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Myth of the Brown Recluse

spiders.ucr.edu

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Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse

#151

Post by bradknowles »

dwyerm wrote: post #87
okreallywtf wrote: post #62

In a similar vein, supposedly a lot of "spider bites" are not spider bites (according to source): https://www.livescience.com/37974-he-surprising-cause-of-mos... I've known people to theorize that many small welts are caused by spider bites even though they didn't see the spider or know when they got bitten.

If clicking something with a clickbaity name isn't your thing, I can save you a click. The cause is "more likely to be bites or stings from other arthropods such as fleas, skin reactions to chemicals or infections."

Bedbugs?

Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse

#152

Post by bradknowles »

SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #150
bradknowles wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, you haven't lived in Texas until you have gone into your office (or other room in your house) and found a large black tarantula in the corner of the window. Try sucking that up into even a powerful brand-new Dyson vacuum cleaner and watch the legs move around like crazy because all you did was piss it off. But frankly, the scorpions bother me a lot more. Especially when they like to hide in your laundry, and dro…

As a Texan as well, I've been lucky to have never have been bitten by a tarantula. I've never heard what you are saying about bowels before regarding being bitten. What I have heard is that the bite itself hurts a lot more vs a black widow or brown recluse but the venom is pretty weak comparatively.

In this case, bowel evacuation has less to do with being bitten by a tarantula and much more to do with literally having the shit scared out of you on seeing this thing inside your house.

Yup, it's a real thing.

Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse

#153

Post by bradknowles »

bradknowles wrote: post #148
S_A_P wrote: post #95

I live in Texas. There are brown recluse here. I don't really fear a spider since it doesn't seem like they are all that aggressive to people. The worst part of spiders to me are when I walk through a web. Ive had a bad spider bite that caused great swelling and some necrosis, but I don't know it was a brown recluse. I personally have a nasty fear of wasps, which I cannot rationally explain other than I think they lo…

IMO, you haven't lived in Texas until you have gone into your office (or other room in your house) and found a large black tarantula in the corner of the window. Try sucking that up into even a powerful brand-new Dyson vacuum cleaner and watch the legs move around like crazy because all you did was piss it off. But frankly, the scorpions bother me a lot more. Especially when they like to hide in your laundry, and dro…

Oh, and wasp-wise, the scariest thing I've seen are the Tarantula Hawk wasps.

Those things are ginormous.

And they hunt tarantulas.

'Nuff said.

Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse

#154

Post by anon4738383 »

bradknowles wrote: post #148
S_A_P wrote: post #95

I live in Texas. There are brown recluse here. I don't really fear a spider since it doesn't seem like they are all that aggressive to people. The worst part of spiders to me are when I walk through a web. Ive had a bad spider bite that caused great swelling and some necrosis, but I don't know it was a brown recluse. I personally have a nasty fear of wasps, which I cannot rationally explain other than I think they lo…

IMO, you haven't lived in Texas until you have gone into your office (or other room in your house) and found a large black tarantula in the corner of the window. Try sucking that up into even a powerful brand-new Dyson vacuum cleaner and watch the legs move around like crazy because all you did was piss it off. But frankly, the scorpions bother me a lot more. Especially when they like to hide in your laundry, and dro…

When I was a kid, my grandparents had a home at Lake Arrowhead in Texas. On the way to or from town, we came upon a tarantula migration with around a hundred thousand tarantulas crossing the road.. so many you couldn't see any land without them. My grandmother (smh) opened the car door to gawk at them, which is dumb because they can rub those fiberglass-like hairs off their bodies as a defense mechanism.

Where I'm at in Chico, CA has hundred or thousands of black widows... you definitely don't put gloves on without shaking or rolling them up.

Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse

#155

Post by nightfly »

cantankerous wrote: post #77

I've lived in Portland OR, Mid MO, and the Kansas City area. In mid-Missouri, the brown recluse is the standard house spider. Pretty much every spider in my house there was a brown recluse. I had a weird bruise-y/necrotic bite on my hip that I assumed came from one that got in bed with me. It healed up fine without any medical intervention even though it lingered for awhile. I suspect a lot of people get bitten over…

If you want bugs just venture over to central or eastern oregon. Flies, mosquitoes, spiders of all types, and other bugs galore!

Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse

#156

Post by the_af »

bradknowles wrote: post #149
the_af wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here: I fear wasps more than spiders. Some spiders look sort of cute, and even the ugly ones don't seem aggressive, but all types of wasps look aggressive to me, all the time. It doesn't help that I've been stung by wasps more than once, but never by spiders.

Yeah, wasps are much worse for me than spiders. But scorpions are even worse than wasps. They don't have the sound of their wings beating or the actual capability of flight, but they are much more alien looking -- and acting.

Scorpions do look menacing, but are they aggressive?

The thing with wasps for me was that both times I was stung, I sort of walked near a nest but wasn't really doing anything to disturb them. Or one time I was having dessert at a restaurant and a bunch of yellowjackets flew through the open window and ganged up on me and wanted my dessert and my coke (in this case they weren't aggressive but attracted to the sweet smells/tastes, I know, but still scary). However, every time I've seen scorpions, they were doing their thing, away from me, and I got the idea that unless I actually stepped on them, they'd leave me alone.

Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse

#157

Post by S_A_P »

bradknowles wrote: post #148
S_A_P wrote: post #95

I live in Texas. There are brown recluse here. I don't really fear a spider since it doesn't seem like they are all that aggressive to people. The worst part of spiders to me are when I walk through a web. Ive had a bad spider bite that caused great swelling and some necrosis, but I don't know it was a brown recluse. I personally have a nasty fear of wasps, which I cannot rationally explain other than I think they lo…

IMO, you haven't lived in Texas until you have gone into your office (or other room in your house) and found a large black tarantula in the corner of the window. Try sucking that up into even a powerful brand-new Dyson vacuum cleaner and watch the legs move around like crazy because all you did was piss it off. But frankly, the scorpions bother me a lot more. Especially when they like to hide in your laundry, and dro…

HA. When I was in college, tarantulas were plentiful. I had a few as "pets" for a day or two in an empty pitcher in my dorm room. I certainly wouldn't want to do a fear factor style let tarantulas crawl over me, but they just don't really scare me. I can move faster than they can...

Im actually reminded of how the other day I walked outside and one of those giant cockroaches flew down and landed on my shorts. I had my phone in one hand and a drink in the other. I started tap-dancing that thing off my leg and then it flailed around while I was trying to step on it. After the commotion ended, I realized my Ring Doorbell captured the entire moment. That is probably the most viewed tweet Ive ever posted...

Re: Myth of the Brown Recluse

#158

Post by robotkdick »

mholmes680 wrote: post #35
robotkdick wrote: post #30

DRTS; (For those of you who didn't read, because... font too small) - Brown recluse spiders, in general, don't bite people unless you have less than 20/20 vision. In that case, you should run for the hills, esp. if you don't know how to zoom in the browser. A+ for content, but accessibility less so.

I believe it would be FS;DR But, in case you are serious: CTRL++ to zoom in. CTRL+0 to reset to normal.

I know how to zoom, but many people don't. I normally wouldn't say anything, but that font is smaller than a baby recluse
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