dtcmor
freely admits to licking rocks
Back to lickin' rocks again!
Member since May 2006
Posts: 898
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Post by dtcmor on Jun 22, 2006 0:39:04 GMT -5
I've just found a new reason to hate spiders. I was recently bitten by a spider - species unknown to date. This makes the third such bite in as little as two months. My doctor seems to think that it was either from a brown recluse spider or a black widow. I do a lot of outdoor landscaping and construction work in my spare time and this could be the source for the brown recluse. I also work in a food factory in which we sometimes see black widows come in on ingredient shipments from Mexico, so either one is highly likely. In either case, the bites have not been too serious (not life threatening, but very uncomfortable), and a strong antibiotic seems to be doing the job. The photo below will give you an idea of what it looks like after you've been bitten. I was bitten on the side of the face once, and on the neck twice. This photo was taken about a week after the bite, and most of the swelling has diminished down to about the size of a golf ball - the initial bite swelled to almost the size of a soft ball! Needless to say, I had more than my share of odd stares and questions from everyone!?! Just wanted to tell everyone to be careful when working outdoors, especially in the gardens and around the under-side of a deck or fence - any place that offers the spider a hiding place. There is also the possibility of getting bitten while rock hunting - be cautious around the nooks and crannies that most good rocks like to hide in. If you think you have been bitten, get to your doctor or hospital as soon as possible to prevent a serious medical problem such as mine! Dave  |
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Post by LCARS on Jun 22, 2006 3:58:46 GMT -5
Yeah, that looks like a spider bite alright.  If it's a recluse bite it will probably look like this after two weeks:  Sorry if that grossed anyone out. ;D |
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jun 22, 2006 6:08:22 GMT -5
if it was a black widow you would have excrutiating pain throughout your body that would have sent you flying for help. a brown recluse bite you might not know about until it is bad. i hope you got on antibiotics quickly as they say that is important. lcars pic looks like a bite in the early stages. it gets much worse than that before it's over and usually requires skin grafts.
we have brown recluses bad and this is a nightmare of mine. i have killed numerous ones running through the den lately. i hate them! they just sprayed again recently and that might have them stirred up but may/june seems to be the worst time for them to run around. i like it better when they stay reclusive. i had them spray sands camper too. i need to show him one after i smack it. i did show you a picture though didn't i sands?
kim
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Post by Cher on Jun 22, 2006 7:17:21 GMT -5
Ewwwww, just another reason to hate spiders. Thankfully as far as I know, we don't have any of the brown recluse or black widow's up here. Guess there's one or two things good about living this far north.
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stefan
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jun 22, 2006 11:51:02 GMT -5
Atually CHer the brown recluse is all over!!! they tend to hide (under decks and such) Up North they are not very aggressive- prefering to stay hidden and many people are unaware they even have them! Down South they are NASTY little buggers and are a lot more aggresive (my sister in Houston sprays for them 2X a Year) But A word to the wise-- All Spiders can bite and cause all kinds of problems (especially if you are allergic)
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Post by krazydiamond on Jun 22, 2006 11:57:48 GMT -5
i didn't know that NY had the brown recluse.....yuk! we have some pretty gnarly ones around here and i should be better about spraying and clearing the egg nests, but i worry about using too much insecticide around the cat.
KD
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Post by sandsman1 on Jun 22, 2006 11:59:02 GMT -5
that sucks you guys sorry to hear it i hate spiders and i kill any i see ----yea i seen a pic but i dont remember what they look like kim no worrys i just kill them all hahaha
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jun 22, 2006 12:25:03 GMT -5
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Post by stoner on Jun 22, 2006 12:43:41 GMT -5
Hey Stephan, doesn't miss info have a cousin named miss cue?
They say we don't have them out here, but a friend of ours got bit by one and it was a nasty bite. Whan I see black widows in my lumber pile in the garage, I clean the filter in my shop vac so it has max suction, then just suck them up inside and keep sucking up wood chips, dust, rocks(not good rocks) and anything else that may cause them to get smashed up. There's been a few times when I've opened the shop vac and there they were, alive and well, but not for long!
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blarneystone
spending too much on rocks
Rocks in my head
Member since March 2010
Posts: 307
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Post by blarneystone on Jun 22, 2006 14:11:39 GMT -5
Ouch! Hope it doesn't get too nasty on you dave.
We have both types of spiders here in S.Central Texas...My grandmother lost a friend from a brown Recluse bite and I know another woman who had to have her foot amputated...obviously those are extreme cases where the woman who died was quite old and her system couldn't take it and the other just didn't get it treated in time to save her foot.
But...everyone should take the warnings seriously! They can be deadly!
