Spider bite damage!

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VenomJockey

Ancient AH Pilot, Retired CWO W4.
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If you have ever seen healed, as best can be, scars from brown recluse bites, you know that the damage is bad. A neighbor of mine had had two bites when I knew her. Brown recluse are often in closets, under beds, and other dark places. They have been found in shoes. There are many images online of the damage they have done. Unlike many people, I am not afraid of spiders, but I do kill them when I find them in my house. When I clean in my yard, especially under the deck, they are prolific. I am careful because I have seen black widows.
 
Black widow bites cause severe pain but not the tissue damage that the brown recluse does. If I had to chose one over the other I think I would take the black widow bite. Two to three days of severe pain is better than the damage of the recluse in my book. Black widows rarely cause death and if you are very young or older than about 50 they will provide you with the anti-venom. The problem is that they can only give anti-venom once in your lifetime. After that it doesn't work and can make things worse. As far as I know there is no anti-venom for the brown recluse as its toxin is enzymatic and just destroys tissue. Cleaning the bite just spreads the enzyme and makes the hole bigger.
 
Black widow bites cause severe pain but not the tissue damage that the brown recluse does. If I had to chose one over the other I think I would take the black widow bite. Two to three days of severe pain is better than the damage of the recluse in my book. Black widows rarely cause death and if you are very young or older than about 50 they will provide you with the anti-venom. The problem is that they can only give anti-venom once in your lifetime. After that it doesn't work and can make things worse. As far as I know there is no anti-venom for the brown recluse as its toxin is enzymatic and just destroys tissue. Cleaning the bite just spreads the enzyme and makes the hole bigger.
The woman I knew who had the two brown recluse bites told me that she had received anti-venom for both bites and that one more bite would not be treatable. From what she said, the anti-venom is very hard on the body and enough times will kill you. I don't know.
 
A few years ago a brown recluse got me good... I healed the bite with a plant named "Plantago virginica". In three days I could no longer see where the spider bit me. It was the first time I used a plant to heal my self.

Virginia plantain is classified as a winter annual by the USDA... sort of hard to find after March. I was bitten in early March.

I use two of its cousins almost weekly.... Plantago lanceolata and Plantago major. Wonderful healing plants... They were written about by a greek man named Hippocrates 2400 years ago... the father of modern medicine.
 
A few years ago a brown recluse got me good... I healed the bite with a plant named "Plantago virginica". In three days I could no longer see where the spider bit me. It was the first time I used a plant to heal my self.

Virginia plantain is classified as a winter annual by the USDA... sort of hard to find after March. I was bitten in early March.

I use two of its cousins almost weekly.... Plantago lanceolata and Plantago major. Wonderful healing plants... They were written about by a greek man named Hippocrates 2400 years ago... the father of modern medicine.

Peanut, I sooooo wish I had your plant knowledge. Could you possibly post pics of the plants you mentioned? Did you have the "Plantago virginica" on hand when the bite occurred? Do you use them fresh or do you make tinctures out of them? Sorry about all the questions........but, like I said, I wish I had your knowledge on the subject.;)
 
Peanut, I sooooo wish I had your plant knowledge. Could you possibly post pics of the plants you mentioned? Did you have the "Plantago virginica" on hand when the bite occurred? Do you use them fresh or do you make tinctures out of them? Sorry about all the questions........but, like I said, I wish I had your knowledge on the subject.;)
Yes, please do post pics of the plants and any other bits of knowledge you can!
 
I saw a video where a entomologists talked about all spider in S.C., however the Brown Recluse was the main spider he discussed.
People would mail him smashed spider for him to Id. He said no way to tell, most were almost dust in the package.
But the main thing is that BR do NOT have hair on it body & many of the samples that could be Id. where not BR.
So I guess a lot of people do not know one spider from another, I learned a lot studying & teaching a class for BSA.
An I know nothing really, maybe a shot glass half full. So it is best to catch the insect & take it with you. There are about eight spiders in the widow family, including a brown widow.
One of the big problems with Brown recluse & the Black Widow is the toxin are different & the antidote are different.
My brother got a spider bite some years ago & a shot, but doctors had no idea what kind of spider & the bite rotted, then lift a bad scare. The doctor said it could have been one of many venomous insects, my brother believes it is BR, but the doctors was not sure.
Hopefully their skill has improved in this century.
 
I saw a video where a entomologists talked about all spider in S.C., however the Brown Recluse was the main spider he discussed.
People would mail him smashed spider for him to Id. He said no way to tell, most were almost dust in the package.
But the main thing is that BR do NOT have hair on it body & many of the samples that could be Id. where not BR.
So I guess a lot of people do not know one spider from another, I learned a lot studying & teaching a class for BSA.
An I know nothing really, maybe a shot glass half full. So it is best to catch the insect & take it with you. There are about eight spiders in the widow family, including a brown widow.
One of the big problems with Brown recluse & the Black Widow is the toxin are different & the antidote are different.
My brother got a spider bite some years ago & a shot, but doctors had no idea what kind of spider & the bite rotted, then lift a bad scare. The doctor said it could have been one of many venomous insects, my brother believes it is BR, but the doctors was not sure.
Hopefully their skill has improved in this century.
I got bit by a black widow about 12yrs ago, not good! An hour afterward I had hives all over, a hard time breathing, body aches and fatigue! I am strong and healthy now, but even more so then and it knocked me for a loop! No scar or tissue damage at the site. Killed the spider so was sure what it was, we have a lot of black widows here!
 
