Heads up re: venomous spider

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

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

I believe that is correct for any allergies. I used to pull poison oak on the property with my bare hands and one day I ended up in the hospital. The doctors told me you have to be exposed to whatever before you become allergic and sometimes you get it on the second exposure sometimes after several exposures.

The scorpion stings fall under the allergic reaction but snake bites and spider bites are a different thing altogether and can be extremely dangerous or fatal the first time you get bitten.

Thank you Brigitte for clarifying that point! Rules for various people's reactions to different venoms are not one size fits all.

I once met a "Marlboro Man" rancher from Northern Colorado who claimed rattlesnake bites were not dangerous since he had been bitten five times and was now immune. A theory that I would not have been willing to test!

I have had many guys who were bitten by rattlers in the vineyard and none of them ever died . They would get bitten by grabing a snake while grafting or during the harvest as the ratlers would like to climb in the canopy. Their hand and arms would turn black and they would get very sick for quite a while but none of them died wether it was their first time or not but I would not have wanted to be int heir shoes. Those bites are nasty.
We would take them to the hospital immediately and they would receive the antivenom which is just as nasty as the bite so the Malboro man was probably better off without the injections...

Here is a discription of a severe spider bite. Normally here you can just use
a topical antihistimine available at any pharmacy in a cream form. Put a little
bit on top of the bite and it forms a hard crust and two or three days later
all is well. I had a moderate spider bite a few years ago and this did the trick.
I can't remember the name of the cream. Something like Antadol(????).
Somebody post the name of the cream if you could. I need to get a new tube.

Z


This reaction takes the form of hives and it resembles the symptoms of a flu. It happens after a while upon taking the antiserum. If you recognize any of these symptoms you should see a doctor immediately.
The first symptoms of spider bite illness appear ten minutes after a person was bitten, in some cases they can appear hours later. The patient experiences convulsions and burning sensation in the area of the bite, directly after he or she was bitten.
The early pain starts from the lymph node and then the pain spreads onto the waist area, the spine, abdomen, lower legs and thies.
This patient experiences contractions in the thorax area, cold sweat, shivers and sometimes obstructions of body muscles.
He or she can not stand or sit and due to enormous pains this person is prone to roll and twitch all over the bed. Basically, the patient experiences very painful symptoms as if he or she is dying.
These intense symptoms last for the first twenty four hours. After the first day the pain descends into the feet, followed by a burning sensation.
This second day brings other symptoms such as flamed- up cheeks and swallen eyelids.
The person is exhausted from going through massive pains and insomnia but does not look that alarmingly sick anymore although still experiencing pains in legs and feet.
The burning sensation in the patients feet is also present.
The third day brings alleviation from intense symptoms but the patient still feels both painful and burning feet, experiences numbness and headache followed by extreme fatigue.
After a few days, the patient may have skin rash. When the illness is not treated medically it can approximately last for seven days. Some can carry this illness for a shorter amount of time and some notably longer, all within three weeks.
Death can rarely occur in spider bite illness, but some patients, especially those who have a high blood pressure and heart disease, may experience complications which can ultimately lead to death.

Oh yea in Oregon where we don't have Brown Recluse spiders according to the
book they are most likely hanging out in porta potties for you ladies who sit
check things out first. I got bit in Oregon by the non existant brown recluse
and it started to rot my skin not a good experience. Had to go to a specialist
in the big city to stop the rot. Skip the experience if you can.

Z

Zed I believe this is the correct spelling. We use for all insect bites it stops itching very quickly.

Zedinmexico wrote:Oh yea in Oregon where we don't have Brown Recluse spiders according to the
book they are most likely hanging out in porta potties for you ladies who sit
check things out first. I got bit in Oregon by the non existant brown recluse
and it started to rot my skin not a good experience. Had to go to a specialist
in the big city to stop the rot. Skip the experience if you can.

Z

Zed,
you'll be pleased to learn that we've had indoor plumbing in Oregon since way back last year sometime.
Are you sure it was rotting skin and not just the native ambiance of the porta-potty that you were smellin'?

Any chance that li'l brown-eye-bandit lurking in the privy was a hobo spider?

Charmin regards
George

mattoleriver wrote:

Zedinmexico wrote:Oh yea in Oregon where we don't have Brown Recluse spiders according to the
book they are most likely hanging out in porta potties for you ladies who sit
check things out first. I got bit in Oregon by the non existant brown recluse
and it started to rot my skin not a good experience. Had to go to a specialist
in the big city to stop the rot. Skip the experience if you can.

Z

Zed,
you'll be pleased to learn that we've had indoor plumbing in Oregon since way back last year sometime.
Are you sure it was rotting skin and not just the native ambiance of the porta-potty that you were smellin'?

Any chance that li'l brown-eye-bandit lurking in the privy was a hobo spider?

Charmin regards
George

Hey I can't figure it out but everybody including an insect guy from OSU called it a Brown Recluse.
Spiders do love porta privies. We would broom them out before cleaning them.

I'm from the midwest - Kansas City area - and can attest to the effects of a Brown Recluse bite. My mother got bitten by one on the back of her thigh (it was hiding in the cuff of some shorts, and bit her when she put them on). By the next morning, she couldn't get out of bed and they had to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Nearly died, and once she got home the area around the bite continued to decay for several months. The flesh would liquify slowly, and she had to change bandages several times a day. End result was a hole in her leg around the bite about the size of a silver dollar and an inch deep. I was in 4th grade at the time, and ever since have always "crushed" and shaken my clothes and shoes before putting them on!

My understanding is that, in the US at least, there is no poison legally available that will kill them without a direct hit. There are some buildings that get infested and they're unable to clear them out. One story in the KC area not long ago talked about a family whose house was infested, and they just had to learn to live with them (very carefully!). The Nature Center building (?) in Swope Park was infested and eventually had to be abandoned in favor of a new building. Nasty critters!

Re: Black Widows... I remember that my grandfather, who lived in the desert outside Phoenix, used to go out at night to hunt and kill them. They made webs on the cactus outside his house, with a funnel entrance going into crevices where they'd stay during the day. At night, they would come out, where they could be located with a flashlight and sprayed.