Brown Widow Spiders

The Brown Recluse pictures are the exceptions, The really bad ones. I got bit by one 2 years ago. Had a small open sore on the back of my leg. Took it about a month to 6 weeks to heal. Never got bigger than 3/8 inch. It did leave a small brown spot there.

The Doctor who specializes in Spider bites at Vanderbilt Hospital told me that for every one that rots out a big place and gets nasty, there are 30 like mine. Not all of them cause trouble.

Also there is no anti-venom. I just took antibiotics to keep down infection.
 
Last edited:
Yep, a garden spider. Have a friend in West Va that emailed me a pic of one that was on the side of her foundation in her flower bed. The thing was huge! I've seen a lot of them, but this one was a mutant or something. She had a neighbor come over to kill it, but he told her they are good spiders and to just leave it be. (I think he was afraid to get near it!) Speaking of Black Widows (someone was), back when I was small, my Dad was bitten by a Black Widow. He was very sick for a couple days, but thankfully he went to the Dr right away. I also saw a friend who works in a pharmacy recently. I asked her why I hadn't seen her at work lately, and she explained she was bitten by a Brown Recluse. It got her on the leg, and she said she has a hole in her leg now, and was walking with a limp. And people laugh about me being afraid of spiders!
 
And people laugh about me being afraid of spiders!

I won't laugh! I hate them too!

There was one over the bathroom door last week, blocking my way. I yelled for my husband to come get it and he wouldn't, so I had to go get the vacuum and get rid of it myself. I said, "Why didn't you come get the spider?" He said, "You chase off a bear with a .380 but you won't get a spider. I don't get it." Well, because spiders are creepy!
 
When she was 16, my daughter was bitten on the leg by a "brown spider". It got away,, so ID was questionable.

I took her to the emergency room, where a young doc who was thrilled to see her (she's very pretty) took quite awhile talking to her. His obvious admiration of her eased her concern, which was amusing after she recovered.

A weal did form, but he put something on it and it was gone in a few days. Never did open and oooze, etc. Like a bad mosquito bite. She was very concerned that a recluse bite might leave her leg looking bad.

This was probably some relatively innocuous spider, but they're all venomous, and may cause some local reaction.

I'd hate to be bitten by a big wolf or garden spider, and some of those things move very fast on a floor. I stomped a couple while in an outdoor spa at a rich client's home. They give me the creeps.

T-Star
 
We had a forum member die of complications from a brown recluse bite a couple of years ago. IIRC his name was John Ward.

The bite became infected with MRSA and he developed septic shock. He was gradually recovering when he aspirated a nutritional supplement and developed aspiration pneumonia.

All of this took several months. :(

The spiders aren't aggressive. Their bites contain enzymes for digesting their prey. Most of the time you don't even feel the bite, you just get a sore that keeps getting larger and larger as the enzymes do their thing.

I hate f'n spiders.

- Jim

Jim, I remember that very well. He posted about his progress for some time and then it seems that he died almost overnight from those complications. For some reason that will always be with me. I never knew the man outside the forum.
 
Last edited:
Quote: "I'd hate to be bitten by a big wolf or garden spider, and some of those things move very fast on a floor. I stomped a couple while in an outdoor spa at a rich client's home. They give me the creeps."

They are probably a brand of centipedes called "fire brats". I've got those also.. I've got a damp unfinished basement. It's an insect battleground down there. I took proactive action this year and put a bunch of those sticky boards boards around the basement perimeter. Along with some bug spray. I caught a bumpercrop of bugs on those boards. This whole area was a wetland/swamp a thousand years ago. I remember it. Oh yeah,,I've got a 11 year old pet Tarantula. The females can live 20+ years.
 
Last edited:
I won't laugh! I hate them too!

There was one over the bathroom door last week, blocking my way. I yelled for my husband to come get it and he wouldn't, so I had to go get the vacuum and get rid of it myself. I said, "Why didn't you come get the spider?" He said, "You chase off a bear with a .380 but you won't get a spider. I don't get it." Well, because spiders are creepy!

Reminds me of when my son was visiting. He's 6'3" and 215 lbs of solid muscle. Isn't afraid of anything or anyone. Except spiders. Asked him to kill a spider for me, and he told me to kill it myself. He wasn't getting near it!
Another bug I hate are centipedes. Gives me shivers just typing it!
 
Jim, I remember that very well. He posted about his progress for some time and then it seems that he died almost overnight from those complications. For some reason that will always be with me. I never knew the man outside the forum.

Bass -

Yeah, me too. His screen name was JTWard and he was our resident journalist. When we started breakin' bad on reporters, he would give us the inside 'scoop'. His posts were always well done and intelligent.

R.I.P. :( - Jim
 
Another bug I hate are centipedes. Gives me shivers just typing it!

Nothing to do with this thread, I just think it's a neat poem.

A centipede was happy quite,
Until a frog in fun
Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?"
This raised her mind to such a pitch,
She lay distracted in the ditch
Considering how to run.
-- Anonymous
 

Latest posts

Back
Top