Image result for what states are brown recluse spiders in


Presently, the known range of the brown recluse spider habitat (Loxosceles reclusa) extends from Nebraska to Ohio and across the south from Texas to Florida. It is native to the United States, unlike other pest spiders such as the brown widow or yellow sac spider.
 
View attachment 71098

Presently, the known range of the brown recluse spider habitat (Loxosceles reclusa) extends from Nebraska to Ohio and across the south from Texas to Florida. It is native to the United States, unlike other pest spiders such as the brown widow or yellow sac spider.
There are brown recluse in Colorado. Someone in one of the jails was bitten some years ago, maybe 2005. Since they like dark places, there is a theory that they get into moving boxes and are moved around that way.
 
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We are all to familiar with the Brown Recluse here. "They" say that 70% of the homes in Missouri have Brown Recluse spiders in them. We have been lucky. None of us, me or mine, have ever encountered one, or been bitten.
 
I wonder if diatomaceous earth would get rid of spiders? I saw a discussion elsewhere recently that said it doesn't do anything to spiders. I thought it would, but what do I know?
 
My brother got a spider bite some years ago & a shot, but doctors had no idea what kind of spider & the bite rotted, then lift a bad scare. The doctor said it could have been one of many venomous insects, my brother believes it is BR, but the doctors was not sure.
Hopefully their skill has improved in this century.

I've read that BR spiders do not envenomate 9 out of 10 times they bite a human. My shop, barns, out building are full of BR spiders. I've been bitten 3 times by a BR. Twice I went to the doc and got my shot which is usually a broad spectrum antibiotic just in case you've picked up an infection. I knew I'd been bitten, knew it was a BR but nothing happened after the shot. No rotted flesh etc.

The one time I was envenomed I knew I'd been bitten by a BR, saw it in fact. But unlike the times before, within 20minutes I knew this bite was serious. I had a serious histamine reaction going on, my arm was itching like crazy, a large welt had formed under the bite. It was on a Sunday and I knew the ER in the nearest little town could do nothing for me. So I started applying plantain. It worked.

Modern medicine can battle the effects of the venom, rotting flesh etc. But modern medicine has no equivalent to the ability of some plants to absorb venom from flesh after a bite.
 
I wonder if diatomaceous earth would get rid of spiders? I saw a discussion elsewhere recently that said it doesn't do anything to spiders. I thought it would, but what do I know?
Cleaned for an older couple and the wife would sprinkle white DE powder all over the house once a month in the summer. They always had spiders and the dogs had fleas!! Inside and outside of house by the way. Very messy inside ( of course )! She also smoked 2 packs of menthols a day and was known to take pills she would find in purses she'd buy at garage sales😧🙃🤪
 
Cleaned for an older couple and the wife would sprinkle white DE powder all over the house once a month in the summer. They always had spiders and the dogs had fleas!! Inside and outside of house by the way. Very messy inside ( of course )! She also smoked 2 packs of menthols a day and was known to take pills she would find in purses she'd buy at garage sales😧🙃🤪
Well, rats! I wonder how a person can keep spiders at bay.
 
A few years ago a brown recluse got me good... I healed the bite with a plant named "Plantago virginica". In three days I could no longer see where the spider bit me. It was the first time I used a plant to heal my self.

Virginia plantain is classified as a winter annual by the USDA... sort of hard to find after March. I was bitten in early March.

I use two of its cousins almost weekly.... Plantago lanceolata and Plantago major. Wonderful healing plants... They were written about by a greek man named Hippocrates 2400 years ago... the father of modern medicine.
I bet Plantago major would work just as well. It grows pretty much all year here in TN. More so spring thru late fall but some will survive thru winter.
 
I use plantago major, lanceolata and virginica interchangeably. I've noticed no difference in them. I'm a bit further south than you. P. major can't take the sun here. In summer I only see it on the northern side of buildings/structures. It also loves lots of water... best place to look... by a leaky facet or garden hose in the backyard.
 
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/10-natural-ways-to-keep-spiders-out-of-your-house-21939
https://www.countryliving.com/uk/ho...ep-spiders-out-of-your-house-the-natural-way/
https://geartrench.com/how-to-keep-spiders-away/
DW use to fumigate once a year to kill insects, but we have not done that the last few years.
We use twenty mule borax behind appliances & DE powder & pyrethrins at doors, it has to be removed if it gets wet. We vacuum it up & reapply as needed. These kill a lot of crawling insects, not just spiders.
 
I always thought the way to get rid of spiders was to get rid of the other insects that the spiders eat. If there is nothing to eat the spiders will leave and go someplace else. We have never had any issues with spiders.
 
I always thought the way to get rid of spiders was to get rid of the other insects that the spiders eat. If there is nothing to eat the spiders will leave and go someplace else. We have never had any issues with spiders.
I agree.
That why DW use to fumigate once a year to kill insects, & also why Spring cleaning was used in log cabins with no running water.
 

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