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In GA, I am wary for the black widow and the brown recluse, the former when indoors and the latter outdoors. I've not spotted either in months honestly, but I n

In GA, I am wary for the black widow and the brown recluse, the former when indoors and the latter outdoors. I've not spotted either in months honestly, but I never stop being wary. As far as CA natives being super freaked out about it...meh? I don't blame you. Fiddler spiders are scary looking and after seeing some of the wounds online, it's quite the eye opener. I have never personally met someone in either GA or AR that had been bitten by either of these spiders, so if you lean towards the uncharitable side of things, I have a somewhat irrational fear caused by reading things in HTML docs downloaded from a remote server in cyberspace. Edit: grammar

ppseafield 8y ago
Both the widow and the recluse are quite timid. Widow bites are generally not dangerous unless you're elderly, very young, or immunocompromised. They'll swell and be red for a while, but it's not life-threatening. Get near a widow, poke it, and it cowers in fear. The recluse's bite isn't itself dangerous - it's the necrotic bacteria that they carry that can get into your bite, which IIRC happens in about 20-25% of bites. If they bite at all - they're more likely to run away terrified than bite, but it's definitely something to be worried about. However, if you find them, do not kill them because they are cannibals. If other recluses smell a dead one, they'll come to eat it. A recluse infestation is a very difficult job for exterminators for this reason. I was more worried about the (biting!) gnats in GA. And the snakes. And the mosquitoes.
- kryogen1c 8y ago
  How interesting! Ive known several people with brown recluse bites and I always assumed the (rather unpalatable) necrosis was from the venom, not some cofactor like bacteria. Upon reflection, it makes total sense. The presentations they had would be identical to serious infection, ie visible red marks on the skin tracing blood vessels and following the blood flow.
  - rplst8 8y ago
    I thought they had a hemotoxin in their venom like a viper that contains enzymes that break down red blood cells.
  - rplst8 8y ago
    Yeah it does... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxoscelism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxoscelism Sphingomyelinase D
- pvaldes 8y ago
  A solitary male spider will run and take cover, but a mother will stand their position and will not hesitate to bite to defend its eggsac or spiderlings.
- rplst8 8y ago
  There may be bacteria, but the venom is known to contain sphingomyelinase D which is an enzyme that causes cell death. That is what causes necrosis. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxoscelism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxoscelism
jgh 8y ago
I would see black widows around when I was living in Sacramento 7 or 8 years ago. One set up shop in our laundry room window, another in the car port. No real bother. However one time I found one in the bathtub and had to get rid of it -- not only because it had decided the bathtub was a good stop to hang out but because if my cat had found it first it wouldn't have ended well.

ppseafield 8y ago

Both the widow and the recluse are quite timid. Widow bites are generally not dangerous unless you're elderly, very young, or immunocompromised. They'll swell and be red for a while, but it's not life-threatening. Get near a widow, poke it, and it cowers in fear. The recluse's bite isn't itself dangerous - it's the necrotic bacteria that they carry that can get into your bite, which IIRC happens in about 20-25% of bites. If they bite at all - they're more likely to run away terrified than bite, but it's definitely something to be worried about. However, if you find them, do not kill them because they are cannibals. If other recluses smell a dead one, they'll come to eat it. A recluse infestation is a very difficult job for exterminators for this reason. I was more worried about the (biting!) gnats in GA. And the snakes. And the mosquitoes.

kryogen1c 8y ago
How interesting! Ive known several people with brown recluse bites and I always assumed the (rather unpalatable) necrosis was from the venom, not some cofactor like bacteria. Upon reflection, it makes total sense. The presentations they had would be identical to serious infection, ie visible red marks on the skin tracing blood vessels and following the blood flow.
- rplst8 8y ago
  I thought they had a hemotoxin in their venom like a viper that contains enzymes that break down red blood cells.
- rplst8 8y ago
  Yeah it does... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxoscelism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxoscelism Sphingomyelinase D
pvaldes 8y ago
A solitary male spider will run and take cover, but a mother will stand their position and will not hesitate to bite to defend its eggsac or spiderlings.
rplst8 8y ago
There may be bacteria, but the venom is known to contain sphingomyelinase D which is an enzyme that causes cell death. That is what causes necrosis. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxoscelism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxoscelism

jgh 8y ago

I would see black widows around when I was living in Sacramento 7 or 8 years ago. One set up shop in our laundry room window, another in the car port. No real bother. However one time I found one in the bathtub and had to get rid of it -- not only because it had decided the bathtub was a good stop to hang out but because if my cat had found it first it wouldn't have ended well.