This really bites .

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
Talking about things that sting and bite got me thinking . What spiders thT are native to southern Canada and especially Quebec can give a bad bite or worse .

Several yars ago I had one come home with me that was pretty impressive .
Two inches across may not measure up when it comes to global spiderdom . When its crawling across your living room after a tiring day it can appear huge .
Today it again happened with the beast only being a little over an inch across .
It still looked pretty impressive in a predatory sort of way .

So whats up ? Any spideys out there that could make me sick ?
 
Pretty much any spider bite can leave you with an unpleasant ulcerated wound--fortunately, most spiders don't do that great a job of sinking their fangs through comparatively rubbery human flesh as well as a hard, insectoid exoskeleton.

In your area, you've got two species of black widow (L mactans and L hesperans)--you almost have to know where to find them though, as they're usually pretty shy.

More likely, you'll encounter a fiddleback (its name varies geographically, from brown recluse to fiddleback and probably one or more names I haven't yet heard). They tend to like rocky areas, like rock walls and rubble piles, but are also quite happy to set up camp in an attic drawer full of clothes. They're also shy, and tend to stay clear of busy areas.

They also like warmer, humid weather--so you may not ever see one in Quebec, but it is certainly possible.

Generally, the bigger the spider, the less severe it is. Playing the odds, they're not worth too much worry unless you handle them every day.
 
The fiddleback is usualy found in the southeastern quarter of the US. It does get out of here because it is so common, but its usually related to some shipment from here. I certain spots of the central part of the US they will infest a building, and be almost everywhere you look.
 
Agreed, but not too common in Canada... again, fiddlebacks like humidity. We get them in Chicago, too, as the humidity is quite high. It's probably *just humid enough* in PQ for Kevin to see one on a rare day.
 
Black widows are pretty much everywhere arn't they?
My Mom found one that was near 3" legspan while cleaning the garage. After killing it I checked and it was a widow.
Enjoy!
 
Well... either you're off on the size, or you didn't have a widow.

I've seen mactans in the wild and hesperus in captivity, and while two invididuals hardly makes me an expert in all their sizes, they don't get nearly that big.

That said, you may have had something else!
 
One possibility may be a Brown Recluse spider. Had a co-worker of mine get bit on the ankle and her whole leg swelled right up. Ended up having to go to the ER. Not sure how far North these things get, but if they're here in southern Maine, then I'm sure you'd find em in Quebec.
brown-recluse-spider-4.jpg
 
Watchful said:
Well... either you're off on the size, or you didn't have a widow.

I've seen mactans in the wild and hesperus in captivity, and while two invididuals hardly makes me an expert in all their sizes, they don't get nearly that big.

That said, you may have had something else!
Click to expand...

My area is strewn with black widows , I could walk into our shop and find one in under a minute although it's life expectancy is about 2 seconds if I happen across one.
At our warehouse , there are literally hundreds of widows and daddy long legs , and wood spiders , widows being the only bad ones of the lot , two weeks ago I saw one with a body as big as a grape , its legspan was easily two inches , one of the biggest widows i have ever seen and it still creeps me out to think about it :eek: regardless of what the info i have seen on widows says , I have seen one that were as big as the one he described , while most of them arent near that big.
 
aaronjayl,
I murdered that ones twin a few weeks back in my shower!!!!!!!! I turn around and the blighter is sitting on a bottle of shampoo looking at me. LOL!! Glue traps and the ( I hate) pest spray came out the next day. Thye are the only insect that really worries me.
Bill
 
I live in northern IL, and to my knowlege we dont have to many, if any poison ones here. ive been bit by a wolf spider. in illinois, dont know how but i was sick fer a week. still have a scar were the poison ate the flesh.......
 
In the Pacific North West amongst other places we have the Giant European House Spider , it is more legs than a big body but at 3" long it freaks out some people which is unfortunate as it isn't poisonous , in fact it preys on the very poisonous Hobo spider which it resembles and shares much the same range- so read this article and don't kill the good spiders !

http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/european.html

http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/index.html

I've had the giant european spiders on me from working around the wood pile like all spiders they just want to get away .
 
Hey Guys...
Great topic....

I had this Bad Boy run down my Frigging arm while packing up from a camping trip on Pelee Island (In Lake Erie)

spydie.jpg


Yes,, it is as big as it looks....
It scared the living $hit out of me,,and at first I thought it was a mouse it moved so fast..
Not sure if they bite,, but if it could,,it would have taken a Chunk out of me...


Pulled from my Extensive collection of interesting pictures,, a series of pictures of a Brown Recluse bite....

Now that my friends is a Frigging Nasty Spider bite!!

Day 3.jpg


Day 4.jpg


Day 5.jpg


Day 6.jpg


Day 9.jpg


Day 10.jpg


An Excellent after bite product..One that I rely on Very much and at least one comes with us, whenever we go outdoors is the Therapick.

