Spiders Bite 15 Inmates in Arkansas Jail

Yahoo! News ^ | Sat May 24, 4:45 PM ET | AP

[yonif]

JONESBORO, Ark. - Spiders have infested a county jail in northeast Arkansas, biting at least 15 inmates and confounding the exterminator.

The main offender appears to be the brown recluse spider, up to three-quarters of an inch long with long, skinny legs and a violin-shaped mark on its head.

Inmate Tim Steele, 26, showed off his lower left leg Friday, inflamed and red from a bite. A brown recluse's bite can cause a rash, swelling and flu-like symptoms and, in rare cases, can cause kidney failure, seizures and even coma, according to the National Institutes of Health (news - web sites).

"We're doing the best we can to get rid of (the spiders)," Sheriff Jack McCann said.

The Craighead County sheriff said a pest-control contractor has increased spraying, and that he began to address the problem a month ago.

The first complaints date to January, said assistant jail administrator Matt Vaughn. He said one inmate had "pretty substantial" symptoms and required medical attention.

"My understanding is you have to have direct contact to kill them," Vaughn said. "So it's kind of like we're fighting a losing battle. We need to figure something else out because what we are doing is not working."

[bonfire]

Alex, I will ask you....does that pic on this thread REALLY look like a recluse? I always thought they were all brown.

[bonfire]

Thanks. I live in TX and have seen spiders in the house with a white body. I use a magnifying glass to try and identify BEFORE I squish them. I will take your advice and just bomb the place and see what crawls out of the woodwork.

[kms61]

No, fortunately it was already mostly healed...the edges just separated and left a big scar.

[Squantos]

Glad your OK...........I have never been in an Area where that critter alledgedly dwells . Do you know the natural enemy of the Brown recluse spider ?

Stay Safe !

[stlnative]

The bites ooze and stay festered. Sometimes they will spread wider and deeper. Removing the scab (not really a scab - dead skin and cells) keeps the inner part of the bite dry.

Most people will feel feverish and have aching in the limb that was bitten, you also may have a all over dull headache. The bites when they spread sorta look like the skin form of Anthrax poisoning or flesh eating disease. Once bitten you do not know right off how bad it will get or won't get as it the skin and cells die slowly. If your bite (the red ring) gets larger than 3/8" in diameter go to your doctor or a ER, ASAP. Most bites do not get any larger than 3/8" in diameter. Most of all do not scratch the bite area, it will cause it to spread and get infected.

[stlnative]

Here is 2 better pictures of a BRS

[stlnative]

One next to a key

[stlnative]

A classic picture of the start of a BRS Bite, taken 3 days after being bitten. How worse it gets from here depends on the person and how much poison the person received from the BRS.

Notice the dark spot in the middle - The angle of the picture does not show how raised the red ring around the center of the bite is. As I had my arm pressed against the scanner glass when I took this picture.

[AlexW]

"does that pic on this thread REALLY look like a recluse?"

That is not the best photo of a Brown Recluse, but I am sure they can vary in looks. That one is pretty ugly, haha.
They are not, as some think, a big hairy spider.

The ones in west Tennessee, have an almost grey or beige color, but the violin on the back is quite noticable, thats why they are also called "fiddleback" spiders. The body is small, not more then about 3 x 6 mm. A very large one can be as large as a quarter, including legs. Also, they move VERY fast.
Do not confuse them with the little web weavers that make webs in window frames, and other open spaces in your house. These little harmless web spiders look similar. You will not see a recluse web in the open.
I am sure all can get a lot of info by looking in Goggle.

It is important for all to know all they can about this spider, as it is increasing in range, it IS an indoor spider, and the bite is quite bad, as many victims do not recognize it as a bite and wait to late to get treatment. Most deaths, while few, are from complications.

[JSteff]

Or lizards.

[mhking]

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!

[battlegearboat]

I wonder if that "Spiderman" guy was incarcerated in that pokey?

[invenire]

Persistent insect with a big appetite
How about a bird.
HERE

[The Coopster]

There is also a close cousin, the Northern Brown Spider, which causes similar reactions. I still have a scar from a bite I received 6 or 7 years ago - it looks sort of like the smallpox vaccination scar, except it's on my back.

The creepiest part of it was when the center of the wound dropped out and left a crater. It also affected the nerves in my arm for about 2 weeks (tingling, spasms.)

Fortunately, I'm in management now, and don't spend near the time out in the field as I used to. Seems like I was always getting some kind of bizarre bite/sting/injury.....

[Katya]

Coopster, Where does the Northern Brown live? Okay, spiders are one of the few things on earth that make me uncomfortable. I live in Maryland, according to the Brown Recluse maps, we don't have them and there is much species misidentification that occurs.

Brigitte, I'm very sorry you have to go through this again.

[skinkinthegrass]

Is Shrillary back in AR?...with due respect to spiders... :|

[El Gato]

I would imaging the prisoners would get a kick out of them - or be freaked out by them, one or the other!

Depends on if they saw them mating. The female bites the head off the male during the act. As I understand it, insemination cannot occur unless she does so.

I don't suspect they are any more intelligent than the spiders...but they might be a little, since animals that actively hunter their prey are generally more intelligent than those who simply set out traps for it.

[The Coopster]

Well, everything I've found indicates that it's primary area of habitat is the NW US. But I live in Indiana, and the common name for this spider is the hobo spider.

I don't recall why the doctor came to this conclusion, as IN is shown as being "brown recluse territory", as it were...

[FreePaul]

How about bringing in some praying mantises?

Are you out of your mind? The ACLU would be suing everyone in sight if one of them even started to assume the praying position.

[Carol72]

Today is day 36 of my most recent bite. I keep a supply of home remedies on hand: unseasoned meat tenderizer, hydrogen peroxide, and a salve made from pine tree resin (PAV-Ointment, 1-800-422-4716.) I don't know the type of spider that bit me, but the pain woke me up. (Others say that they didn't feel their bite, and I have been bitten before, and didn't feel it.) I felt like I had rolled on a sharp stick (though I was home in bed.) I reached down, grabbed something soft, about the size of a jelly bean, threw it on the floor and went back to sleep. That morning the spot on my hip just looked like a bug bite, not bad yet.
I immediately began applying meat tenderized, moistened in hydrogen peroxide, followed by PAV-Ointment, and took Benadryl. The second day, a purple spot the size of a quarter appeared. The third morning, the raised inflamed area was 3 inches in diameter, and the entire area felt bruised and I felt like I had a severe case of the flu. I could barely talk and had periods of near fainting. I had a neighbor drive me to an emergency clinic in a very small town. I had high bood pressure and rapid pulse. I was given a prescription for prednisone, but no antibiotics. If I ever need treatment again, I will go a few more miles down the road to Columbia. The pain was tremendous, the area felt badly bruised, I couldn't stand even the slightest pressure on my hip. I went to my regular doctor about day ten. He said it was the second worse spider bite he had ever seen, and that the spider had put an enormous amount of venom into the bite. The pain was constant until the third week. I kept up the routine of twice a day meat tenderizer and peroxide, followed by PAV. This treatment burns for a while, but it sure draws out the poison. The wound scabbed over and the area remained dry looking after the first week. Today, day 36, an area about an inch long, and a half inch wide, will have to heal. I think it will take about two more months. I live in central Missouri near the woods in a "modern" but simple log cabin. I usually worry more about ticks than spiders.