Brown Recluse Spider

[semi-hollowbody]

I got home last night and there was a big spider on my kitchen ceiling...as I was circling it I swear it was following me...I turned off the ceiling fan and killed it...looked like a brown recluse but I couldnt tell...scary as I have a 2 year old

TODAY at work, a spider identicle to the one last night came out from behind my keyboard and actually walked toward my hand...killed it...

Ive looked on line at various pictures and its HARD to tell...but both of these looked like a brown recluse...

I live in southeast Michigan (meto detroit) so Im not exactly in their usualy area (recluse bites have been reported in all 50 states)...and I thought these spiders dont usually come out, you find them hiding in a shoe or under something, they are NOT agressive and only bite when they are stepped on or laid on...simply touching them or even picking them up wont result in a bite unless you squeeze them...

any tips to recognizing a recluse?? Protecting my home from them? Or any recluse stories in general?

[TNJ]

This time of year might be a bit different (as all insects make the cold weather trek to the inside of our homes/offices).
Usually...Brown Recluse spiders are RECLUSIVE. That means you have to really go to some out of the way/hidden places to even see them.
Size can vary, but they can be fairly good size (US quarter size max).
SO many spiders look like them, they get mistakenly killed for their reclusive cousins.

Chances are you killed a harmless insect eater.
Twice.


S.
j

[Rob Sharer]

Get out a magnifying glass. Brown Recluse spiders have a violin-shaped patch on their backs, and a very distinctive pattern of eyes.

By the way, I've been looking for one of these for years and have never successfully located one. I suspect they are much more rare than their press would seem to indicate.



Rob

[Jerry Lundegaard]

My bet is it was some kind of wolf spider, no worries...

[mannish]

I never thought of BRs are being 'big' - The doctor said wife had a BR bite and said if you have one BR around, you have many. I am not sure it was really a BR bite, however soon after at my house a friend put his cap on got bit right on the forehead definitely a BR he had some complications from it. We a lot of spiders in my house

[guitarlifestyle]

The violin shape on their back is the biggest identifier of these spiders. When I first moved to Nashville, my apartment was infested with them. The apartment manager refused to agree that they were brown recluse so I caught one and did some research, and it was a brown recluse. They look very similar to wolf spiders, which are much less harmful, but wolf spiders don't have the violin on their back. They are reclusive, but the ones in my apartment did come out and were visible at times. I saw at least a dozen of them around the apartment in the three months that I lived there.

[Bob Maximus]

Originally Posted by guitarlifestyle

The violin shape on their back is the biggest identifier of these spiders. When I first moved to Nashville, my apartment was infested with them. The apartment manager refused to agree that they were brown recluse so I caught one and did some research, and it was a brown recluse. They look very similar to wolf spiders, which are much less harmful, but wolf spiders don't have the violin on their back. They are reclusive, but the ones in my apartment did come out and were visible at times. I saw at least a dozen of them around the apartment in the three months that I lived there.

I've heard that before about some of the local apt's. Which one are you talking about? It could give some locals a heads up.

[Craig Walker]

http://www.badspiderbites.com/brown-recluse-spider/

Says eyes and 'violin' marking are easiest identification. Body length less than 1/2 inch, so not a BIG spider.

[Heritage 80]

You can see the tiny violin shape (bottom of the "violin" is by the head with the "neck" pointing toward the abdomen. I had a field biology prof who told us "if you're close enouth to see the violin shape on a Brown Recluse, you're too close."

[Shiny McShine]

^ that's a scary thing to say.

[semi-hollowbody]

Wolf spiders do bite...and it is very painful...but your skin wont rot off like a recluse spider...

[Jarrett]

If it's big, it ain't bad. In my neck of the woods, it's the little ones you gotta watch out for.

[thrashmetl]

Wierd, looks like a house spider here in SoCal. I've heard we have them here and people claim to have seen them, but I'm not so sure. Every time I see a house spider the wife makes me get rid of it. Since they're harmless I just grab them and throw them outside. Never been bit so they must not be BR's.

[ldizzle]

+1000 on wolf spider. They can bite- and it can be painful- but usually harmless in the long run.

[saneff]

A friend of mine was bitten by a BR spider. he missed like 2 months of work and almost died. It was some time before he was healthy again. It was awfu.

he had ordered a chair I think and it was shipped from out of the country (don't remember where from). It came in a box, and they are pretty sure the BR was in that box when he was fishing for directions and stuff and bit him then.