I live in Tucson. I'm on the far northeast side. I've lived here for a few years. The vermin are traumatizing me. I just had an encounter with the BIGGEST SPIDER I HAVE EVER SEEN INSIDE. I'm still shaking. I realized after I saw it that it was too big to kill with a shoe. Long story short, it has left this world and its corpse is on my patio.
I am moving to Phoenix for nursing school soon, when my pre-reqs are done. I know that the newly developed areas have the most insects indoors, but still? Are certain areas worse than others? Does Phoenix have as many 'vermin' as Tucson? Here's what I experience outside: tarantulas on my sidewalk last week, bobcat by trash can a few days ago, a snake by my drive a few weeks ago, and javelina come by my bedroom window at night. Indoors: spiders, roaches, and the occasional scorpion. I have been stung by a scorpion. It actually wasn't too bad. A little nausea, cramps, rapid heart beat, and numbness. (((It's the large spiders that I cannot handle.)))
Description: The true brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa) does not occur in Arizona, but two closely related species have been reported here. They are quite similar to the brown recluse and can be distinguished only by an expert. The Arizona species are Loxosceles arizonica and L. deserta. Three other species, one from the southeast corner of our state (and the New Mexican and Mexican Chihuahuan Desert), one from the Grand Canyon, and one known only from Sabino Canyon in the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson, have not yet been described, but will eventually be named by Dr. W.J. Gertsch. Loxosceles arizonica is very common in our state and L. deserta is fairly rare. For the sake of simplicity, all five species will be referred to as brown spiders, and all should be considered equally menacing. The reader should note that there are numerous species of brown-colored spiders in Arizona, but the name "brown spiders" here refers only to members of the genus Loxosceles. The brown spiders can be distinguished from all others by the following characteristics: the body of the adult is about 1/3 inch (9 mm) long, and the leg span is about 1 inch (25 mm). Color is tan to brown and there is a distinctive violin-shaped darker marking on the cephalothorax, with the neck of the violin pointed toward the abdomen. Brown spiders have three pairs of eyes on the base of the violin. These are difficult to see without a hand lens. Other spiders that might be mistaken for brown spiders have four pairs of eyes rather than three and do not have the violin.
Envenomation: All species of Loxosceles are seriously venomous to humans. In 1969, Dr. Mont A. Cazier in the Department of Zoology at Arizona State University forced an Arizona brown spider to bite him on the arm. He then observed and reported the progress of the disease caused by the venom. The symptoms were very similar to those previously reported for the true brown recluse. Three enzymes have been identified as the major components of the venom: a protease, an esterase, and a hyaluronidase, all enzymes that cause a breakdown of tissues. Volume-for-volume, this venom is much more toxic than that of the most poisonous snakes. The brown spiders are not aggressive, and bites have most often been suffered when the spider is trapped inadvertently against some substrate. Significantly, Dr. Cazier had to restrain and prod his brown spider repeatedly in order to cause it to bite. They may hide in folds of clothes or bedding, and bite when the clothes are donned or the bed is occupied. Most victims have been bitten when putting on clothing in the morning, and the wounds have centered mostly on the arms or legs. Little or no pain is felt at the time of the bite, but pain and local swelling are experienced in from 2-8 hours. A blister forms at the bite, and this becomes a center of swelling and reddening in the form of a bull's eye target. In the next day or two, the skin becomes discolored and darkened, and a tough scab forms by the end of the first week. When the scab separates within 2-5 weeks, it leaves an ulcer with a necrotic base. This is slow to heal, requiring more than three months, and heavy scarring may result. In severe cases (many are mild), there may be (in addition to the symptoms listed above) joint pain, vomiting, and a fever as high as 104° F (40°C) that occurs within 36 hours of the bite and lasts as long as a week. Fatalities attributable to "brown recluse" spider bites are extremely rare in the U.S. and are due to renal failure.
