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.