GEO Ambassador
The Dangerous Brown Recluse SpiderWhen you're surveying in the woods, you could easily come across a Brown Recluse Spider and just a few days later, lose your life over it.  And to think when we were kids, we caught Black Widow Spider's and put them in coke bottlesand blow them up with firecrackers.

It's summertime now & surveying activities in Spiderville are inevitable. Be careful where you put your hands. The Brown Recluse likes dark spaces &woodpiles. 
Also cool areas in the attic.  Im going to show you some photos that a friend sent me of the damage that a single Brown Recluse did to his hand and the stages of infection. The following illustrates the progression  of a brown recluse spider bite.
The affected skin actually dies on his body.
DAY 1

Brown Recluse Spider Day 1

This guy was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider.

DAY 2

Brown Recluse Spider Day 2


DAY 3

Brown Recluse Spider Day 3


DAY 4

Brown Recluse Spider Day 4


DAY 5

Brown Recluse Spider Day 5




The Brown Recluse Spider is the most dangerous spider that we have here in the USA.  A person can easily die from it's bite. We all should know what the spider looks like

Send this around to any surveyors that you care about, because it is summertime and that is when they are most active.

Please be careful Surveyors!
Spider bites are dangerous and can have permanent and highly negative consequences. They like the darkness and tend to live in storage sheds or attics or other areas that might not be frequented by people or light.  If you have a need to be in your attic, go up there and turn on a light and leave it on for about 30 minutes before you go in to do your work.

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Replies

  • OMG, that looks really horrible!

    I'm so happy that we don't have such dangerous animals here in Germany.

  • Not all bites turn out like this, I have been bitten twice by these things, a Chilean version that was introduced to my area several years back.  They don't always go necrotic, which I think is the term used to describe the photoed man above, mine did not thankfully.  I did however have to go to the hospital to have the bites looked at at $1000 a pop, no insurance unfortunately.

  • I've done a little research on those myself; to help with my arachnophobia. We have a large population of those in Bedford County Tennessee. Here is a little trivia that I have come across in my research. Brown Recluse Spiders (BRS) are not true arachnids, they only have 6 (six) eyes as opposed to 8 (eight). Also, general insecticides do not kill BRS because unlike most spiders, BRS do not put their feet in their mouths during the cleaning or molting stages. So an active chemical is needed to affectively eradicate them. I recommend Ficam WP (wettable powder). Can be obtain from most farm stores or cooperatives. Be ready to come off the wallet, it is expensive. Worth every penny in my book. Also, a BRS can live up to 3 years without food and water in a state of hibernation. Now that is just plain scary.

  • GEO Ambassador
    saw one of these today in my back yard in Charleston...you just never know where the Brown Recluse may be
  • OMG That looks horrible. Just be careful where you stick your hands. That's what gloves and tools like shovels are used to prevent. (Unless one happens to be in your gloves when you put them on)!
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