Need help identifying a spider in Waldo County (Orono, Belfast: house, dangerous)

[melrosemiss]

Don't have a photo because I get rid of them too quickly, and then move very fast but to me, a new resident here, they look like giant unfed dog ticks, except they are black. The body appears round but not very high, almost flat, with all the little legs off to the side. Creepy and would love to identify to know if they are dangerous. Thanks from Nancy in Belfast.

[bigchuckie]

Maine has only one dangerous spider and are quite rare. I think it is the brown recluse (sp)

[Elcarim]

Same here. The Brown Recluse is our nasty one. My sister was bitten on the arm during the night by one when she was a teenager. She got a huge boil-like area that spanned two inches. I won't go into much detail (it was uterly gross) but she kept having to have it re-lanced and treated for over a year before it finally healed and now she has a little scar there. At one point, she even started getting blood poisoning spreading out from the area. It was pretty bad.

[deerislesmile]

If you get a picture of him, or could identify him, you can always call the Cooperative Extension Service, either in your county, or the CES Pest Management Office on the Orono Campus- not sure the phone number.

They can also send you a kit in which to collect said bug and send him to Orono to be identified.

[flycessna]

I had no idea that the brown recluse was native to Maine. I knew one person that was bit by one but she worked in a ware house where she was recieving packages from all over the country.

[7th generation]

Hope this helps. This is the Brown Recluse.