Any insect/animal bite or even a simple scratch can lead to a wound like this. It's just a matter of infection. Doctor's just love to blame it on the Recluse as the studies have shown it's the venom from the spider that more oftenly causes this type of wound, so since it's rare to get it from anything else the Recluse is always blamed.

A tick bite coupled with an infection can have the same effects as a Recluse bite.

Oddly enough, their are other spiders that are associated with this type of wound that aren't ever blamed. The Hobo Spider which is currently invading northern Cali is known to inflict wounds like this, as is the Sac Spider. The Hobo and the Recluse are the nasty ones though.

"Spider. Not sure what kind, but most definitely poisonous."

BTW, all spiders are poisonous, that's how they survive. The question is how poisonous to the prey/victim.

Damn it, don't do that to me. I kill spiders on a daily basis in our townhome, and pray that there aren't any of those little ba$tards around. I hate to put money into spraying a rental, but is there anything that's effective around here?

Technically, all spiders are "venomous", not poisonous.

Matt- We find brown recluse very commonly and black widows a couple of times a year just west of you.

widows
 

Oxygen-Acetylene Torch works good, it makes them go snap crackle, pop. Carb cleaner is less trouble though and less likely to burn the house down. Black widows are thick around here in central california. They love that black plastic sheeting thats used for landscaping.

Pay attention to what you are killing first of all. Being on the east side, you might not have the Recluse infestation I have, they might be more rare where you are. We have the cowskin creek right behind the house, and a personal lake out front, so it's more like a wooded lake type of climate here. That picture is a perfect example of how the Recluse looks, so study it for future reference, they aren't a big spider by any means, most only get a little bigger than a 1.5" round. I've caught a few up to 2.25" round, but those are pretty rare. When I say round, I mean all legs extended.

Now the bad news. I've read many sites that have stated that spraying for recluse isn't very effective. On top of that, alot of exterminators charge you a 'Recluse' fee, which can add up to $200 to the bill, and comes with no guarantees. What I have read, and am trying in my house are glue traps. They at least help keep the population under some control, but it only works if the spider wonders into one.

There is a company that operates out of KC called Brown Recluse Solutions, they claim to have very good results at controlling the populations, but they do not offer service in Wichita, however... He did refer me to a company called "Arrest A Pest Control" 945-8400, and the people that run that place have attended trainings and seminars by the guy that runs Brown Recluse Solutions(http://www.brownreclusesolutions.com/). I haven't called them yet, as I want to see how the glue traps fare.



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I haven't checked all the traps, but found this in one of them:

http://bluegtzhome.com/pics/brownrecluse2.jpg


I'll have to continue monitoring the traps to see how they do. The population doesn't seem as plentiful right now, I'm not sure what has changed in the last few weeks(not that I'm complaining).

Re: widows
 

I don't know as much about the Widow as I do the Recluse, as the Widow isn't as big of a problem here(allthough we do have them, just not very plentiful). From what I remember reading, Widow's are attracted to water. They like being anywhere that has easy access to water sources, like swimming pools, ponds, lakes. That alone surprises me that I haven't found a widow on my property, but I'm sure one will eventually pop up. Maybe the Recluse are eating them :p

That would be a pretty cool thing to see - a Widow v. a Recluse. I think the Recluse would loose. The Widow has a strong neurotoxin, the Recluse produces a venom that does a great job of breaking down protein by way of an enzyme. I know guys hit by both - the Widow creted far more pain quicker but the Recluse produce more long term problems.

Isn't it true that Grand Daddy Long Legs are one of the most poisonous spiders, but can't harm humans because their fangs are too small?

No - that was de-bunked. There was a thread awhile back that spoke of spiders and someone posted a site that did a good job expalining it. Also - Daddy Long legs are not spiders (I think) and in order for them to be venomus they have to be able to bite which they can't. The website does a better job expalining it than I can.

i have heard the daddy longlegs thing too... but i think it might be because their fangs cannot pierce human skin?

Urban legend?

The Daddy Long Legs, not actually a spider, though closely related, is not poisonous. Some people have assumed it is poisonous because it will catch Black Widows and other very poisonous spiders, and eat them. If you have Daddy Long Legs consider yourself lucky. The more of them you have, the less Black Widows you will have. We used to be just overrun with Daddy Long Legs, and didn't have any Black Widows. Now, for some reason, we have less Daddy Long Legs then we used to, and we've started to get Black Widows.

Yellow Sac Spider
 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1121805596.jpg

These will hurt ya as well - few people know of them and they are around...

both
 

We've got both up the wazoo so to speak. I've heard the stories about the daddys eatin the blacks, but I frequently see them together here. I suppose our daddies are not the same speices that others are refering to.:(

Re: both
 

The most common bug that is referred to as a Daddy Longlegs is not a spider at all. But... There are actual spiders that are called the same name, it just depends on where you live. May Flies also go by the name Daddy Longlegs in some parts of the country.

The true Daddy Longlegs is non-venomous. As mentioned early, all spiders are venomous, it just depends on the strength of the venom as to whether they are harmful to humans. The Daddy Longlegs that is a spider isn't harmful, and can actually pierce the skin, which results in a mosquito like bite.

The May Fly is just a flying insect.

The Recluse wouldn't even attempt it. They are a soft bodied spider, compared to the hard outer shell of the Widow. Also, the Widow generally stays on a web, which would be very capable of trapping a Recluse, rendering it defenseless.

If it did come down to a fair fight, I don't think the Recluse could actually sink it's fangs in, due to how small they are, the Widow however would be able to pierce the soft bodied Recluse fairly easily.

Hands down, the Widow would win.

I knew the flaws in what I said, but felt it somewhat funny none-the-less :D There actually are spiders that are known for eating Recluses.

Re: Yellow Sac Spider
 

Yeah, I mentioned them in my statement of ways to get a necrotizing wound.

They cause the same damage as a Hobo and Recluse, just not to the same degree as the others. Which is likely why they aren't listed as dangerous.

is it true that the black widows are quite the jumpers?

Never seen that,(jumping) but I don't give 'em the chance! As a side note, once my daughter(before she became a teen) was helping me paint something out in my field. A Blackie crawled out of one of the items we were painting and landed on her leg. I think her shreek killed it,(do they have ears?) but she swore she would never come out and help with that again She has been true to her word on that .

I just did a quick search. I've never heard of them jumping, and it doesn't appear common. They have pretty frail legs, compared to true jumping spiders, so I don't think they would be capable of long distance jumps. I'm sure they do pounce on their prey in their webs though.

Black Widows do fly though ;) At least the babies do, it's an act of releasing a string of web and catching the air currents to traverse long distances. It's called ballooning, and it's how the baby widows leave the nest.