Brown Recluse?

Noshownate

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
23
I Sure am hoping not.
I live in sw florida so this is in theyre territory:wall:

Started to ice

heres a close up

i think i must have been bit around 8 or 10 hours ago woke up this morning and noticed it.
another angle to see size.

i really hope this isnt a brown recluse bite, i think i will know more in the next 24 hours. dont want to go to doctors yet because i've read that they dont have the technology yet to determine what the bite is unless you have the spider, fat chance of that happenin when i dont even know when or were it happened. ice ,keep elevated above heart, no strenuous activity, to keep from spreading by gravity, lucky i got bit in a not very fatty area so if it eats my flesh wont have to much to eat. any ideas or help will help.:wall:
 

jcornish86

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
128
We have alot up here in Seattle also, that forsure looks like Brown Recluse bite. Get to the doctor asap, as there venom can result in mortification of tissue (i.e Flesh rott). look for it to start apearing to almost be cyst like, These are very bad bites and i will keep my fingers crossed for you that its somthing else.
 

Noshownate

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
23
oohh snap i really hope not
im not going to go to the doctor tonight in hopes it might get better or not be what i think it might be.(also expensive)
but gonna check in morning if gets worse then doctor.
thnx jcorn
if anyone knows any good home remedies let me know.:wall:
 

traxfish

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 27, 2008
Messages
57
I see 3 main problems with assuming this is a brown recluse bite.

Recluses are NOT known to be in SW Florida. It's outside of their natural range.
This is their reported range:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/33494

I have heard that there are isolated populations in central Florida, near Orlando, however, but I have not seen that verified.

Recluses are shy and don't go around biting people. I do know of a case where a family pulled close to 2,000 recluses in their home in one day that they have been living with for years, and no one in the family has ever been bitten. I personally know of someone who finds them in his house by the hundreds in late summer and has never been bitten either. He gave me one of them and they are certainly brown recluses. Even if you did have one recluse brought into your home from cargo, it is highly unlikely to bite you.

Just going from that picture, that could be an infected mosquito bite, a staph infection, a fungus infection, lyme disease, an ulcer, herpes, a chemical burn, a form of skin cancer, a simple bruise, and/or many other fun diseases or infections that leave skin damage. If you didn't catch the culprit in the act, don't assume it is a spider bite.

Sorry to be blunt or rude, but I see many, many people assume that strange marks on them are spider bites when it really doesn't make sense.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
We have alot up here in Seattle also, that forsure looks like Brown Recluse bite. Get to the doctor asap, as there venom can result in mortification of tissue (i.e Flesh rott). look for it to start apearing to almost be cyst like, These are very bad bites and i will keep my fingers crossed for you that its somthing else.
There are no brown recluses in Seattle. Who ever is telling you that is smoking crack. There are other species of spider in our area that can cause similar reactions like a recluse, but there are no recluses in our area. The main reason so many “recluse” bite reports pop up everywhere is because medical staff don’t have any real training on identifying differences in reactions from one species to another, but every medical individual knows of the brown recluse so that is their fall back cause.
One thing is for sure though, the cold wet 70"+ of rain weather we have here is not the place to go looking for brown recluses.
 

Noshownate

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
23
Thanx for the help traxfish.
im gonna go with herpes

Cause is still unknown. I don't like to just go ahead and rule things out,
sometimes the impossible is the truth
I have never had a skin irritaion like this before. a little nervous just looking for help.
Why do people think these spiders will just stay in this confined area on a map?
I agree doctors prob use br recluse as a scape goat to a question they don't know.
I was really hoping someone would say its not a recluse bite,(by the looks and symptoms) not simply that they just aren't in this area. maybe not a brown recluse but a different kind?
People actually catching these tiny spiders in the act then containing them seems like almost finding a needle in a hay stack.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
They don't stay confined. But they rarely move to new local and explode into giant populations that bite tons of people. You have plenty of fun critters in Fl that could have done that to you. Its the jungle down there! I wish 1/2 of what you had roamed around my house. :)
(not biting me though)
 

Noshownate

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
23
They don't stay confined. But they rarely move to new local and explode into giant populations that bite tons of people. You have plenty of fun critters in Fl that could have done that to you. Its the jungle down there! I wish 1/2 of what you had roamed around my house. :)
(not biting me though)
{D
i live in a tropical zone too soo could be anything.
true is silly to assume its a spider.
my girlfriend said i should cirlce it so to see if gets bigger is this a good idea?
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
Yes that is a good way to monitor the bite site. If it continues to expand greatly then I would seek medical care.

