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Not that most don't know this but since the article just came out about how and where Brown Recluses hide in our homes in the winter. Like inside shoes that never leave from the back of the closet or in between stacks of newspapers or paper files stacked for months in the garage or closet.
Not that most don't know this but since the article just came out about how and where Brown Recluses hide in our homes in the winter. Like inside shoes that never leave from the back of the closet or in between stacks of newspapers or paper files stacked for months in the garage or closet.
Great article 6/3. Fiddlebacks are quite at home in nooks and crannies. They are like Blackwidows in their love of dark spaces. Shaking out jackets and shoes is imperitive. The bite a widow left on my paternal grandmother's leg was as big as a half dollar (so said dad as she died before I came to be) and deep. She was said to have said it was worse pain than childbirth!
My oldest brother was bit in the yard while mowing by a jumping spider and got so ill by it he had to go to the hospital. So, watch out for those little boogers, too.
So, 6/3 you may save some folks some agony with this one-thanks!
Great article 6/3. Fiddlebacks are quite at home in nooks and crannies. They are like Blackwidows in their love of dark spaces. Shaking out jackets and shoes is imperitive. The bite a widow left on my paternal grandmother's leg was as big as a half dollar (so said dad as she died before I came to be) and deep. She was said to have said it was worse pain than childbirth!
My oldest brother was bit in the yard while mowing by a jumping spider and got so ill by it he had to go to the hospital. So, watch out for those little boogers, too.
So, 6/3 you may save some folks some agony with this one-thanks!
Right on Truely Heartless.....LOL.....i was checking my shoes and boots that have been in the closet for months.....
Brown Recluse must think I'm their kin; I was bit four times in as many years. They seem to hide in heavy greenery like ornamental bushes out side of windows in the summer. I know what the bite feels like in the very beginning. I'm off to the doc the minute I feel it. I got my first bite in Lincoln, Illinois standing outside a house. Now I live in a town that sprays for bugs twice a week in the summer. It helps.
Brown Recluse must think I'm their kin; I was bit four times in as many years. They seem to hide in heavy greenery like ornamental bushes out side of windows in the summer. I know what the bite feels like in the very beginning. I'm off to the doc the minute I feel it. I got my first bite in Lincoln, Illinois standing outside a house. Now I live in a town that sprays for bugs twice a week in the summer. It helps.
Linicx.....can you tell us what the bite feels like?? I heard it's no where close to the bite of an Black Widow.
Linicx.....can you tell us what the bite feels like?? I heard it's no where close to the bite of an Black Widow.
I've never been bitten by a Black Widow so I cannot use that as a referecne point. It begins as an itch. Scratching quells the itch for a while. Then at the bite site the itch has a dull deep pain with it. The kind of pain that I had when I got a shot that felt like the needle hit a bone. (it didn't). The itch is sporatic as the pain intesifies. Within 2 days the site hurts almost too much to touch and the itch doesn't stop. By then I am already on antibiotics. This spider leaves a mark the color of charcoal and it lasts long after successful treatment. The last bite mark I had was on the lower part of my belly. It was nine months before the skin area was clear. I tend to think bite location may dictate how long the charcoal mark remains.
It is not something to fool with. The spiders are small and I didn't always feel the sting of the bite. The initial bite is not nearly as obvious or as intense as the sting of a flying insect such as a wasp or bee.
Ive kept some brown relcuses as "pets". I agree with those who say to shake out your shoes and shirts, etc, before use. As with many mobile spiders, they seek out dark places to hide. If you have a lumber pile in your yard, be especially aware as you pick up the wood. Its best to flip it over first and inspect closely before you move it. Same goes for rocks in your yard.
I don't like to open up old threads, but I absolutely do not agree with this statement from the article.
"The hemotoxin produces a blister that turns black and sloughs off within 24 hours leaving an ulcerous open wound that takes six to eight weeks to heal, leaving a permanent scar. In very rare cases, the bite may lead to fever, rash, vomiting, coma, and death within two or three days."
This never happened to me. "....produces a blister that turns black and sloughs off within 24 hours leaving an ulcerous open wound that takes six to eight weeks to heal, leaving a permanent scar..."
I did not have an ulcerated open wound; I don't think this happens over night. I do not have a scar. It did not take 6-8 weeks for the pain or soreness to end. It was several months before the dime size bite on my lower stomach changed from blackened to the color of healthy skin. Each time I sought medical attention within 12 hours. The pain is intense; it does not stop. The pain increases incrementally to a point where even a pain tolerant person will seek relief.
I've never been bitten by a Black Widow so I cannot use that as a referecne point. It begins as an itch. Scratching quells the itch for a while. Then at the bite site the itch has a dull deep pain with it. The kind of pain that I had when I got a shot that felt like the needle hit a bone. (it didn't). The itch is sporatic as the pain intesifies. Within 2 days the site hurts almost too much to touch and the itch doesn't stop. By then I am already on antibiotics. This spider leaves a mark the color of charcoal and it lasts long after successful treatment. The last bite mark I had was on the lower part of my belly. It was nine months before the skin area was clear. I tend to think bite location may dictate how long the charcoal mark remains.
It is not something to fool with. The spiders are small and I didn't always feel the sting of the bite. The initial bite is not nearly as obvious or as intense as the sting of a flying insect such as a wasp or bee.
Hope this helps.
I've never tangled with a Fiddleback, and am in no hurry to, but, have bumped heads with Widows 5 times. The first two were the worst, the first, the worst of all. The initial bite felt like someone stubbed a cigarette on me. My hand came away from the bite site covered in guts and legs, and I knew what happened. I didn't seek medical attention, being young and immortal. I should have. The bite welted and boiled up, the nausea was massive, hot and cold, dry heaves, joints on fire, trouble breathing. 48 straight hours of that. Big spider.
They are nasty, and sneaky. It pays to keep your place cleaned out and bombed. Crawlspaces especially.
Not that most don't know this but since the article just came out about how and where Brown Recluses hide in our homes in the winter. Like inside shoes that never leave from the back of the closet or in between stacks of newspapers or paper files stacked for months in the garage or closet.
I just about panicked when I first read that they thrive in clutter. But I followed a link to another site which clearly stated their range doesn't include my neck of the woods. Thank goodness!
Thanks for this important info, Six Foot Three.
Edited to add: I just noticed this thread is almost 5 years old! It's still good info, though.
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But I followed a link to another site which clearly stated their range doesn't include my neck of the woods. Thank goodness!
