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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.

About 3 1/2 years ago I was bitten repeatedly on the head by one of these critters. There were between 11 and 13 bites (some overlapped and the rotting sores made it difficult to count) with the ones on the top being the worse and getting less severe as they progressed toward the front of my head. I think the thing may have been slowly running out of venom and just kept biting till it was empty. They are a really nasty painful bite after the fact as you don't feel them bite. I figure that either it got in my hat or got me while I was sleeping. I treated the wounds myself using a flax seed poltice made with very hot epsom salts solution. The poltice seemed to help with removing the necrotizing flesh and kept it from spreading while the wound ran it's course. I think gangrene could be a problem, and the necrotizing of the flesh seems to penetrate deeply enough ( my skull became visible in the worst one) that a bite near an artery might actually rupture the artery. I survived, it took about four months for the wounds to completely heal and there is still a depression in the skin on my head where the bites were in a long line about an inch wide and 6 inches long that is something like half or more of the depth of the flesh on my skull.

I've also been bitten by a black widow spider, and as bad as they are, I'd say the fiddleback is by far the more dangerous.

That sounds like the one I had on the back of my neck in the hairline. I did not know what it was. It was small and got bigger and bigger. I finally went to doctor, sure enough it was BRS bite. I could not see it myself, unless I would have shaved the area. I learned about them on the internet and how to spot what a BRS bite looks like. The one I had before would heal over and then bust open again. It took 6 months for it to turn into a very small scab and left a dent in the back of my head. It was on my head near my hairline and about 3 inches behind my ear. I think the bites affect people differently, some people end up dying or loosing a limb and others just get a bad sore from it. You don't know how it will affect you until you have been bitten, it most cases people have no idea what it is from and as the sore gets bigger over time they finally seek medical help. Some people get seriously ill right away. I did run a fever this time and never thought much about it. I just thought it was night sweats since I am nearing that time and have already had a few before. The website I directed people to has all types of cases from mild to deadly. I trust that the one on my arm probably will not get that big, but I will keep an eye on it. Like I said what starts out small and seems like a mosquito bite may actually be a BRS bite. They normally get get a dark center in them (where the skin starts to die) and that dark center grows. So people should be aware that you may get bit and not even see the spider or you may have never seen one in your home before. They are not webspinners, they hide in dark places and bite if you stick your hand in glove, or your foot in a shoe. Or put a hat on your head. They get in folded up bath towels or even ones hanging up to dry.

Take care and I am glad you came out of it ok. There is no doubt that they are common in the middle to lower midwest. But they have been found in other states, due to people moving and taking them in to other areas. All they need is nice dark, dry and fairly warm place to live.

My skull became visible in the worst one

Gnarrly!!!

About 3 1/2 years ago I was bitten repeatedly on the head by one of these critters. There were between 11 and 13 bites...I've also been bitten by a black widow spider...

Man, you must be real tasty.

Remember, though, that the strength of the venom injected may vary from bite to bite. Alot of "dry bites" lead to no complications.

Snake bites act alot the same way.

God bless and keep you. I pray I never have to go through what you have.