Brown Recluse Spider Bites - Now is the time to spray your house! (graphic pictures)

myself ^ | 5/9/03 | brigette

[stlnative]

This is a semi-vanity post - but others should learn about this nasty little spider and the damage it can do.

This is my 3rd day into my second Brown Recluse Spider bite that I have had in the past 3 years. The first one took over 6 months to heal and left a 3/4" diameter crater in the back of my neck at my hairline. I was bitten again 3 days ago, at least that is when I notice a pin head size bump on my right forearm and thought it was just a mosquito bite. Today is day three and I decided to keep a record of this new bite this time if it decides to get worse or hang around for 6 months like the other one. It was pin head size 3 days ago. I found a website after my first bite that keeps records and case pictures of brown recluse spider bites (warning if you think snake bites are nasty or anthrax sores are gross - well Brown Spider Bites are just as bad - they get uglier as time goes by!). I did not record my first bite as I figured it would just heal. But it got worse and worse as the weeks went by.

Anyway people in the midwest should learn about these nasty little spiders, even more if you have kids... you should bug bomb your house often and keep clutter away from and inside your homes. Right now the little nasty things are moving back indoors due to all the rainy weather we have had in the midwest.

Today is 5/9/03 and I am into my 3 day of being bitten by BRS (Brown Recluse Spider). My picture below looks like it is not much of anything and I am hoping that it stays as little as it now. But I am prepared to record it this time if it does get worse. Hopefully my picture of my 3 day old bite will help others recognize when they have also been bitten by a BRS, everyone is affected differently depending on the size of the spider and how your body handle the poison. Since this is my second bite it may not get any worse.



I have started a bite history on a website that has records of over 400 BRS bites (tons of photos there that would make your jaw drop if you have never seen what a BRS can do to you once it bites you) My case number is #995 (maybe they have 995 recorded cases now) the website url is http://www.highway60.com/mark/brs/default.htm

My little bite is how all of it starts for some people, that little bite can turn into this...
Graphic Picture of Hand after a BRS bite and the link to this persons BRS bite story

I don't think I need to say more here - just visit the BRS Bite site and use the search link at the top... Put in the information you want (if you just want to see the stories with pictures check off just the "Yes" next to the Picture option and hit the search button at the bottom.

Do yourself a favor and your kids a favor... spray or bomb your house at least once each season (spring, summer, fall, winter). You can buy house bombs at any local discount store in packs of 3 for about $6.00.

I posted this so that people mainly in the midwest can learn about these nasty little spiders, I didn't do it to draw attention to my own bite... I just know now how nasty they can get and how you can lessen your chances of being bit. I got bit before I had a chance to bomb my house... it has been rainy here and I should have known they would start coming in through the cracks between the window screens and window frame. All in all I should be fine, but some people do not fair as well.

[stlnative]

FYI - PLEASE READ AND BE INFORMED

[error99]

So what state do you live in?
These things are not a problem down here where I am.

[Reagan is King]

Thanks for the post. My next door neighbor (I'm in East Texas) just had their house fogged and they found 12 dead brown recluse spiders afterwards. I've already ordered my spraying and so should anyone that lives in their territory.

[stlnative]

I live in Illinois - they mainly live in the midwest, but have been found in new areas throughout the USA due to people moving from the midwest to other places.

[discostu]

What are you doing that's leaving you so exposed to those things? I've lived in brown recluse country for over 25 years never even touched one.

[Betteboop]

We have them in NJ and PA.

[Utah Girl]

Take care.

[netmilsmom]

How big are they?
It looks Huge.
I'm in MI.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Also in California. Couple ladies I know got hit. One almost lost her leg.

[djf]

I think spider venom has an enzyme that basically has two purposes: digest living tissue, and turn some of it into more enzyme.
Not pretty.

[stlnative]

I live in the country - farmland - corn fields and very wet weather right now that makes them move indoors... they get in my house all the time. I spray 4 times a year and not gotten around to it yet. Not sure when I was bit, it could have been while I was sleeping. You do not really feel them when they bite... it is the after you have worry about as it swells and turns black in the center.

[Polycarp]

I recently referred a patient of mine to a plastic surgeon for a BRS bite on the back of her calf. Fortunately this one will heal. My mentor treated one that the ER and family doc misdiagnosed as simple cellulitis. Lost half his leg.

One final note:

I have a patient with a history of severe acute liver failure.

He set off a bug bomb but returned home too soon.

He inhaled enough insecticide to cause severe liver damage.

And most insecticides are ineffective against spiders unless they get direct and heavy contact.

[discostu]

Sounds like you need more cats. Lousy company good for keeping bugs out. Good luck, those bites get nasty.

[Exit148]

What happens when you have your house bombed? Do you have to wash all exposed surfaces -- for instance dishes?

[stlnative]

they can be tiny or slightly larger than a quarter when the legs are spread. Read the website... or do a google search on them. They have a fiddle shape on their backs.

[Young Rhino]

Bitten twice in three years? While I feel sorry for your situation, if you ever attend a FR rally, please identify yourself so that others can avoid a lightning strike or other freak accident.

[Exit148]

What about those fine light tan ones? I have them in my kitchen and they seem harmless. I always talk to them before I blow them away from my area.

[tutstar]

[yooper]

Don't mean to offend here, but didn't you notice a spider on your neck? Did it bite you while you were sleeping?

We have these things, or a relative, here in Michigan. I spend much time outdoors and I've never been bitten, though I know of one person who has (a surveyor).

The territory I live in is lousy with mosquitos; I always leave spiders (and bats) alone for this reason.

[djf]

A friend of mine got nailed good by a Black Widow. Didn't want to heal, a couple times the doctors carved away some tissue around it. Six months later, he has a golf ball size hole in his leg. He's a big dude, but still..