Black Widow Bites

The Black Widow bite is one of the more serious spider problems. Often I will hear the comment, "I think I may have been bitten by a Black Widow." If you "think" you may have been bitten, you probably have not been. The Black Widow venom is so serious, it will hurt in such a way that you will "know" you've been bitten.

Please click the link here for symptoms.

Black Widows, as with so many venomous insects, arachnoids and snakes, use their venom to capture prey and eat. So they really don't want to use that venom unless they have to. Often they will inject enough to create a warning. In documented cases where the spider was trapped, say in a sock, you will find they bite several times. The third time releasing all the venom in desperation as they are getting squashed. So the severity varies greatly in an actual bite situation.

The other question often asked is, "was it really a Black Widow?" The classic Widow  is shown in the photo, however, there is documentation and identified cousins, that have similar venom that are not the classic color and look, see link.

Black Widows are one of the most aggressive spiders I have encountered in the field and strongly recommend controlling. They will be the most protective around their egg sacks and the larger the spider the more mature, which means they probably do have egg sacks to protect.

Amazingly, as serious as this spider is, and as common, few people actually get bitten. Which proves they are really not "out to get us". They prefer to not be in the same area as humans and usually are under shop benches, sprinkler boxes and to the left and right of our garage doors, where humans seldom frequent. With this in mind, it is wise to teach children, and keep fore most in our own minds, that when we are in a area, that does not have much human interaction, is when we should be the most alert and looking for this spider. 

Spiders in the Winter

Yes, spiders can be around in the winter but not out here in the cold. Our homes create a false environment that makes them think they are still in the heat of summer.

With that in mind you may still see spiders moving in your home. Part of what is driving them about is a lack of prey. If there are no flies or other items to eat they are going to try and find a habitat with prey available which is why they are moving throughout your home.

To control this you need to do an indoor application along the cracks and crevices where the spiders will be traveling. Keep water pipes in mind too in that they will be traveling down those highways.

Always blame the spider

So this is an interesting case I want to share.

A Pest Applicator called me and said he had a hobo bite on his cheek and wondered what he should do for it, we talked about the blistering and red circles and I told him without seeing it I wasn't sure.

The applicator is in the spider business and he felt sure it was a hobo.

The next morning he texted me that he had 4 more bites. I told him that was very odd but he was still sure it was a hobo spider.

The pain got much worse and he went to the ER only to find out is was shingles.

It does seem like every rash, blister, odd bruising; get's blamed on spider bites, but it is wise to let a doctor actually look at it and rule out any and all other possibilities as well.

If you have blistering it can be a reaction to a spider bite but be sure and rule out shingles as a possibility as well. Below is a good site for more photos and information.

Shingles

Spiders in my sink

This is a very common issue in that our sinks and tubs are natural spider traps.

Do not be alarmed but it is worth noting that many times this is the HOBO spider.

The HOBO got the name because, although they are loners, they migrate up to two miles to find a mate.

As they travel they often move along pipe networks and they do need water to sustain themselves, both of which will bring them into our bathroom or kitchen area where they will be trapped by the sink. The old wives tale that they come up through the plumbing is mostly inaccurate in that the only way for that to happen is to go up onto the roof, come down through vent, survive multiple floods of water filling the pipes, find a way to grip those slick sides of the pipes, all of which "could" happen, but is very unlikely.

The easy access point is to come up along the outside wall to the cool pipe covered in insulation that has a gap in the outside hydrant plate, move under the house and come up through a gap in the drain pipe under the sink. Filling in those areas and making those pipe plates tight can do a lot to discourage this migration.

Now that we know it can be a HOBO, simply be careful when killing it to not be bitten. If you are trying to capture it and release it outside...note that they move extremely fast. And I do mean extremely fast, running up an arm in less time than you can react...personal experience, and I feel I react fairly quickly.

If bitten, remember; anti-biotic as quickly as possible on the wound, in that the fangs have been in a sink probably with a high amount of bacteria.

I sometimes hesitate to share this with the public because of the fear of the HOBO, consider though that every house has one at some time and how seldom anyone does get bitten; which is encouraging. This is not a rattle snake that is looking to jump out and bite you, simply a lost spider.

Spider identification

Spider Identification charts like this are very common in the industry. They can help but some of the spiders such as the Hobo and Grass spider are so similar even scientist have difficulty doing a positive I.D. and as with that example to be certain they have to get them under a microscope and look at the genitals which is, I know, a TMI situation to be sure.

The other problem is we are seeing some species change coloring. I was in a class on spiders last year pointing out how Black Widows in North America are actually changing some of the their coloring.

Spiders grow and change as they become larger. Their average life span is a year and a half to two years. But we change this life cycle by creating false environments with our heating and air conditioning systems.

With all of this in mind before you start pouring over spider I.D. Charts, remember that if you are bitten you need to see a doctor. We discussed several times the bacteria element of a spider bite and we know that everyone reacts differently to spider bites. There can be an allergic reaction for one person and not for another.

Here are some spider I.D. Charts:

Spider identification in general.

Poisonous spider identification and treatment.

The information can be intimidating. Please don't become paranoid about a possible Hobo spider or even the Black Widow. Yes, both can be a threat to our health if we allow them to bite us, but it is amazing how you can go under an old house and find both of these spiders in abundance, indicating they have been there for generations, yet no one in the house has even seen a spider.

