How to Identify a Poisonous Spider
The North American Black Widow is a shiny black spider about an inch to an inch and half in diameter. The spider is a glossy black and builds webs in low areas in a zig zag pattern. Their most distinguishing characteristic is an hour glass shaped red spot on the underside of it's abdomen. Only the females bite, as the males are many times smaller than they are. In fact many times the male serves as a post mating meal for the female. I suppose you could call that "tough love". A Black Widow's venom directly affects the nervous system causing muscles spasms, and sometimes shortness of breath due to diaphragm tightening. It is this that causes the complications that can cause serious problems with victims of a Black Widow bite.
The Brown Recluse is somewhat smaller than the Black Widow, living mostly in wooded areas prefering leaves or fallen wood for it's home. It is about an inch in diameter and is mostly brown except for a yellow pattern on it's back. This pattern looks something like a violin with the stringed end moving up the back toward it's head, for this reason the Brown recluse is sometimes called the "Fiddle Back" spider. The Brown Recluse's venom is necrotic in nature, which means instead of affecting the nervous system it directly effects the muscles around the bite area slowing healing, which in turn can cause infection.
While "creepy", spiders are hardly a reason for people to be concerned. In a Study done by the APA the odds of dying from a poisonous spider bite are approximately one in 716,010 or about five times less likely than being killed by your dog, you are ten times more likely to get killed by being struck by lightening. That being said one thing that all statistics do say is that such things DO happen. So if you suspect you or especially your children have been bitten by a poisonous spider, seek medical help. It may be nothing, but it always better to be safe than sorry.
Published by Gabryal
A retired Army soldier, and pest control professional. He now devotes his time to reading everything he can get his hands on. A lover of politics, history, philosophy, and art. View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentI will try to get a picture, look for it in probably a week. I appreciate your help and time.
Is it possible to send me a picture of it? I might be able to identify it down to the species if I could see it. I don't really feel satisfied that I have given you the answer that you were looking for, and I'd like to give it a go. If you can get a picture to me at gabryal@ymail.com, I'll do my best.
Thank you
Gabryal
Thank you. It's web is neither oval or round. It has long straight web lines at different angles and a small more true web like in the middle maybe 3 inches by 3 inches. I knew it wasn't a venomous species, I was just hoping to identify it. Thank you again.
If it's web is oval, then I would say that it's a variety of several spiders lumped into the category of "Garden Spiders" these spiders have several species amongst them varying from area to area, and overlapping, the important thing I suppose it that he ( if it's small it's almost certainly a he, the larger versions of most spiders are usually female ) I would leave him alone, he's going to be catching true pest bugs, plus I've always thought their webs look very pretty in the mornings with dew hanging on them.
As far as his specific species I'd have to see it myself, from a couple different angles, and still look it up. I think at last look there are something like 65,000 species of Arachnae in the North American Continent, only two of which are harmful to humans, and of those two none would build out in the open as the prefer dark places and create non circular webs.
I am trying to identify a spider that has built a large web outside attached to out bushes and house. It is small (a 1/2 inch at the most) spider, that is oddly marked. It has a dark orange smiley face on the top of it's body. The smiley face is made of two black dots, that make the eyes, and six black dots, that make the smile. The spiders body is oval, and the legs are very short. I live in Texas and would like to know the identity of this new addition to our home.
I find spiders in my home all the time. Most of the time they are small jumping spiders. I found a large black widow outside in the bush a few years ago and captured it in a glass jar so I could show the neighborhood kids what not to touch and then I found a nice bush and let her go. Spiders don't scare me, it's the bite that scares me.