black widows are everywhere in va, but usually avoid people if possible, they love ciderblocks and crawl spaces, if a bite from one goes untreated the end result is usually cardiac arrest and death. the brown recluse is rarer in va(more in the southeast, yes they are in va, ive collected them for a entomology thesis) and while not fatal to healthy adults its bite will necrotize the flesh around the original bite site even when treated in most cases. this is similar to the effect of a rattle snake bite where flesh and muscle tissue die as a result of the toxins and that tissue must be cut away/surgically removed.
the largish spiders you are encountering are common possibly wolf spiders/ think minni tarantulas to dozens of other types of spiders all of which can bite, the only danger to you from these is if your allergic to insect bites/bee and are severely sensitive or something

[angelsmama21]

actually, i have been a VA resident for over 23 years, and there are brown recluse spiders here. and just like alot of insects that come from different states or countries, people (as in goods that get shipped, ppl that go on vacation) brought them to va a long time ago...

[sollenb]

my son and i were bitten by brown recluse spiders when we did lots of work in a huge woodpile. He received 4 bites, and I receive one. They are nasty and should be treated immediately....we live in McLean Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC, and they ARE here

[freespirit20002002]

I found a wolf spider on my kitchen wall this morning. It was right above the light switch I was reaching for. So scary. I killed it with a shoe. I live in Rocky Mount, Va.