Seen here

http://beesupply.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33&products_id=135


This device if I could afford to I would have stock in..That's how much I Love this product...

Basically what it is,, is a small battery powered device,, with a lightbulb...

After a sting,, you apply the Therapick directly to the sting,, where the warmth from the light turns the poison from the sting into a harmless protein, within a minute or two...

It's fast,, perfectly safe and "almost " painless..I say almost because if it's held onto the sting too long, it can blister the sting....

My kids say I hold it on the Sting too long,, but I Get Excellent results from it, and a few minutes later they are off playing...

In minutes the pain and swelling is almost completely gone...
however the trick to this working is it has to be applied Immediately after being stung,,before the poison has time to spread...The sooner, the better...

It also can safely be repeated if it becomes bothersome again after time...

This will also work on spider bites,, but not on Spyder bites!! :)

It is Simply a product that I always have with me in the summer months....

Just as a side note,, I have done the same thing with the metal on a bic lighter, after heating it up and applying directly to the skin..Greatcare must be taken not to burn the skin!!!!!

In fact,, I have a feeling,,but haven't tried it,, that a Surefire fired up and used in the same manner, or anything that gives off a decent warmth would work in the field...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Hey akabu....

Luckily,, it wasn't my hand..
Not sure where I found those pictures,,may even have been here on BF...

Yaaa the Bic trick will work in a pinch..You have to be Really careful with it though,,especially on other people and children....

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Pentlatch said:
In the Pacific North West amongst other places we have the Giant European House Spider , it is more legs than a big body but at 3" long it freaks out some people which is unfortunate as it isn't poisonous , in fact it preys on the very poisonous Hobo spider which it resembles and shares much the same range- so read this article and don't kill the good spiders !

http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/european.html

http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/index.html

I've had the giant european spiders on me from working around the wood pile like all spiders they just want to get away .
Click to expand...


You have given me a huge , HUGE case of the willies. :eek:

If I had one of those on me I would lose my 'effing' mind. :D
 
Normark said:
Hey akabu....

Luckily,, it wasn't my hand..
Eric
O/ST
Click to expand...

Eric I don,t care who,s hand that was . That must have hurt .
I,ve never heard of or beem warned against the brown recluse so it is proabably not very common around here . With the high humidity and temperatures lately anything is possible .

I have heard of Black Widows around here only once . Of course everone has heard the story of the man sitting in the outhouse and being bitten on the happysack?

One of my friends had a hissing spider which she is scared the devil of . It makes me wonder why she has it .
It is rare I will kill a spider in the house unless it gets bothersome . They eat bugs . Not that there are any bugs in my house . L:O:L
 
Living in San Antonio, in a newly constructed home (where they kept all the trees and stuff) - I have a lot of black widows - almost to the point of getting bored of them. At first, I worried, but, then realized how timid they really are (they run if you disturb the web - unless guarding an egg sac). Anyway, RAID and a shoe work pretty well against them. Been in the house a year now - and have killed around 100 of the nasties - but only 2 little ones inside the house.

Also have all kinds of other spiders - here's a pic of one I took on one of my bushes by the front door: (it's a green lynx spider)

DSC00049.jpg
 
Someone mentioned being bitten by a wolf spider, and it being unpleasant. Then there was that article about the Hobo spider, which looks like and makes a web like the wolf spider. Are they the same? Could it be that all these years, i've been rescuing Hobo spiders from my house and taking them outside? (shudder!)

Brown Recluse bites are NASTY! When I lived in Colorado, my barber was bitten by a brown recluse when he was in NM. At first he thought it was just any 'ol bite, but it got worse pretty quick. He sought medical attention, it was diagnosed as a Brown Recluse bite, but there wasn't really anything anyone could do for him other than let the bite 'run it's course.' I think it was 4-6 weeks before he was back at work. He said it mostly felt like his arm was on fire (he was bitten on the left forearm, about 3"-4" below the AC/elbow). He said it hurt so much that he couldn't sleep. When I saw the bite, there was a distinctive core, unlike in the pictures from Normark. The core of the bite was a flourecent green color. After the ordeal, Juma said that one day the core just 'fell out,' and he slowly started feeling better. Blech! :barf:
 
I saw a spider carh a big bee in its web . The bee could move pretty good it just couldn,t fly away . That didn,t slow the spider at all . It continually attacked until the bees whole body was reddish orange . It almost looked like the spider had torn off the outside of the bee .

It did not look like a pleasant way to go .
 
Just a while back I spent a week on a floating lodge, set deep in the jungle lake. Went to the can one morning and nearly sat bare assed on top of a spidey at least 5 inches across (toe-to-toe). Can tell you I got constipated in a hurry..

Normark: everytime I see that avatar of the vietnamese (looks like) re-enactment of the William Tell saga I just crack up... Can I please please have the pix??
 
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