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Thursday, August 18, 2005
Photo Taken From http://www.brown-recluse.com (caution, graphic photos of bites and wounds at that website... not for the weak of stomach)
A four year old from Smethport may have been bitten by a very venomous Brown Recluse spider. Christy Olson says her son had a wound on his foot that began to spread rapidly.
The young boy will need a skin graft, because the tissue at the site of the bite turned black and died.
Doctors at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital have given her conflicting reports, but Olson believes little Isaac was bitten by the spider.
Area doctors say they have treated people locally for Brown Recluse bites.
The brown hairy spider is about the size of a quarter, with a yellow violin shaped marking on its back.. While the spider is rare in Pennsylvania, the creatures have been known to be transported and start new native populations.
Editor's Note: My Wife almost stepped on one of these in our bathroom when we lived in Roulette. I think the spider was sick, because it did not scatter or run when I came near it. This picture doesn't have a clear "fiddle back" marking like the one we saw, and then promptly smashed with a book.
1 Comments:
Arkansas is in the center of Brown Recluse spider habitat in the U.S. I have killed only one, so they aren't overrunning the place. They prefer dark, dry places (think attic), and obviously they are "reclusive", coming out mostly after dark.
They can't bite you unless they are held against your skin with slight pressure (for example by clothing). Not all bites cause tissue necrosis. Some people are more sensitive to the venom than others. The "fiddleback" refers to the dark fiddle shape just behind its head. The fiddle's neck extends toward the rear of the spider.
Another spider now suspected of causing problems for humans is the Hobo Spider. It is most likely found in the Pacific Northwest, but it survives in a northern clime better than the BRS.
If your clothing has lain in one place for a long time, shake them out before donning. Wear gloves to work with a woodpile. Vacuum often, checking behind and under furniture from time to time. And, try not to incidently make mini-habitats in your home where these guys would thrive.
Having lived in Arkansas just shy of two years now, I'm already in the habit of checking my shoes/boots before putting them on. I tend to leave them out in our garage. But forget the spiders, Ozark scorpions are the beasties that convinced me to exercise this caution. ;-)
6:11 PM
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