If you pasted that long article the first line says exactly what I said. The brown recluse doesn't live in arizona. related species, yes, but not the brown recluse. That was my only point which you validated nicely
Yes they will. I once thought I was bitten by a brown recluse, and the poision control knew exactly what I was talking about. They somehow didn't feel the need for a lecture. I love the poision control!
It wasn't a brown recluse, just some strange bite that my body didn't like...
Yes they will. I once thought I was bitten by a brown recluse, and the poision control knew exactly what I was talking about. They somehow didn't feel the need for a lecture. I love the poision control!
It wasn't a brown recluse, just some strange bite that my body didn't like...
Me too. I got a bite a few months ago that looked exactly like a female nipple and areola. On my leg. It was quite remarkable actually. I had to show everyone the 'boob' on my leg. It freaked me, and them out.
It was on my leg too! I kept icing it for a long time, then my friend said, you know, you only ice for so long then you use heat. So I put a warm washcloth on it and it erupted like Mt Kilauea! I actually got sick looking at this goo coming out of my leg! UGH!
semantics. we all call it the brown recluse. it's called the az brown.
you know we call them monsoons too, and they aren't technically monsoons either.
we will continue to call them the brown recluse and the monsoons.
it seems silly, but i hate it when people come in and pick at the little things we say and do.
i guess it is silly when most research indicates that most of these horrible stories you hear have nothing to do with spider bites at all, let alone the recluse. silly, like when we almost killed wolves to extinction because we thought they were dangerous to man. you can call anything a monsoon, there is nothing anyone can do about the weather. when you get involved wih mislabeling wildlife based on urban legends and unsubstantiated stories, it only spreads fear and ignorance. below is list of the most common causes of suspected spider bites. feel free to access the link yourself and read up on the actual research regarding this topic including how difficult it is to get bitten by any recluse spider. this includes articles from people that have lived in houses infested by them in a state where they actually are found.
conditions that have been misdiagnosed as brown recluse spider bites as reported in the medical literature
bacterial
staphylococcus infection
streptococcus infection
gonococcal arthritis dermatitis
cutaneous anthrax
reaction to drugs
warfarin poisoning
viral
infected herpes simplex
chronic herpes simplex
varicella zoster (shingles)
arthropod-induced
lyme disease
rocky mountain spotted fever
ornithodoros coriaceus bite (soft tick)
insect bites (flea, mite, biting fly)
fungal
sporotrichosis
keratin cell mediated response to fungus
topical
poison ivy/poison oak
chemical burn
lymphoproliferative disorders
lymphoma
lymphomatoid papulosis
underlying disease states
diabetic ulcer
vascular disorders
focal vasculitis
purpura fulminans
thromboembolic phenomena
polyarteritis nodosa
misc./multiple causative agents
pyoderma gangrenosum
pressure ulcers
stevens-johnson syndrome
erythema multiforme
erythema nodosum
toxic epidermal necrolysis
(lyell's syndrome)
one of the more pertinent causes listed here is that the expression of lyme disease can give the classic "bull's-eye" patterning characteristic of brown recluse bite. misdiagnosis in this case can be rather disconcerting because lyme disease can be treated and cured with common antibiotics. if diagnosed as "brown recluse bite" instead, it will obviously be treated as such and then the lyme disease can progress into more serious symptoms of heart and central nervous system disorders.rick vetter, m.s., staff research associate, studies the systematics, distribution, and public health impact of arachnids in southern california (in collaboration with p. kirk visscher.)
reminds me of how many of us marine moms freaked out about the rumoured email that went around about camel spiders in iraq when our sons were there - and horor stories that were really scary until someone snopped it and found it to be not true- lol ahh the memories haha.
