What it feels like to get bitten by a black widow

[thatrebecca]

"I lay on my back with my teeth clenched and my hands gripping the sides of a hospital bed. A crowd of strangers in white coats filled the tiny room. Waves of pain lapped from my abdomen into my chest as the venom worked its way toward my heart..."

This is from a New York Times story today about black widow spiders. Like lots of folks on here, I find their webs all over my tort enclosure. This story about what a widow bite feels like has increased my desire to clear them out.

Here's the story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/science/dancing-with-black-widows.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

 

[sibi]

I don't blame you. Is the enclosure outside? The reason I ask is because I Remember a story of someone clearing out some spiders and in doing so, more and more brown recluse showed up and overtook the home. Try and get professionals to do it .

 

[thatrebecca]

I don't blame you. Is the enclosure outside? The reason I ask is because I Remember a story of someone clearing out some spiders and in doing so, more and more brown recluse showed up and overtook the home. Try and get professionals to do it .

Yes. I'm toying with bringing in an exterminator while the torts are brumating. Since I'm often rooting around in the enclosure at dusk, I'm not crazy about all these widows hanging around.

 

[tortadise]

Yeah widows eat brown recluse spiders. So when you exterminate the superior predator you will allow an open home to a new bigger bladder kid on the block. Typically recluses or hobo spiders are next on the list to invade. Just be sure if you do go the route of exterminator companies they really know what they are talk I g about. Arachnids do not groom themselves so sprays will not be effective unless each spider is dowsed completely. That is always impossible to achieve. You can place wintergreen pellets around your property and that usually keeps them away. But a lot of landscaping can actually increase your chances at moving them out in a natural, green pleasant way. sage, rosemary, evergreen shrubs and trees are not favored at all by arachnids and can be planted within the areas. I have to say too rosemary grows crazy and is very drought tolerant once established. Dont bother getting huge plants either. It grows rather quickly. Just a thought for you. Also I tend to favor the animals positions more so than the humans. But I understand the not wanting them around thought. Good luck.

 

[cemmons12]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

 

[wellington]

Wow. I hate spiders and will kill everyone I see. If they keep out of my living space, indoors and out, I won't bother them. Come in my space and squish, their dead
Sorry spider lovers, I just can't do them.

 

[cemmons12]

If my wife finds them I get to hear this nice blood chilling scream, which I have come to know every time I hear it. Then I am in charge of the death.

 

[Tom]

I've lived in widow territory my whole life. They really are not a problem. They only come out at night, and they are not the least bit aggressive. They run and hide at the slightest disturbance. I am around them constantly day and night because of my outdoor work, hobbies and lifestyle, and in all my years no one I know has ever been bitten.

Its really not something that anyone should be worried about, and its really not a reason to flood your area with toxic pesticides. Go ahead and smoosh the ones you happen to find, or the ones around your tortoises night box, they are certainly not in short supply here, but no reason to lose any sleep over it.

 

[wellington]

Easy for you to say Tom . You like lots of bugs.. I'd be the one screaming like Chris's wife. When ever I visit my friend in AZ I get paranoid about the widows and scorpions. I used to make my hubby kill the spiders too Chris. I got tired of watching them until he got home. So now I kill them.

 

[Holycow]

A black widow bit me on the thigh about 8 years ago right before the Christmas holiday. I won't get to crazy on the details but it did really hurt- if I remember correctly the pain lasted about 3 or 4 days. Maybe 8 on the scale of 1-10. My thigh swelled up so large it would not fit into the leg of my jeans and the bite area itself generated an amazing amount of heat. I also had bizarre psychedelic dreams. Spoke to some friends in the medical community and they told me not to bother going to the ER unless the symptoms got worse or I showed signs of allergic reaction. Never did go in for it. Still have slight numbness in the area of the bites "epicenter." It was the only time I've ever crawled under a house without a proper jumpsuit. My fault, lesson learned.
Jeff

 

[ascott]

I know this man that was like a magnet for all creepy crawly things to bite...he has been bitten by black widows a handful of times and his reaction was about two weeks of being annoyed and generally a bit angry....it caused him to have muscle spasms during that time...but he always said he never felt the bite but after the first time he was bitten he knew right away what had happened each time after...some folks have little to no affect while others can be laid up in the hospital.

