Heads up re: venomous spider

Killed a Latrodectus hesperus, the Western black widow spider or Western widow that had set up a characteristic messy web under a table on the front porch - right where the dog likes to nap!

Image below is from the web (not a pic of the spider I killed but looked identical) just so you can identify these highly venomous house guests!

I am no spider expert. But I do know the black widow. And I keep my distance. I been lakeside part time for 15 years and I have seen spiders looking something like that but never a real black widow anywhere but up north. I sure hope the one you saw was only a look alike and not the real thing.

I have an even funnier horror story. When I first arrived the only thing I knew about scorpions was what I learned on James Bond 007 movies, and I understood they were used to kill people. So the first time a scorpion stung me, I had to be rushed to the hospital, put in a hospital bed and received medication. What for? A panic attack where my blood pressure was so high they had to medicate me. Boy did I feel like a fool.

The best way to kill them is with a can of hair spray and a cigarette lighter. Point, spray and ignite. I get them in the hotwater heater where you light the pilot and on my metal gate.wherever it is hot.

Pete - pretty sure it was the real McCoy.

I have seen the small black widow and the large variety we have here, in my house a couple of times and many in the garden under in the wood pile, under pots near the entry door and so on. Their web is really messy.
Yes there are plenty of them around but they are shy just have to see where you put your fingers and feet.

My husband got stung by some insect in his sleep , his hand doubled and he could not use it for a month. He finally went to see the doctor who prescribed antibiotics and antihestamine. Some of the bugs here are not very friendly

Black widows are pretty common here,they're called Capulinas,when my wife spots a web she hunts them down with a vengeance.

I have found quite a few here in SAT and just swat them with whatever is at hand. They are not fast or aggressive as a rule, at least in my experience. Probably killed 10-15 over the last 5 months. A couple were pretty big.

espíritu del lago wrote:The best way to kill them is with a can of hair spray and a cigarette lighter. Point, spray and ignite.

LOL! I used to do that when I was a kid.

Black Widow's are dangerous....according to my neighbor who was bitten last year, the anti venom is not readily available here in MX. He spent a week in the hospital.......unlike the scorpion sting.

We have lots of capulinas at our house in lower Ajijic. Fortunately, their webs are easy to identify.

I too have killed many black widows here in MX.

FYI: Cruz Roja Chapala has the anti-venom for scorpions should you need it, but we do not have anti-venom for black widows or brown recluse spiders. Doc says if you get bit by them you should go to Cruz Verde in Guad as they have the anti-venom.

FYI: Cruz Roja Chapala has the anti-venom for scorpions should you need it, but we do not have anti-venom for black widows or brown recluse spiders. Doc says if you get bit by them you should go to Cruz Verde in Guad as they have the anti-venom.[/quote]

I don´t believe that we have brown recluse spiders around Lakeside although they were plentiful in my native Alabama. You do not want to be bitten by either a black widow or brown recluse. We live near the lake in West Ajijic and have killed several black widows - some inside our home, the rest in our garden. On the other hand, I haven´t spotted a scorpion in or around our home in at least five years. The last scorpion I spotted was in a bottle of mezcal at a beach bar in Huatulco a couple of years ago.

That information on the black widow anti-venom is useful.

Most of the sites with information on brown recluse spiders generally state that Mexico doesn't have them except for right along the Texas border. Then again, what spiders can read to know where they are supposed to be?

CheenaGringo wrote:Most of the sites with information on brown recluse spiders generally state that Mexico doesn't have them except for right along the Texas border. Then again, what spiders can read to know where they are supposed to be?

That´s also the information I have on brown recluse spiders. The venom of the brown recluse is especially horrendous causing the grotesque and spreading rotting away of the area around a bite so I can assure the reader that, should a brown recluse venture down here from Texas because they do not know where they are supposed to be, they will be immediately dead upon discovery.

When we first moved here in 2001, I was amazed at how few venomous creatures they had around here at Lakeside compared to the U.S. and especially the Southeastern U. S. where I was raised where one can find numerous venomous snakes, some very aggressive, and all sorts of venomous creepy crawlies in great variety. In Chiapas, where we live at 7,000 feet, there are even fewer venomous creatures and fewer non-venomous but repulsive housepests as well. I don´t know if I could adapt to those Alabama swamplands crawling with unpleasant creatures again after spending over a decade here and in the Chiapas Highlands.

Not only do we have Black Widow we also have Recluse spiders which
rot your skin if you get bit. Look up in Wikopedia to see what they look
like. I kill black widows once a month in the garden. I know the map says
texas and stuff but we have Recluse spiders in Oregon. Seen both Recluse
and Black widows down here.

Z

Seems odd that Cruz Verde Hospital would stock an antidote for a spider that doesn't exist in Mexico. . .doncha think?

No a recluse could come in someone´s luggage from Texas , that does not mean Mexico is its primary territory.

Weird things happen and many people go and work to Texas and other states where the recluse lives so it is not weird that some could be here although they are not originally from Mexico.

I read a link last year about the Black Widow.....you can only have the anti venom once....many choose to weather the storm in a hospital.

Canada has done EXTENSIVE research on spiders! (Bob you here?) this may be of some interest to some.

Bwahahahaha, great, thanks!

" Not only do we have Black Widow we also have Recluse spiders which
rot your skin if you get bit. Look up in Wikopedia to see what they look
like. I kill black widows once a month in the garden. I know the map says
texas and stuff but we have Recluse spiders in Oregon. Seen both Recluse
and Black widows down here. "

Brown recluse spiders are quite common in my native Alabama and easy to spot although thay are, as their name would indicate, reclusive and anti-social if you inadvertently touch one. If you do touch one and are bitten you will regret it. I suggest you go to the internet and look up the horrendous destruction a brown recluse spider bite can bring about to the area affected. A strong stomach is called for if you do this. When we lived on Mobile Bay I killed many a brown recluse spider and some other nasty creatures who invaded my home and garden. In over 30 years living all over California and 12 years living here in Mexico in Jalisco and Chiapas, I have never seen a brown recluse spider or even a spider resembling one. Now, we have found black widows to be fairly common around Lakeside and, while they are quite shy and non-aggressive, they are night hunters and waiting for you near the refrigerator when you go into the kitchen for that peanut butter sandwich and tequila at 3:00AM so turn on some lights, watch your step and avoid sticking your hands into dark places such as the bar where you are hiding the tequila from your spouse.

I've never lived anywhere that these critters are common so I know very little about them. I have a couple questions.

Is everybody +/- equally susceptible to each venom or are some unlucky people just allergic? Even a simple bee sting can kill somebody who is allergic.

Is each antivenin specific to just one bug's venom? Are there broad spectrum antivenins?

Thanks
George

some spider bites are very nasty and dangerous and you need to kill the spider and bring it to the doctor if you get bitten to save some guessing work and time.

Scorpion stings are painful and can be like bee stings dangerous if you are allergic. My husband got stung 3 times and had no reaction. The cleaning lady was stung in a vein in her hand and had to be taken to the centro de salud to get a shot. The reaction can make the soft tissues swell and you can have problems with breathing.
An antihistamine is the antidote .
one dog was stung and he had to get a shot. It all depends on your system.

Also, my understanding is that allergic reactions only occur on second and subsequent exposures to a given substance. Apparently, the body's reaction (developing antibodies) to the first exposure is what causes the allergic reaction on subsequent exposures.

Yep, watch out for the webs. They are a bit different, in a disorganized way.

http://www.brownrecluse-spiderbite.com/pages/Black-Widow.html