Ouch! Spider Bite!

[ILLEffect]

Is there any way to tell what kind of spider bit you based on the symptoms/development of the bite itself? I found this little blurb on brown recluse spiders:

Initially the bite site is mildly red and upon close inspection may reveal fang marks. Most commonly, the bite site will become firm and heal with little scaring over the next few days or weeks. Occasionally, the local reaction will be more severe with erythema and blistering, sometimes leading to a blue discoloration ultimately leading to a necrotic lesion and scaring.

And that's pretty much what happened, right down to the necrotic tissue forming (it was surgically removed this morning). But do we even have brown recluse spiders?

What other spiders are native to Kelowna that could cause this type of reaction?

And my next question - is there any way to help avoid spider bites? Does anyone have any success with products such as RAID to keep spiders at bay (any suggestions would be greatly appreciated)?

[ferri]

we have Hobo spiders here, and i have read that some people react the same way to their bites.

[tawnylee]

OMG! Ouch is right! Sorry to hear about your bite

[anniecat]

We definately do have brown recluse spiders. A friend of mine just had to have his basement treated by a professional exterminator because there was a nest under his coffee table in his finished basement. Ick!! They have a mean bite and I hope you're doing okay. Was the spider inside your home?

I would recommend calling a professional if you can because they do a great job of really seeking out the spiders and possibly even finding where they're coming from. We have a lot of black widows in our neighbourhood so I'm thinking of having somebody come to get rid of them too...not as bad a bite as the recluse but NO spider is welcome around my house....I hate spiders.

[dirtrider]

We have hobos here but pretty sure no brown recluses.... ... but who knows, we didn't have pine beetles this far south before either.

http://xrl.us/bkotz

[aginger1]

Sounds like a Blackwidow bite to me too. I was bit just below the knee when I was in my teens. Went to the doctor and it was infected to the size of a baseball. Dr. cleaned it up and asked if I had any Black widows in my area. I went home and found a dead one in my bed....grosssssssss.....Ive hated them ever since and kill them when ever I see them...They are nasty creatures...even if they are female...lol

[ILLEffect]

Was the spider inside your home?

Yeah it would've had to have been in the house - I got the bite while I was in bed. It hurt enough to wake me up. It was like a hot needle stabbing my foo. I looked around, but didn't find any spiders.

I was actually kind of surprised at how bad a spider bite can be (google image of brown recluse spider bites!!!!).

[Lizard]

No Brown Recluse spiders in Canada or west of the Rocky Mountains. Pretty rare to be bitten by a spider in the first place, but it could have been a Hobo, or a Black Widow or even a House Spider. Almost all spiders are considered venomous and some people will react more than others, however it should be noted that most small spiders lack the strength in their mandibles to actually break the skin. Spiders have such a bad reputation, but in actual fact they are very beneficial, and seeking out humans to munch on is really not what they are about.

Are you sure it is a spider bite? There are many bugs that bite that will cause a reaction, including necrotic wounds.

[eyepop]

beaver fever all better?

[ILLEffect]

Are you sure it is a spider bite? There are many bugs that bite that will cause a reaction, including necrotic wounds.

I guess it //could// have been something other than a spider, but the hospital Dr and my regular Dr all seem to have concluded it was a spider bite from the type of wound and the way it progressed. We also have a lot of spiders in our house, nothing has gotten rid of them. Yet we manage to keep a lot of other bugs at bay - the only other insects we've actually seen in the house are ants and "stink bugs".

[Lizard]

http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/2004/aug/vol50-aug-cme-1.asp

The link gives some information regarding apparent spider bites.

Hope you're feeling better.