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.

[CARDINALRULES]

I have been lucky the last few years and haven't had any tick bites...I stay indoors most of the time, especially in the summer.

But of course I have ways to take care of those nasty things too.
I have used the tape route too--duct tape also.
I like putting a match on/near one and let it explode.
If they are almost full, they make a real nice popping/sizzling sound.
Only do this to seed ticks though because the wood ticks splatter all over.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

I was bitten in 93 while digging up some plants in a low area. Are you on antibiotics and have you had a tetanus shot? That was the treatment I received here locally.

The largest infestation I have seen here was in my dad's lakehouse. It is a very rustic house -- old wood paneling -- wood floors, brick fireplace -- rough wood everywhere, even the kitchen cabinets. The spiders were in the sinks, on the window sills, in the bathtubs, in all the bedrooms, everywhere. It had been raining for at least a couple of weeks, and they were moving to drier areas.

I sprayed and sprayed, and set off insect bombs the next day. That was about 6 years ago, and still, every time we stay out there, I still find at least one. Usually near a drain in one of the bathtubs.

[FreeReign]

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.

Years ago, I started killing all of the spiders in my house. I'd find them on the walls, in sinks, in my pants, even in my bed. May was always the worst time of year for spiders in my house. That's when they would first hatch. One May morning serveral years back, I awoke to hundreds of baby spinders. It took me all morning to squash all the little ones.

September is also a bad time of year for spiders. That's when they become full grown and they make webs that you walk into. That's when I brake out my hockey stick or baseball bat and -- wop!

Anyway, I've must have killed hundreds of spiders in my house over the years and they really have become quite uncommon in my home. So three spider bites in two days is something that will never occur in my house -- ever! You've just got to be proactive about this sort of thing -- know what I mean?

[stlnative]

I was bitten about 3 years ago (the website I posted a link to is not my website is a record area for people to post their BRS cases and pictures.) My first bite was not recorded, but my new bite on my arm I am recording this time. I do not know if it will get worse than what I posted pictures of today since this is my second time. I will take pictures of it daily though and will record it for the BRS website. My case # is 995

[spectr17]

Thanks kcvl, that debunks my prior info on using electrical voltage on bites.

A buddy in St. Louis sent me a pic like one of those red bullseyes from a bite he got in bed on his arm. It took me almost all day to convince him to go to the ER. He was lucky and only has a very small scar.

Another roomie walked out to the breakfast table one morning and pulled down his pants and WA-LAH!. Huge BRS bite on his arse. He sent straight to the ER and this was in SoCal.

[kcvl]

I checked out the #995. That is SO PAINFUL to see. How did you stand it?! It makes me weak just to look at it.

[stlnative]

Hmmmm... thats not me I just made my case file tonight, maybe I have the number wrong. I will be right back

[bonfire]

OMG!!! I'm laughin' so hard I can't breath.....

[kcvl]

Do you have to use those spider pictures?! ROFLOL! I am already dreading going to bed. I have a wild imagination. lol! I tell my doctor, when he gives me any medication, not to tell me if it will have side effects, because I will have everyone of them. lol!

[Ronaldus Magnus]

I see hundreds of them every year some in my house at times and other outside.

Pardon my asking, but which state do you live in?

[kcvl]

I thought I was losing what little mind I have left. lol! I looked up that file number thinking it was you.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

Sorry, where in Illinois do you live? (specifically, how close to Wisconsin?!)

[stlnative]

Go Here
next to Message enter 995 and then the search button at the bottom (it is not in the database yet, but that is how you find it in the future.

Now if you really want to see some case photos, use the link above leave everything blank except for the "yes" by where it ask for Pictures, then hit the search button at the bottom. The cases will have numbers at the left you can click on that will take to each case that offers pictures also. Please do not post all the gross picture here. The person who keeps track of the website does this for at no charge. If you post the pictures here you may crash his website and his allotted Bandwidth may be small.

[CARDINALRULES]

LOL!

Sadly, we were moving from that house and my mom removed it and threw it away one day while I was at school.

[stlnative]

I live about 100 miles south of St. Louis in Illinois near the Mississippi. But understand BRS's are common in this area but are being found in other areas due to people moving into other states and bringing the spiders with them.

[stlnative]

see post #133 (the link there) you can search by state for cases within the state you reside in. There are a lot of cases where this spider is not suppose to be living!

[eddie willers]

Thanks for this very valuable post!

[kcvl]

Well that just about finished me off!!!!!!

[tuckrdout]

I can not get this off my mind now! I CAN'T SLEEP!!!

I went to the site and looked at all those pictures and just have the shivers! I have the feeling that spiders are crawling all over me!!

I am so sorry for all of you who have had this horrid thing! But, right now I wish I never knew about it!

[jeremiah]

We have a lot of those in Washington state, painting houses you find them everywhere. Especially under decks while painting, they can be heard plopping on the drops after getting painted. I have gotten so I can hear them in my sleep.......Nasty creatures spiders.....ugh