I have trapped two spiders in my home resembling brown recluses that may be responsible for my recent bites. Do you have any recommendations on who I can take them to for identification? Would an entomologist be the best bet?

great idea merry1. thanks for the recommendation. im checking out the site now. although im a little bit leery of photographing them. :)

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

That is a good idea.

• Report

by tomsims on June 17th, 2009

LOL. +5

• Report

by ChrisDC on June 17th, 2009

i dont think the cia gives a damn about spiders. as for truth ~ i doubt you get much of that coming out of people through torture. theyll name everyone and their mommas to get you to stop.

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

Exactly. It still amazes me that these idiots pulled all of this stuff out of a training regimen designed to prepare our troops to deal with torture to which they might be subjected if they fall into the hands of people who don't comply with the Geneva Convention, and which are specifically designed to elicit false confessions.
But we've spent all this time training folks on how to do waterboarding.
I just thought that they could use the techniques they've learned on spiders. (I hate spiders.) At least that way, at the end of the day, something productive would have come out of all of this BS.

• Report

by ChrisDC on June 17th, 2009

thanks for the link ice man! the online photos ive seen look slightly different from the real deal, but im no expert. :)

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

Neither am I, how about the bites, did you look at and compare the photos of bites ?? The ones I looked at were pretty nasty !!

• Report

by Ice man on June 17th, 2009

yeah, i saw the photos ~ some of them are heinous. im not as bad as most of those, thankfully. one of my bites has healed nicely. the other is ugly ~ part of it has turned black at the bite site. im going to have a nasty scar on my back about the size of a quarter. if im lucky, itll be less than a quarter inch deep. wish me luck. :)

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

Oooooo that doesn't sound very good at all. If you haven't already, PLEASE take one of the spiders with you and go to the doctor and get it checked out. And yes, I wish you a whole tractor trailer load of good luck !!

• Report

by Ice man on June 17th, 2009

thanks SO much for the well wishes ice man. ive already seen the doc, but im due to go back after i finish my 1st round of meds. i am very curious whether or not i got one of the offending critters!

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

haha! the shark expert story is funny. :) and youre right, you never know ~ thats why i tossed the question out there. there are jacks of all trades, renaissance men, etc. with a wealth of diverse knowledge everywhere you go. you never know who youre going to meet. :D

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

great philosophy shan................ let it roll on it ! :)

• Report

by jeanie16 on June 17th, 2009

Never mind. AB wouldn't take my photo.

• Report

by D.J. on June 17th, 2009

no worries, i appreciate you trying. yeah, the ab photo uploader is usually problematic these days.

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

thanks d.j. thats sound advice to call the exterminator. but i may decide not to live here if the house is crawling with recluses. :)

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

The brown recluse is a very easy spider to eradicate. IF the place has a lot of brown recluse spiders, it's because there is a lot of leaf-litter or woodpiles nearby. Spraying for spiders and removing their preferred habitats (as above) will be a lot easier than moving.

• Report

by D.J. on June 17th, 2009

hmmm... there are woodpiles, but i wasnt anywhere near them recently and i have no leaf litter in my yard. one problem i foresee is that my home is under construction and there are lots of boxes that were recently delivered back to the home from several storage units. recluses love cardboard boxes. its got me nervous.

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

The storage units are very likely the source, with the boxes as vectors. After unpacking and spraying, you should be OK. And by the way, brown recluse spiders are very small. They make a pencil eraser look big. They are commonly called Fiddle-backed spiders, because it's easy to make-out a fiddle shape on their body. I'll post a picutre below.

• Report

by D.J. on June 17th, 2009

youve been very helpful dj. thank you so much!! :D

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

thanks yo antny. those are all great suggestions. i have already seen a medical professional regarding the bites. :)

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

thanks for the advice spicy hot. i already went to see the doctor last week, and he said the bite looked very much like a recluse bite. one of thems necrotic. i guess i could take the spider back to him ~ but hes a surgeon, not a bug expert really. it doesnt hurt to ask though i guess. :)

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

I was in the hospital for 5 days, when I was bit.
Do you have a camera, Take a pic and upload it and we can guess.

• Report

by Spicy Hot on June 17th, 2009

that was a really bad encounter you had. i asked my boyfriend to take a picture earlier ~ hes a professional photographer ~ and he refused. im not feeling comfortable either opening the lid to the plastic tubs i have them in. i had screamed and dropped the tub once trying to get the darn thing in the tub in the first place. i guess we are total wusses when it comes to spiders. i will try a shot with the lids on and see how clear the image is.

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009

Every since I was bit, I have aracnaphobia.

• Report

by Spicy Hot on June 17th, 2009

me too...ive never really been afraid of spiders before. but ive been paranoid ever since. @_@

• Report

by Shan is Purrrrrfectly Happy on June 17th, 2009