Myth of the Brown Recluse
spiders.ucr.edu
Myth of the Brown Recluse
1–10 of 158 posts
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#2As someone living right in recluse territory, I'm constantly terrified when going into a closet to get clothes...etc, even though I see black widows all the time. Any time you're at the gas pump or in your garage, look around and you can probably find one.
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#3As someone living right in recluse territory, I'm constantly terrified when going into a closet to get clothes...etc, even though I see black widows all the time. Any time you're at the gas pump or in your garage, look around and you can probably find one.
Yeah, I was hoping that this article would talk about how Brown Recluse aren't actually dangerous (as I live in Texas), but instead it talked about California, and it appears Brown Recluse are still quite dangerous. I see them a lot.
Could we change the title to "Myth of the Brown Recluse in California" or something?
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#4In GA, I am wary for the black widow and the brown recluse, the former when indoors and the latter outdoors. I've not spotted either in months honestly, but I never stop being wary.
As far as CA natives being super freaked out about it...meh? I don't blame you. Fiddler spiders are scary looking and after seeing some of the wounds online, it's quite the eye opener.
I have never personally met someone in either GA or AR that had been bitten by either of these spiders, so if you lean towards the uncharitable side of things, I have a somewhat irrational fear caused by reading things in HTML docs downloaded from a remote server in cyberspace.
Edit: grammar
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#5My sis-in-law had a necrotic bite from a brown recluse that nearly required surgery to stop the decay. This was in the Midwest. One of the happiest points of moving to CA is not finding them on my pillow. Creepy little creatures. I haven’t met anyone in 16y of life in CA that has heard of them.
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#6TL;DR: There are no populations of brown recluse spiders living in California.
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#7> How hard is that Arkansas guy laughing who was sleeping on top of 6 brown recluses?
I get the point and I second the sentiment and intent of the article. But then again that Arkansas guy must be very brave nonetheless when he isn't worried about six brown recluses living next to him while sleeping - considering that the spider definitely is venomous and a bite can trigger necrosis.
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#8In GA, I am wary for the black widow and the brown recluse, the former when indoors and the latter outdoors. I've not spotted either in months honestly, but I never stop being wary. As far as CA natives being super freaked out about it...meh? I don't blame you. Fiddler spiders are scary looking and after seeing some of the wounds online, it's quite the eye opener. I have never personally met someone in either GA or A…
Both the widow and the recluse are quite timid. Widow bites are generally not dangerous unless you're elderly, very young, or immunocompromised. They'll swell and be red for a while, but it's not life-threatening. Get near a widow, poke it, and it cowers in fear.
The recluse's bite isn't itself dangerous - it's the necrotic bacteria that they carry that can get into your bite, which IIRC happens in about 20-25% of bites. If they bite at all - they're more likely to run away terrified than bite, but it's definitely something to be worried about.
However, if you find them, do not kill them because they are cannibals. If other recluses smell a dead one, they'll come to eat it. A recluse infestation is a very difficult job for exterminators for this reason.
I was more worried about the (biting!) gnats in GA. And the snakes. And the mosquitoes.
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#9In GA, I am wary for the black widow and the brown recluse, the former when indoors and the latter outdoors. I've not spotted either in months honestly, but I never stop being wary. As far as CA natives being super freaked out about it...meh? I don't blame you. Fiddler spiders are scary looking and after seeing some of the wounds online, it's quite the eye opener. I have never personally met someone in either GA or A…
I would see black widows around when I was living in Sacramento 7 or 8 years ago. One set up shop in our laundry room window, another in the car port. No real bother.
However one time I found one in the bathtub and had to get rid of it -- not only because it had decided the bathtub was a good stop to hang out but because if my cat had found it first it wouldn't have ended well.
Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse
#10No real evidence it's dangerous anyway, other than it scratches you?