Brown Recluse Spiders

When you put-on your pair of shoes and you feel a pin prick, be forewarned, you may have just been snapped by a Brown Recluse Spider (BRS). These guys are nasty little arthropods. They are shy. They live in dark places. They can go for around a half-year without any water or food.

How do you know if it’s a BRS?

Probably the best way is to look into their eyes. Practically all spiders have eight eyes usually lined-up into two rows of four eyes. BRSs have six equal-sized eyes that come in pairs of three.

Then there’s the violin-like marking on its dorsal. This image can be very intense or very faint. That’s why you want to focus on the eyes.

Lastly, their legs are coated with fine hairs. Other arthropods likely have spots, rings or stripes on their appendages.
Other spiders are commonly mis-identified as being a BRS. An example is the spitting spider. They’re close relatives and they’re eyes are pretty much arranged like their dangerous brothers. The thing that separates the two are the black spots and lines on their backs. Likewise, the woodlouse spider could be mistaken for a BRS. The difference, Dysdera crocata, has six eyes arranged in two groups of three and has no markings on its body.

In America, there are 11 species of the BRS. You’ll find them in places from Texas to Georgia, Nebraska to Ohio and the south central portion of the Midwest.

A BRS crawls at night. That’s when they go hunting for food. They don’t go far from their silky nests, though. The only other reason that a male BRS leaves its hiding place is to look for a girlfriend. Like little vampires, once the sun begins to rise, they seek shelter. That’s why you might find them in your shoes.

You’ll also discover these trouble-makers under rocks and in cracks in your foundation. They hide under plywood, trash cans, rubber tires and places that show signs of human habitation.

Having a life span of around 4-years, some will actually reach a ripe old age of 7 before going to spider-hell.

While they are called reclusive for a reason, if you come across one, you’ll probably find many more nearby. And they don’t have a tendency to migrate or float-around in the wind. What usually happens is that they take-up residence in something that’s mobile. When the object is moved, the BRS unknowingly hops-off only to find themselves in unexplored territory.

Here’s what hurts you when you get bit. It’s venom creates skin problems. These bites will leave a scar, but usually heal completely in a few months. There have been rumors that people have lost their foot after a bite. However, that is a bloated myth. The picture below however is the nasty result of a real bite!

If you do get tapped by a BRS, here’s the best you can do. Put ice on the wound, elevate the site and rest. You might want to see a doctor. Just be forewarned, most people in the field of medicine mis-diagnose a BRS bite.

There are other medical conditions that look like a BRS encounter. Things like Lyme disease, lymphoma, a burn, a bacterial infection and herpes. Without seeing the actual spider, a doctor has a pretty tough time calling the diagnosis.