I believe one time I may have been bitten...I reached under a trailer to pull out a cat dish to pour some food out and felt a web and quickly removed my arm and brushed the web off...and a moment later I noticed a widow kinda land on the ground (like it had fallen, likely off of my arm) and so I squished it and did not think anything else of it...but then for about 2 to 3 weeks that arm felt like I had pulled weeds for hours and I was not able to use it as usual---alot of deep down pain in the muscle and even deeper in my arm than the muscle and even to this day (months later) I can still have moments of weird sensation in that arm ---not sure but think it happened....

I will hunt them around the house outside along the edge of the house and I will never place my hand/arm into the tortoise hides or burrow entrances without a flashlight and or broom to swish first...the torts always come out of their hides adorning a bit of widow web....I simply peel it off and they seem to appreciate the human hand...lol..

I would not bring in a poison man either....not for this species...clearing away the travelled areas seems to work well...also hunting down the egg sacs and destroying them is very important...keeping things cleared aways from the travelled areas will also help...

Just be aware and keep your eyes open for their trademark webs as well as their desired resting places...and be aware first...

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Apple cider vinegar. If you get bit, this neutralizes the venom. Among other many things it is good for, ACV helps with this. Bee and wasp stings also. Good to have on hand. Love the stuff.

 

[thatrebecca]

Hmmmmm. This was my first summer in nature. And by nature I meaning owning a house with a yard. I assumed the fact that the widows hadn't bitten me yet was a fluke, given how much time I spend out there after dusk fiddling with hides and dumping out water dishes. But you nature natives are telling me that they probably won't ever bite me? And that they might in fact be helping keep nastier guys out? In that case, maybe I won't call the bug man on them. The torts don't seem to mind them anyway.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

I love Kelly's suggestion to plant things that may keep them away. Sage? Rosemary? Hmmm, me thinks an herb garden might help. Plus, toxic pesticides are exactly that. Who needs them when nature can help control nature. But just in case, a bottle of apple cider vinegar on the shelf ...

 

[meh1911]

Ah, widows... Hate the buggers. I've been bitten by 2 widows and stung by a scorpion, and man, it hurts. The scorpion sting hurt much more, though.

In both cases, you can actually feel the poison spreading through your body; it hurts. It hurts deep, deep within your muscles, and doesn't feel like any other type of pain.

I didn't get any medical attention for the widow bites, but freaked out when the scorpion stung. I have no idea what species it was, but it was around 4 inches long (leaving out the tail) and black as death. By the time we reached the hospital, my belly was hurting A LOT and there were boulders on my chest. Thankfully, doc was calm and took care of it by giving a shot right where it stung me. Scary times.

meh1911 and Girdhari (A 3.5-inch long Indian Star)

 

[nate.mann]

ive been stung by a scorpion, i was holding the two pinches with my thumb and index finger on my right hand and stinger on my left, i didnt want to pull him apart but he was squirming and in the midst of the fun his stinger slipped out of my fingers and stung the side of my right hand. only thing i can compare it to would have to be a cigarette cherry being pressed to the skin (had that happen too).


0.1.0 Russian
0.0.1 Leopard
1.0.0 Blue Pit/American Bulldog
Chive On!

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Major ouch!

 

[nate.mann]

Major ouch!

yeah it wasnt fun. never went to the hospital, i had a friend that was stung and went and he was told there wasnt much they could do other than make sure he doesnt go into shock or have an allergic reaction. so i stuck it out, was miserable for a few days, but ended up alright. haha


0.1.0 Russian
0.0.1 Leopard
1.0.0 Blue Pit/American Bulldog
Chive On!

 

[ShellyTurtlesCats]

I just smooshed 10 and 1 scorpion while cleaning the patio today.

Thanks,
Shelly

 

[morloch]

Ugh,, yuck, spiders,. My biggest fear!!!
I've been stung by a lion fish,, that hurt. Also, I was cleaning a fish tank at work. That I thought was empty.however no one mentioned a blue ring octopus that arrived earlier that day. That was a close one!!,