Friday, July 22, 2011

Some info on Spiders

So a man in Colorado died from a black widow bite recently....actually, from 19 black widow bites on his foot.  http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-man-dies-after-suffering-19-black-widow-spider-bites-20110721,0,5774918.story Despite the crazy rare novelty of this, I figured it would be good to post up on some dangerous spider info, particularly given the heat wave we are in.

Everyone is scared of spiders...just to different degrees.  I generally am not afraid of them until they are crawling on my face or head after going through a web...even when it is the harmless spined micrathena that is crawling on me (those ugly jewel-backed spiders that litter the eastern woods).  But really, there are only a handfull of spiders that we should be concerned with here in the US.  While there are other spiders that bite if really provoked, their poison isnt dangerous enough to cause panic.  One such common poisonous but not very dangerous spider is the WOLF spider.  These are the guys you see in the woods at night when you shine a light on the ground and see a bunch of little shiny eyes looking back at you.  They stay on the ground, and while some get HUGE and do cause a painful bite, they are not life threatening.  They are actually pretty fun to watch because they are active hunters, unlike most spiders which sit in a web like lazy fat asses waiting for food to come to them.

The ones that should be a cause for alarm are the following:

The infamous Black Widow - identified by its creepy long legs, jet black body and bright red hour glass on the abdomen of females, though the red isnt always there...so look for the rest of the creepiness.

More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus

The infamous and disgusting Brown Recluse - their bite is painful and the aftermath is disgusting.  Also referred to as the Fiddle Back, they are identified by their fiddle shaped mark on their thorax.  Common on the east coast, not on the west

More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_recluse_spider

The Hobo Spider (often mistaken for the Brown Recluse), or as it is sometimes called, the Funnel Web Spider.  looks similar but are west coast spiders

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo_spider

The Sac Spider - these are everywhere in the US

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sac_spider

The much maligned Tarantula, which is actually very docile.  the hair on their legs usually cause more problems than their bites

more Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula

Foruntately, these poisonous and dangerous spiders are very reclusive and dont want to be near you any more than you want to be near them...just know where they live and be careful around the house in the attic or basement shifting boxes and things around.  camping, be very careful around logs, particularly damp, rotten logs, and rocks.  I have had 3 serious run-ins with a black widow, one of which resulted in a bite, and 1 serious run in with a brown recluse (which fortunately didnt bite me).  Even if these spiders are on you, dont panic.  I have been able to get both recluse and widow spiders off me while they were crawling up my body sinisterly, without incident...just dont give them a reason to bite in defense.

And ALWAYS check your boots before putting them back on in the woods!!!

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