where do the Brown Recluse live?

July 11, 2003

Hiedi aren't you in Washington state????

I don't think you'd ever get them up there unless they came hiding in

a box or container. We have them in Georgia (along with lots of other

unsavory things that love heat and humidity!)

I'm fairly sure they cannot tolerate cold winters and want hot humid

climates...the south...and then they hid away in dark garage corners

and around the edges of houses. It's doubtful you'll find one just

striding through your bedroom!

A bite from them is very, very rare because they are soooo reclusive.

However we always shake out tennis shoes out that are stored in the

garage just in case!

My friend that was bitten was in a crawl space looking for termites

under a house. He had shorts on and it bit his leg. It put him out of

commission for the summer and he still has some problems.

Lynn

>

> >Not seen to much as they are " reclusive " - they like to hide but i

> >know

> >that last winter i had one in my front room and when cornered they

stop,

> >rear back and will try to defend itself. Sort of wicked looking.

They

> >really just want to be left alone.

>

> How can you tell them from the normal run of the mill wood spiders?

> The picture looks like a zillion other spiders we have around here.

>

> -- Heidi

July 11, 2003

>Hiedi aren't you in Washington state????

>

>I don't think you'd ever get them up there unless they came hiding in

>a box or container. We have them in Georgia (along with lots of other

>unsavory things that love heat and humidity!)

Yeah, I was reading about them and the article said that most of the

reports on brown recluses are NOT from brown recluses, and in fact

they are not up here OR where my folks live.

But the article also said that probably ALL " recluse " spiders can cause

this sort of awful bite, and some of the spiders around here are

recluses. One in particular looks like one we get a lot! The recluse

spiders like to live in houses and garages.

It also said that other bites can become infected with bacteria and

cause the same kind of damage -- which might be what happened

to my dad. They never *saw* the spider -- he did get a bite and it

got very nasty, but I don't think they ever tried treating it with

antibiotics or hydrogen peroxide. But the fact I " caught " it from

him is kind of suspicious.

See:

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/DOJvol5num2/special/recluse.html

I think I'm going to clean out the garage :-)

-- Heidi

>

July 12, 2003

I'm in Washington State and was bitten 20 years ago by some sort of

recluse spider. Turned out there were a lot of them hiding under

the old oil stove in a log cabin I was staying in at the time. I

guess I don't know for sure what sort it was, but the second pair of

legs from the front was longer than the first, and it left a bullet

hole sort of bite that never closed. I felt like I had been

drugged - couldn't get up out of bed without becoming very sick and

dizzy and this lasted a week.

I know someone else here who was bitten with similar symptoms.

Wolf spiders leave a bite that is a bit like a blister and it itches

but I've never been harmed by them. I think they eat flies, which

makes them a little more likeable, even though I find all spiders

creepy.

So, I've lived here all my life and only been bitten once, I think

they really want to be left alone, as someone else said.

Laurie

July 12, 2003

I was bitten by the brown recluse according to the hospital. I never saw

the spider but my leg sure was a mess. I was told that they came over

with the bananas and love the climate here and multiplied. I just felt a

sting and my leg started to swell and the bite site looked first like a

big blister and than it became a hole as the flesh died. So the reports

are not correct since I was not the only one that got bitten here.

Ina

Yeah, I was reading about them and the article said that most of the

reports on brown recluses are NOT from brown recluses, and in fact

they are not up here OR where my folks live.

But the article also said that probably ALL " recluse " spiders can cause

this sort of awful bite, and some of the spiders around here are

recluses. One in particular looks like one we get a lot! The recluse

spiders like to live in houses and garages.

It also said that other bites can become infected with bacteria and

cause the same kind of damage -- which might be what happened

to my dad. They never *saw* the spider -- he did get a bite and it

got very nasty, but I don't think they ever tried treating it with

antibiotics or hydrogen peroxide. But the fact I " caught " it from

him is kind of suspicious.

See:

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/DOJvol5num2/special/recluse.html

I think I'm going to clean out the garage :-)

-- Heidi

July 12, 2003

I live in Florida and we have brown recluce spiders here. i have

also heard of the banana thing. perhaps they need tropical climates.

my boss was bitten by one and had a large lesion on his shoulder,

he still has a scar. i've been told if you get to the hospital

shortly after getting bit, they can give you some shot that will

prevent the necrosis. the thing with the nitro patch was really

neat to me.

- In , Ina <giants@s...> wrote:

> I was bitten by the brown recluse according to the hospital. I

never saw

> the spider but my leg sure was a mess. I was told that they came

over

> with the bananas and love the climate here and multiplied. I just

felt a

> sting and my leg started to swell and the bite site looked first

like a

> big blister and than it became a hole as the flesh died. So the

reports

> are not correct since I was not the only one that got bitten here.

> Ina

>

> Yeah, I was reading about them and the article said that most of

the

> reports on brown recluses are NOT from brown recluses, and in fact

> they are not up here OR where my folks live.

>

> But the article also said that probably ALL " recluse " spiders can

cause

> this sort of awful bite, and some of the spiders around here are

> recluses. One in particular looks like one we get a lot! The

recluse

> spiders like to live in houses and garages.

>

> It also said that other bites can become infected with bacteria and

> cause the same kind of damage -- which might be what happened

> to my dad. They never *saw* the spider -- he did get a bite and it

> got very nasty, but I don't think they ever tried treating it with

> antibiotics or hydrogen peroxide. But the fact I " caught " it from

> him is kind of suspicious.

>

> See:

>

> http://dermatology.cdlib.org/DOJvol5num2/special/recluse.html

>

> I think I'm going to clean out the garage :-)

>

> -- Heidi

>

July 13, 2003