Spider bites

[dragonfly]

I managed to make it into my fifties, never having been bit by a spider. Well, I was out harvesting flower seeds a few minutes ago and managed to break this record.;) As you can see from the photo in the attached link, this spider well-cammouflaged.:)

Btw, thank goodness it wasn't poisonous. It just hurts and caused a red area with two white spots in the center from the actual bite.

http://www.surviveoutdoors.com/reference/spiders/green_lynx.asp

[BEES4U]

How do feel now?
I know that we should wear garden gloves.
This bite is extremely painful, burning, and itching may cause surrounding (edema) swelling up to 7"-10" in diameter. These bites resolve spontaneously in several days.
Ernie

[dragonfly]

So far, so good. I iced it for about 10 minutes, then put some hydrocortisone cream on it, and slapped a bandaid over it. Very minimal swelling so far (barely detectable). I'm thinking maybe she had already used up some venom before she bit me, because there was a dead bee in her small web that still looked pretty freshly killed. I don't know if spiders are similar to snakes in the way they use venom, but if the green lynx bite is venomous depending on when their last venom spent occured, I got off pretty lucky- definitely better than my little Rambo girl bee.:cry:

[swabby]

Hope this heals fine ,but take this as a warning. Surely you have heard of Brown Recluse spiders that lives in bushes. Their bite are real nasty.

[dragonfly]

Yeah Swabby- I will be careful. This spider was on the backside of a green leaf, and well-hidden by her color. I'm usually able to see the green lynx spiders, but I guess I should have had my glasses and my gloves on.:)

In this area, brown recluse spiders are usually in houses and storage sheds- or at least that is where most people seem to get brown recluse bites.

[Panhandle Scott]

Never have been bitten by one of those but I will see several around my property during the summer.

Cool but wicked looking spiders close up and they are fairly aggressive or territorial when you get close.

[RayMarler]

I'm wondering if you'd put honey on the wound immediately if you might have had less bite site pain and swelling...

[dragonfly]

Cool but wicked looking spiders close up and they are fairly aggressive or territorial when you get close.

They are gorgeous, and yes agressive and territorial. I have an embarrassing story about green lynx spiders to tell. A few years ago, I was taking pix of butterflies, and I got a shot of three Queen butterflies on my Blue Mist plant. I was so proud of the picture, that I posted it on a butterfly forum that I belonged to at the time. To my horror, after I posted the pic, I noticed that one of the three butterflies in the photo had a green lynx spider's front legs grasping its head, and the butterfly was dead. From the way it was positioned in the photo, you couldn't tell, but I felt like a real jerk posting that photo on a butterfly forum.:o

[dragonfly]

Ray, I've been so conditioned to ice down any sprain, strain, or bite, that it's 2nd nature to me. It seems to have worked, and I can't even see the bite now. No more swelling. Besides, honey is much better for internal consumption.:)

[Hambone]

That's funny DF! :D

[dragonfly]

That's funny DF! :D

It's funny in retrospect, but I was so embarrassed at the time.:)

[brooksbeefarm]

I have been bit twice by brown Recluse spiders, the first time one was in my fishing wadders (i look in them now before putting them on) i remember feeling a little burning sensation on my right hip, didn't think much about it (from being stung so much i guess:D) the hip turned blue like a huge bruise and ached i thought i had bruised it somehow, anyway my son seen it(a anesthesiologist) and said dad you've been bit by by something, the doctor put me on predisone(sp?). the other time was on the lower right leg don't know when or where that one got me, the doctor said it was a spider bite, (we have the Black Widow spider to). Here in SW Mo. the brown Recluse and Black Widow are in everyones home or out buildings and they love top lids on bee hives. They have killed some people, i've been lucky to catch it before problems set in. So heads up and look before you touch. Jack

[xC0000005]

Here's hoping your bite heals better than mine did. I made the mistake of putting on a bath robe without shaking it out. I immediately felt a burning in my sholder and actually figured I'd gotten a bee in the house...again. Wife did the "Search for stinger" bit. No stinger. THen my shoulder started swelling and turning red. Then the flesh (over the next few days) turned purple. Then black. A few weeks later I had a nice pit the diameter of a pencil. As my wife said "It looks like someone drilled a hole in your skin." Talked with a spider specialist who said "Necrosis is common but I have no idea what bit you." Go figure.We have some nasties here but mostly I see orb spiders (who I like).

[Swobee]

I'm wondering if you'd put honey on the wound immediately if you might have had less bite site pain and swelling...

Ray,

Anymore these days I put a dab of honey on bandaids when placing them on a wound. My younger daughter was in New Zealand for four months earlier this year & brought me some Manuka honey. She said "everywhere you go over there, someone is selling Manuka honey in street-side shops, stores, open markets, etc." I haven't tried it yet.

Now, I was moving some harvested hive bodies around recently and found a Black Widow spider in a couple of supers. We need to be watchful!

[dragonfly]

Wife did the "Search for stinger" bit. No stinger. THen my shoulder started swelling and turning red. Then the flesh (over the next few days) turned purple. Then black. A few weeks later I had a nice pit the diameter of a pencil. As my wife said "It looks like someone drilled a hole in your skin."

That sounds like a brown recluse bite to me.
My spider bite did feel like a bee sting at first, and I did start the stinger search, then I saw the spider behind the leaf.:eek:

[Gene Weitzel]

There are no brown recluse spiders in WA state or so I am told. I was bit by a brown recluse right in the middle of my stomach. The pain and burning woke me up from a sound sleep in the middle of the night. I got up and turned on the light and there it was perched on my pillow, very large, one of the largest I have seen. I scooped it up in a cup and flushed it down the toilet. The bite left me with a leison about the size of a quarter, but no necrosis set in, so I was luckey.

[peacekeeperapiaries]

I hate spiders we have lots of them here in FL. I have had the misfortune of being bit twice by brown recluse spiders. Fortunately I knew the symptoms and got treatment quickly but they are NASTY.