Black Widow Spider

I first told you all about my black widow encounter earlier this year, so I know the little buggers are around my home on the outside. I still had yet to see another one since that fateful day – until this afternoon that is. This time, the spider was in my house. (okay it was on my back porch but that is close enough)

After months of begging me to clean out our enclosed back porch, my wife finally hit the jackpot with me today. I got off my tail and went back there and started moving all the junk around. I noticed a spider or two here and there, but none of them were dangerous at all.

Eventually, I made my way to the cedar chest that was back in the corner. I opened it and immediately saw the random web of a black widow, complete with egg sac. Carefully, I looked around and searched for mama. I saw no spider anywhere, and concluded it was an abandoned web, or dead spider sac. I then went about the task of digging the books out of the cedar chest and cleaning it out.

I was pulling out books and stacking them on the floor behind me. One by one, I was taking them out and stacking them. Out of nowhere, I noticed a flash of movement. Running across the next book I was going to pick up was a huge black widow. She was headed toward my finger and I yanked back just in the nick of time. (okay so I moved it in plenty of time but that is boring, right?)

Come to find out, she was none too happy about my intrusion of her home, and particularly about getting near her egg sac. Black widow spiders are dangerously aggressive sometimes when you get near their young or egg sac. Some don’t seem to care. This gal cared. In a big way.

Unfortunately, I had to dispose of this fine arachnid in spite of my hesitancy to do so. The thought of that egg sac bursting in a room just off mine and my wife’s bedroom was the clincher. I love spiders but even I have my limits.

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Pictures of Brown Recluse Spider Bites

What you should do when a brown recluse spider bites you:

1.  Do go to the emergency room or doctor.  Brown recluse spider bites are serious because the venom is necrotic.  That is, it eats away at and kills tissue under the skin.  These bites can lead to serious complications up to and including amputation.  Worst case scenarios may even include death.

2.  Do apply ice to a brown recluse spider bite.  This will help with swelling and pain, and should be done on the way to the doctor.

3.  Do wash the bite site with soap and cool water.  This will help the brown recluse spider bite site resist infection.

4.  Do elevate the limb above the heart.  Venom travels through the blood stream, and you want to keep the bite site above your heart.

5. Do take acetamenophene for any pain you experience from the brown recluse spider bite.

6.  Do remain calm after being bitten by a brown recluse spider.  The venom travels faster if you are excited or active.

What you should not do if bitten by a brown recluse spider:

1.  Do not risk retrieving the spider unless you can safely do so.  You do not want to risk another bite.  Try to identify the brown recluse.  You can read about brown recluse spider identification here.

2.  Do not ever add heat to the bite site.  Heat will cause the tissue to break down quicker with a brown recluse spider bite.

3.  Do not suck, cut, or attempt to remove the venom from a brown recluse spider bite.  This can cause further damage as well as an added risk of spreading the venom.

4.  Do not medicate the brown recluse bite site with creams, or medicines of any kind.  Some of these can cause major problems with a brown recluse spider bite.

When you arrive at the doctors, you may receive any number of treatments for your brown recluse spider bite.  These can include tetanus shots, allergy meds, pain medications, and even antibiotics.  These depend on the site, as well as your reaction to the brown recluse spider bite.

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Indian Cobra Courtesy of Wikipedia user Kamalnv

The big four venomous snakes in Asia are the four snakes that are most common to kill. These snakes are all quick to bite and can be deadly in a very short period of time.  What truly makes the big four dangerous, however, is the fact that they are all found in and around the human population.  This leads to more venomous snake bites than in most countries, and in turn, more deaths.

Each of these powerful venomous snakes are capable of killing a human, and each of them can be readily found throughout the cities of India.  These venomous snakes are kind of a win/lose situation for the residents there – on the one hand they keep the vermin population in check, and on the other they are deadly if you are bitten.  Anti-venin is available widely throughout India in the event of a snake bite, and is a must if you are bitten by these big four snakes.

You will notice that the lengendary king cobra is not on this list of the big four.  The reason?  The king cobra is a reclusive snake that is content to hang out in the jungle.  For this reason, they do not come in contact with the people of India nearly as often.  Therefore they are not as dangerous.  A bite from a king cobra is as deadly as they come, but they are just much rarer.

Here are some interesting notes about each of the big four venomous snakes of Asia:

The Indian Cobra – also called a monocled cobra.  The Indian cobra is the cobra of legend that has a pair of monocled glasses on it’s back.  They are quite venomous, and will bite readily if you surprise or harrass them.  This is the snake that is used by snake charmers in India.

Russell's Viper Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons User Saleem Hameed

The Russell’s Viper – This snake is one of the most feared snakes in Asia.  One reason is because the snake is so tough to see, and so quick to bite.  They will strike without warning, and deliver a highly potent painful deadly snake bite.  The Russell’s viper is no joke in India.

The Saw-Scaled Viper – This little buggar is interesting in that it sounds much like a small rattlesnake.  The sound that it makes comes from rubbing it’s own scales against one another to create a buzzing noise.  This noise is sure to get people’s attention in India as they know the danger of this highly aggressive viper.

The Common Krait – Another potentially deadly snake that is famous in India.  It appears this

Saw Scaled Viper

snake is prone to climbing into bed with you in pursuit of a rodent or other vermin.  This is not a nightime surprise I would want to experience.  The common Krait is a beautiful but potentially deadly reptile.

