BROWN RECLUSE SPIDERS

[SantaFePrax]

Hullo,
Recently received a post from a lady stung by a recluse who had to have surgery to remove the wound. I had no idea how dangerous these were, but my doctor sent me this site: https://brown-recluse.com/index.html

Before researching it, I am pretty sure I squished one with my fingers--inside a garden glove. A youngster was carrying a heavy potted plant for me, saw it and was alarmed, so I squished it. Then I found out!

They have sticky traps and an organic treatment to draw out the venom. My doctor is an Environmental Specialist, so I ordered the kit. At least there is a LOT of info on them. best wishes for us all...

[a0c8c]

We ran into some when we lived in Iowa but even though they're all over Texas I haven't see one in 15 years. They're nasty little spiders though, they can easily paralyze our arm.

[brekehan]

I'm in tx. Luckily never been bit, bu the worst is the ulcers they make. You can have huge chunks of flesh missing for the rest of your life if not treated quickly. Be very careful of these spiders.

[hendi_alex]

With black widows most people experience sharp pain of various descriptions. But the brown recluse, a person may not even know that he/she was bitten. Or may just think the bite from a common spider. If you don't see the spider, I'm not sure how a person knows or suspects that it was a brown recluse. Early treatment is not possible if the first sign is the destruction of skin tissue.

This site shows possible symtoms and suggested prevention and reaction to a bite.

https://www.healthsquare.com/mc/fgmc1411.htm

[SantaFePrax]

Thank yous to brekehen, green thumb and greener thumb! I really appreciated your posts and ideas.

I have switched to keeping my daily change of clothes (PJs, etc) in a plastic bag, my work clothes in a hanging bag and am just trying to keep an eye out. I do check my bedding before getting into bed nights. I really feel that the climate change has resulted in many more spiders this year. It's exhausting!

Someone gave me some apples and I found fruit flies again--that seems to encourage black widows to be inside! Man, do I wish winter would kill them all off. Thanks again, Felicia

[hendi_alex]

I really think that habitat control is the best way to reduce the number of black widows and brown recluses. My wife if a pack rat and keeps all kinds of things in boxes in the attic. Though I've never seen a brown recluse in our house, the wife certainly has a fertile breeding ground for them in that attic space. Outside, our sandy yard is just full of black widows. I can leave a black planting pot on the ground for a few days and there is a better than even chance that a black widow will be nesting in it. I have spent a good bit of effort eliminating any kind of dark spaces in the yard, especially near the house. As a result, I only occasionally see a black widow near the house and have only seen one inside the house a couple of times in thirty years. Of course I also squish 50 to 100 black widows each year. That helps in the effort also.

[SantaFePrax]

Well, maybe things are easier in New Mexico. The scariest part is that I have beautiful split cedar ceiling in my office (and used to be treatment room). I can look through the cracks and see black widow straggly webs. So, they are there and I can't think of any way to get rid of them in the space between the cedar and the roof. Sigh.

And, of course, I left the stacked firewood in the den all summer. I look at it now and at the outside woodpile with a cooler feeling about them. I love pinon and cedar wood fires, but need some loooong gloves.

But we've lived together since 1991 and this was the first time I met three of them. Counting my blessings. Felicia