At this point that wound looks like any run of the mill tick/flea/random fly/ random spider bite. I don't think there is any need to wear a bandana over it ether.
 

Noshownate

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
23
there was ice under the bandana and it was the only bandage i have. was i wearing the wrong colors:)
 

loxoscelesfear

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
1,096
Without the culprit, you will likely never know the identity or source of that wound. Brown recluse are not common in Florida, their natural range barely hits northwestern Florida. Brown recluse are not in the northwestern US or Seattle area. Brown recluse are found in the southcentral states, as far north as Ohio and west to Nebraska. Anything is possible, however, and animals know no political boundaries, but I doubt that you have a brown recluse bite.
 
Last edited:

Noshownate

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
23
thanx all, zone has not increased in size. just worked all day on the foot, same so hoping was a small amount of venom or herpes :) i'm still monitoring though. thnx again all for info.

loxo is that the uss enterprise? new movie is sick huh?
 

JPD

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 24, 2003
Messages
373
There are no brown recluses in Seattle. Who ever is telling you that is smoking crack. There are other species of spider in our area that can cause similar reactions like a recluse, but there are no recluses in our area. The main reason so many “recluse” bite reports pop up everywhere is because medical staff don’t have any real training on identifying differences in reactions from one species to another, but every medical individual knows of the brown recluse so that is their fall back cause.
One thing is for sure though, the cold wet 70"+ of rain weather we have here is not the place to go looking for brown recluses.
Ditto Ditto and Ditto
 

jcornish86

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
128
LOL WOW who ever told you there are not recluse in washington seattle area is a complete moron. Dont try to insult me via these forums, i have seen plenty of recluse bites. This is the most active time for people to be bit, As they try and enter peoples houses/garages to get some warmth. One of the most retarded things i have ever heard some one say on these forums.

I had a best freind get bit last year, left a 2inch crater in his wrist, he almost lost his thumb.
But hey what the hell do i know.... gl with your bite. But the above guy is right that could be any from of bite/irratation.
 

What

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
1,150
I had a best freind get bit last year, left a 2inch crater in his wrist, he almost lost his thumb.
But hey what the hell do i know.... gl with your bite. But the above guy is right that could be any from of bite/irratation.
It was probably MRSA or something similar, not a recluse. There is a tiny chance that it was one that was brought in packaging from the midwest, but, the chances of that are *really* slim.
 

jcornish86

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
128
Alot of people here are bit by hobo spiders, witch have a similar effect as a recluse. This was indefinatly a recluse bite. Anyways this is a little off topic now. I hope everything works out for you Nosh.
 

What

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
1,150
Did you read that article you linked?
Yes.(If you ignore the "poisonous" misuse in the start... it is fine.)

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7488.html#MEDICAL said:
In its native European habitat, the hobo spider venom is not considered poisonous to humans. A research study (still unpublished) was undertaken to compare hobo spider venom from both Pacific Northwest and European hobo spider populations. The venom from both populations was injected into the same strain of rabbits used in the initial research that implicated hobo spiders as potentially poisonous to humans. Neither venom in the study produced necrotic wounds in the rabbits.

Additionally, an editorial in the Annals of Emergency Medicine in 2004 examined the medical literature on hobo spider bites and found that there is only one case of a verified bite by a hobo spider that resulted in a necrotic skin lesion and this was in a person who had a pre-existing medical condition that also leads to necrotic skin lesions. Most of the basis for blaming the hobo spider is based on extrapolation from venom experiments with rabbits. As important as these experiments are, one must keep in mind that there are differences in animal response to spider venoms.
 
Top