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Black Widow

One fine day this past spring my wife sent me outside to finally gather and dispose of the trash that had been sitting for about a week or two.  Okay, so maybe it had been about a month, but a week or two sounds better.  Whatever the case, I let the trash go to long, and was now faced with gathering it up and getting it gone.  I headed out there and dove right in.

Now, seeing as how I am a bit of an expert on black widows, one would think I would have the sense to put on some gloves.  Why?  Well, black widows love trash.  Check.  Black widows love damp areas.  Check.  Black widows love dark areas.  Check.  Black widows go anywhere that insects might be.  Check.  I could go on.  The trash bags that had been sitting outside had been there quite a while, and they were the perfect homes for the black widow spider.  Yet I dove in with no gloves and even bare arms.  (legs too now that I think of it)

The black widow bite potential never crossed my mind as I was focused on trying to keep the bags from falling apart as I picked them up.  About six bags into my clean up, I reached down and grabbed a bag……As soon as i raised the bag off the ground, I looked just beyond my fingers and there she sat.  A big, fat, plump black widow.  She froze right away, and just looked at me.  We came face to fangs, if you will.

My initial reaction was to shiver because the dang spider was right there.  My hand could not have missed picking her up by more than a centimeter.  If I had reached just a hair farther, I would have picked her up in my bare hand.  A spider bite would have ensued.  As I stood there looking at her, I caught movement in my other hand.  Crawling from the top of the bag I was holding (with my other bare hand) was yet another plump black widow!!

I dropped the bag, and immediately backed away from the trash.  Amazingly I had come within a centimeter from two black widows and neither had bitten me.  Both black widows had plenty of opportunity and neither actually did.

I went and put on several layers to continue my work.  When I returned both spiders were gone. I dove into the rest of the trash with great care.  By the time I got through it, I encountered four more black widow spiders.  One of them actually crawled on my glove.

Yes, I crapped my pants but still did not get a venomous black widow spider bite.

The moral of the story?  Sometimes you can try to get bit, and not get bitten.  Then other times you can be minding your business and not even risking yourself and get bitten.  Black widows are not the aggressive spiders that they are put out to be.  I gave them plenty of chances that day for sure.

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Ironically, the truth about the Sydney funnel web spider is plenty scary enough.  This spider has the ability to kill a healthy human being without proper treatment of a bite, and it is not hesitant to deliver a deep bite.  The Sydney funnel web spider is highly aggressive when threatened or encountered, though not to the levels they are purported to reach.   Here are some of the hilarious Sydney funnel web spider myths and stories I have heard in my studies:

Sydney funnel web spider Myths and Stories:

- One website that I came across said that the Sydney funnel web spider he encountered literally chased him for half a mile….. Really.

- Another myth was that the Sydney funnel web spider was milked and filled up two cups full of venom.  This is not even funny it is so stupid.

- A fairly respected website I came across said that the Sydney funnel web spider can grow as big as a dinner plate.  Again, that is a massive exaggeration.

- The Sydney funnel web spider does not kill people in five minutes.  As a matter of fact, their have been no recorded human deaths since the advent of antivenin.  The venom is seriously dangerous without the antivenin, however.  Not five minutes deadly, but deadly all the same.

- Sydney funnel web spiders do not “set up house” inside of homes.  Males wander at night, and sometimes become trapped inside.   They do not wish to stay there, and will get out given the chance.  They do not stay on purpose.

- The Sydney funnel web spider does not jump up on top of people to bite them.  This again, is an exaggeration probably stemming from the fact that they rear up on their hind legs and stab with their fangs when they bite.  They do not leap across the room to chase you down.

Picture credited to Wikipedia User en:User:Tirin, www.takver.com

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Black Widow

Hopefully you are never unlucky enough to be bitten by a black widow spider, but just in case you do, it might be a good idea to know what to do.  The first thing in any venomous spider bite is to remain calm.  The black widow spider injects venom into your system that will spread much faster if you are panicked. Relax and know that you will be okay.

The first thing you should do is apply ice to the bite site. Wrap the ice in something such as a shirt, washcloth, or other covering and then apply.  Leave the ice on for about 9 minutes at a time, and then take it off for approximately the same amount of time.

The next step should actually be done while doing the above.  Transport the victim to the hospital or nearest medical facility.   Your job is done once the victim has reached the hospital.

When the spider bite victim reaches the hospital the doctor may take any number of steps.  These include muscle relaxants and careful blood pressure monitoring.  Certainly pain medicine will be administered if needed, and sometimes a medicine called antivenin is used.

Antivenin for black widow spider bites is called “lactodectrus mactans” and it is reserved for only the worst of the black widow spider bites.  The black widow antivenin is sometimes a problem with certain patients, so they are careful about who they administer it to.

The black widow spider is not always quick to release venom.  Sometimes the bites are “dry” or venom is not injected.  The black widow needs that venom to secure food and prey in the wild.  They do not want to waste it on a huge human that they can not eat.

Children, the elderly, and those in poor health are the most at risk group with black widow spider bites.  If you fall in this category and are bitten, you need to get to the hospital right away.  The vast majority of people that are bitten by black widow spiders recover fully and live to tell the tale.

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