i guess it is silly when most research indicates that most of these horrible stories you hear have nothing to do with spider bites at all, let alone the recluse. silly, like when we almost killed wolves to extinction because we thought they were dangerous to man. you can call anything a monsoon, there is nothing anyone can do about the weather. when you get involved wih mislabeling wildlife based on urban legends and unsubstantiated stories, it only spreads fear and ignorance. below is list of the most common causes of suspected spider bites. feel free to access the link yourself and read up on the actual research regarding this topic including how difficult it is to get bitten by any recluse spider. this includes articles from people that have lived in houses infested by them in a state where they actually are found.
conditions that have been misdiagnosed as brown recluse spider bites as reported in the medical literature
bacterial
staphylococcus infection
streptococcus infection
gonococcal arthritis dermatitis
cutaneous anthrax
reaction to drugs
warfarin poisoning
viral
infected herpes simplex
chronic herpes simplex
varicella zoster (shingles)
arthropod-induced
lyme disease
rocky mountain spotted fever
ornithodoros coriaceus bite (soft tick)
insect bites (flea, mite, biting fly)
fungal
sporotrichosis
keratin cell mediated response to fungus
topical
poison ivy/poison oak
chemical burn
lymphoproliferative disorders
lymphoma
lymphomatoid papulosis
underlying disease states
diabetic ulcer
vascular disorders
focal vasculitis
purpura fulminans
thromboembolic phenomena
polyarteritis nodosa
misc./multiple causative agents
pyoderma gangrenosum
pressure ulcers
stevens-johnson syndrome
erythema multiforme
erythema nodosum
toxic epidermal necrolysis
(lyell's syndrome)
one of the more pertinent causes listed here is that the expression of lyme disease can give the classic "bull's-eye" patterning characteristic of brown recluse bite. misdiagnosis in this case can be rather disconcerting because lyme disease can be treated and cured with common antibiotics. if diagnosed as "brown recluse bite" instead, it will obviously be treated as such and then the lyme disease can progress into more serious symptoms of heart and central nervous system disorders.rick vetter, m.s., staff research associate, studies the systematics, distribution, and public health impact of arachnids in southern california (in collaboration with p. kirk visscher.)
To me this is kind of like asking someone for a kleenex, and they look at you and say "you mean facial tissue, right?"
If you call poison control here, they will refer to brown recluse spiders.
On the upside...our freezing temps will kill some of our creepy crawlies, right? Die west nile mosquitos...die!
YES, YES, YES
ALL black widows will die at temps below freezing. My winter grass doesn't look to great but I can rest assured there are no black widows living on the patio! I practically rejoiced when it hit 28 in Phoenix a couple of nights ago.
reminds me of how many of us marine moms freaked out about the rumoured email that went around about camel spiders in iraq when our sons were there - and horor stories that were really scary until someone snopped it and found it to be not true- LOL ahh the memories haha.
Uh, my dh was in Saudi and personally saw these camel spiders. Snopes or not, those spiders are true. Now they aren't as big as that picture implies, but my dh says they were about the size of a grapefruit.
Uh, my dh was in Saudi and personally saw these camel spiders. Snopes or not, those spiders are true. Now they aren't as big as that picture implies, but my dh says they were about the size of a grapefruit.
LOL oh i know they are real - my son saw many,many many , and for a marine yad think hed be ok with it but he totally HATES any spider and used to get a lot of target practiuce ( hates em so bad his friends tell me he was even brutal to the poor things lol) - the thing i am talking of there was an email going around about the spiders would attached to camels and drain em dryof blood and they were doing this to the guys over there and other nasty icky type of weird stuff like limbs falling off and such... these things could do which was NOT true lol - of course us moms seeing the picts had no reason to believe they wouldnt attach to our guys as biga nd mean as they looked lol - unil someone thankfully snoped it and got us the lowdown.
by the way - if you reread my point it wasnt the spiders i said that werent real but the horror stories about them :)
tenexe
25 Posts
If you pasted that long article the first line says exactly what I said. The brown recluse doesn't live in arizona. related species, yes, but not the brown recluse. That was my only point which you validated nicely