Step aside, black widow. There's a scarier spider to fear.
Every now and then, particularly when gardening season begins, news reports, email forwards, and other media produce dreadful tales of brown recluse spider bites, warning of their deadly invasion into gardens, sheds, back yards, and cellars across North America. Like the network news advertisements telling viewers to watch at 11 p.m. because something in their house is supposedly killing their children, reports of the brown recluse tend to induce fear and confusion. But are these reports over-hyped and unsupportable, creating nothing more than media-fueled paranoia?
This article takes a look at the facts and the myths surrounding the brown recluse spider.
- Myth 1: Brown Recluse Spiders Live in Everyone's Back Yard
There exists this misconception that no matter where one lives in the U.S., brown recluse spiders can be found lurking in the surrounding darkness. From Maine to California, these demons lie in wait for unsuspecting homeowners who disturb their evil domains.
- Fact: Brown Recluses are Found in the Central Midwest and Southward
According to BrownRecluseSpider.org, recluses are native to the U.S. However, they are primarily found in the Central Midwest, particularly Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. To a lesser degree, they are found southward, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. They are generally not found along the eastern or western coastlines, in the Rocky Mountain states, or in any states bordering Canada. Most bites attributed to brown recluse spiders in such areas are wrongly attributed, evidenced by their decreased severity.
Like any rule, this one has exceptions. Arachnids can and do travel, be it inside boxes, vehicles or other cargo. So, although undoubtedly rare, brown recluse bites are possible anywhere in the nation.
- Myth 2: Brown Recluse Spiders Are Responsible for Many, if not Most, Spider Bites.
According to Rick Vetter, an entomologist with the University of California and one of the nation's experts on the misdiagnosis of brown recluse spider bites, bites from recluses are routinely misdiagnosed. Public overreaction based on misinformation and arachnophobia, says Vetter, make it difficult to separate fact from fiction. Similar appearing wounds are often blamed on spiders, and particularly the recluse, when there is no way to verify it. Vetter explains that a multitude of sources could cause similar injuries to the recluse's bite, including Lyme disease, diabetic ulcers, herpes or ringworm.
- Fact: Most Spider Bites are from Yellow Sac Spiders
Yellow sac spiders exist in great numbers across North America. These spiders are the likely cause of brown recluse hysteria. Injuries from their bites mirror those inflicted by recluse spiders but are much less severe. "Even though brown recluse bites are quite rare these shy spiders are often blamed for bites. Experts believe sac spiders cause more bites than any other type of spider and their bites are often misdiagnosed as brown recluse spider bites."
- Myth 3: Brown Recluse Spider Bites Will Cause Its Victim's Skin to Rot
- Fact: Brown Recluse Spider Bites Can Cause Its Victim's Skin to Rot
In essence, after an initial itchy, irritated stage, the skin surrounding the bite dies. It eventually falls off, resulting in an unattractive open wound. The open sore can be very painful, ranging in size from a penny to a softball in circumference. To make matters worse, the necrosis can reoccur months or years after the bite occurred.
Although a few deaths have been credited to the brown recluse, these are an extreme rarity and unverifiable. As stated by the University of California's Entomology Department, there have been no proven deaths from brown recluse bites.
Precautions
Though the danger of a bite is less severe and universal than hyped, it is still very real and not worth risking. Here are some precautionary steps to avoid recluse bites, as provided by University of California's Entomology Department:
- Recognition and Avoidance: Brown recluse spiders are yellowish-brown to brown in color with long, thin, hairy legs. They are sometimes called "violin spiders" or "fiddleback spiders" due to dark, violin-shaped markings often found on their backs. Unlike most spiders that have eight eyes, brown recluses only have six.
- Habitat and Aggravation: The brown recluse lives in dark, undisturbed areas, e.g. the corners of closets, tool sheds, seldom-worn clothing and shoes, under rocks, etc. They are shy spiders, and will not bite unless trapped, say inside a shoe or against the flat, smooth surface of a bathtub. So, keep beds away from walls and remove bedskirts. Shake out old clothes or clothes left on the floor overnight before re-wearing. Wear gloves when moving storage boxes, wood piles, etc.
- Reduction: Much like flypaper, set sticky traps to catch spiders in potentially infested areas.
For additional information on North American spiders, see this author's articles on daddy long-legs, black widow and hobo spiders.
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