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virocks
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2006
Posts: 13
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Post by virocks on Jun 22, 2006 14:34:31 GMT -5
Yeah, that looks like a spider bite alright. If it's a recluse bite it will probably look like this after two weeks: Sorry if that grossed anyone out. ;D OMG Lcars, is that you, how did you treat it. That would be nasty if it was somewhere important like the neck. |
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Post by LCARS on Jun 22, 2006 15:45:28 GMT -5
No, thank God it wasn't me!
It is someone I know though & they fortunately weren't allergic.
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Post by pho on Jun 22, 2006 19:01:45 GMT -5
I'm with Sands....kill 'em all. I keep a bottle of spray real handy around the house. I see a spider..he or she gets sprayed. They die in less than a minute. I mix my spray a bit stronger than recommended..
Pho
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jun 22, 2006 20:25:23 GMT -5
i use to have a picture of a whole jar of brown recluses i collected within a week in my house and this didn't include the ones i got off the sticky boards i put under everything. stefan's pic doesn't show the length of their legs like this pic does - they are very leggy and unless you are extremely close and maybe with your reading glasses on you won't see that violin. they just look like a uninteresting spider running across the floor. but up close the violin is always there. what i have found is that sometimes their bodies are lighter are darker brown and the man that sprays says this has to do with whether they have been exposed to light or have been in the dark. also i have found their rear ends to sometimes be very full and round like that pic of stefans (means they are eating well) and sometimes be very thin and small (not finding enough to eat). this is a large one but they can be tiny too! www.surviveoutdoors.com/imgs/reference/spiders/brown-recluse-spider-3.jpgi have found them in clothes, blankets, towels - needless to say we shake everything around here! kim |
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Post by Cher on Jun 22, 2006 20:54:57 GMT -5
Damn that just gives me the willies. Hey Ed, I suck spiders up with my vacuum in the house, specially if they are on the ceiling, I'm always afraid they will drop on me. Ewwwwwwwwwwww
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Post by rockds on Jun 22, 2006 21:10:38 GMT -5
God I hate spiders. I use a now illegal form of insect killer that kills everything in the yard, including fire ants.
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Post by docone31 on Jun 22, 2006 21:23:24 GMT -5
I had gotten a bite from a Recluse back when no one had any treatment. It bit me under the sheets while I was sleeping.
The bite had the typical look of the photo. Nothing did anything. It kept going to china.
It was on the top of my foot. What I did, was take my Lil Torch, burned the bite. I then waited for the blister, which went many layers of skin deep. When this blistered, I took steel wool, rubbing alcohol, severely gouged the wound, several times a day. It was a painful experience. I did this for two weeks. After the wound got nice and red, with new skin growing in the very bottom, I took the steel wool, and acetone. This I scrubbed the wound several times a day.
Even though it got red, indicating new skin, it still grew. I kept up the alcohol, acetone treatments for another four weeks.
The wound/bite covered the top of two toes, and the top of the foot at the intersection of the toes. I am left with a definate scar, loss of feeling in that area, but, I saved my foot.
Back then, I knew nothing about Brown Recluse spiders, Brown Widows, Black widows, etc.
They are miserable. I do hope they have come up with something a little more passive that works on the bites.
I do not reccomend that method to anyone unless nothing is left. I did try muriatic acid, but, that did nothing except really create some interesting sensations I hope to not repeat.
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Duckbean
fully equipped rock polisher
Looking for rocks in all the wrong places
Member since February 2005
Posts: 1,072
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Post by Duckbean on Jun 22, 2006 21:37:43 GMT -5
I never had a problem with spiders, because I never ran into a nasty one!That is until my son and I was replacing some sections of our privacy fence!The doctor said it was a brown recluse and it changed my opinion of spiders real quick! It bit me on the calf and a chunk of skin the size of a silver dollar fell out. It started as a small swelling with the two fang marks in the center and the skin just kind of melted away and just kept on melting. When it quit growing I had a really nice deep hole that took months to heal! Ya I'm with you Dave I hate spiders with a passion!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,503
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 22, 2006 23:00:36 GMT -5
Man, I hate spider bites too. I've got Black Widows all around my yard and we do see occasional Brown Recluse but fortunately they're rather scarce as that spreading necrosis that goes with their bites is nasty. Lately though some research has shown that the buggers that nail us while gardening are of all things, Jumping Spiders which are thick as fleas almost everywhere and very aggressive. I've been nailed several times lately and though I have not had to go to the doctor, man they swelled up and the tissue damage makes them itch like a son of a gun all the while they are healing. Then if you're allergic too, spider bites really suck. best just to be cautious around them all.....mel
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Debs
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2005
Posts: 1,252
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Post by Debs on Jun 23, 2006 1:30:15 GMT -5
EWE! Just gives me the creeps!
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