Spiders will be near food sources such as fly and mosquito areas, doing what they were designed to do, limit the insect population. It is not necessary to hunt spiders down and kill them because they could cause a threat, that would be like getting rid of cars because they can hit a person, you need to respect where they are and if they are in a position to create a dangerous human encounter. Such as under your dresser or a shop bench. But if they are outside in an environment children and adults will not encounter, they are simply doing an important job.

Why do spiders bite us?

Do Spiders come after us?

My wife and a dozen of my customers will absolutely swear they do. It does seem like that when they are on the ceiling and keep coming our direction.

I believe part of the fear of spiders  is their stance and attitude. They are not fearful and bashful, but have a way of moving, and even staring at us, that is unnerving. This is because they are a major aggressive predator in the insect world. If we were the size of an insect, they would have us dead to rights, no problem. Their speed is amazing in quick burst. Some have up to 8 eyes with incredible movement vision. They seldom run as their first defense, but turn and face the new contact and try to identify it first. All of this makes them intimidating when we encounter them.

However; even the most aggressive spider is not out to get you. They are intelligent enough to know they are outgunned by large mammals and their biggest enemy, birds. After that first response of trying to identify you as threat or prey, and the boot comes down with a crash of a near miss, they retreat as quickly as possible. The only exception I've seen to this is the Black Widow protecting her eggs. She will get down right nasty and come right after you.

So why do we get bitten by spiders?

I have seen dozens and dozens of spider bite victims in my line of work and every wound has been a defensive bite. A situation where we put our hand into a drawer or under a cabinet the spider was using as a home. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe we should let them take over our house, but in fairness, we have to admit, we entered what the spider had thought was it's domain.

The second situation is a spider moving through the house seeking something warm, unfortunately this can be us in our bed. Then we roll onto the spider. Usually the first bite is warning, "hey fat buddy, you're squishing me!" The next bite has more venom, and the final bite unleashes it all.

A Hobo spider found it's way down my shirt collar two years ago. I wear a very lose long sleeve tucked in when working. The spider was fine until it got down to my spare tire and got trapped between my roll of fat and the shirt. It did the classic three bites (not sure why I didn't feel the first bites enough to react) and on the third, I got a major problem like the photo posted before.

I didn't take it personally because it was just an encounter that's hard for me to avoid, crawling under houses in in spider infested areas.

The black jumping spider will actually jump toward you and act very aggressive. It's vision is one of the best and we think that it has so many visual receptors that it is reacting to the minor movement of a finger or hand and cannot see what the giant the finger is attached to. But a jumping spider has never been recorded to jump onto a person and actually bite them. In truth, as the link points out, we are told their bite will not even effect us, though I'm not inclined to test that. Remember that their fangs can still carry a bacteria.

Arachnophobia movies have done a real number on our subconscious fear of spiders which has not helped. I try to help clients with this fear but it is no use. Keep in mind, even though they are an aggressive predator, you still out weigh them a millions times over and most bites are not the end of the world.

If you can remind yourself that the spider is not out to get you, just reacting the way it normally does to try and identify what you are, it does help eliminate some of that fear.

Identyfying spider bites

Spiders can be dangerous. They carry an amazing amount of poison for their size. But seldom do we see bites as severe as this.

Most spider bites will have two distinct puncture wounds. This is because they have fangs in the front that they use to grab and inject their prey with. These fangs become self defense weapons with us because naturally a spider is not going to go after a prey our size.

So when we are bitten it is a self defense wound. That poison is important to a spider just as it is to a rattle snake in that they need it to control their prey and eat their prey. If they use up all their toxin they could starve. So often the first bite is a warning bite. If we are laying on them or they are trapped in out shirt, they will continue to bite putting in more and more toxin. So we may see more than one set of puncture wounds.

The wounds will usually be inflamed but one will be more severe. At times the wound will itch but not swell up or show signs of poison for a couple of days. Then it will get worse. This is actually a bacteria problem and not spider poison. The fangs have been in dead flies and other bacteria covered carcasses as the spider consumed them. Those fangs with bacteria, were then cut through your epidermis introducing the bacteria into your skin. Now you have a bacterial infection. So treat it as such.

Then there are severe wounds from the Hobo and Recluse spiders. These use a toxin that breaks down the tissue of their prey so they can eat the prey. However as a self defense weapon it goes into our cell structure and breaks down our skin and refuses to heal, making large open wounds.

This is a illustration of the stages that kind of bite can go through. This is a case that you must seek medical attention. If you take a spider bite into a doctor, do not expect them to be able to identify the type of spider. Even if you caught the spider, doctors are not trained in arachnoid identification. Better to I.D. the spider on line and then show the pictures and the information on that type of spider.

Spider Bites

As a professional exterminator, I constantly get questions about spider bites.

This blog is dedicated to providing information on spiders and spider bites to help inform the home owner.

My wife is a nurse and so often she sees a patient with a odd mark who believes it is a spider bite. The patient then wants to know if it is dangerous and what kind of spider the doctor thinks it is.

I get the same calls and we both feel this blog is necessary to help people understand what they are dealing with.

A spider does not bite at random. And despite what so many people think, spiders are not out to get you. They are simply a very aggressive predator with fangs to inject their prey with different types of toxins designed to immobilize and digest their prey externally. That definition probably didn't make you feel any more comfortable about them but it's their simple ecological job.

Without spiders, insects would destroy our world. Thousands of spiders live in your yard, garden, flowers, killing insects that would devastate your plant. So they are very important in our worlds. That world does not include the inside of our home though. But outside they have a very important job to do.