Where to find brown recluse

Don't play around in rock piles or woodpiles. If you are working outside in the yard in big piles of logs or leaves, wear gloves. Be sure to shake out blankets and clothing that have been stored in the attic or the basement, or if they have been in a closet but not used for a long time. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What's a Brown Recluse Spider? What a Bite Looks and Feels Like A person who gets bitten by a brown recluse spider may not notice anything at first or only feel a little sting at first.

What You Should Do If you ever think that you've been bitten by a brown recluse spider, tell an adult immediately. This may take months to heal. Signs and symptoms include: Fever and chills.

Skin rash all over the body with many tiny, flat purple and red spots. Nausea or vomiting. Joint pain. What should I do if a brown recluse spider bites me? If you think you have been bitten by a brown recluse spider: Remain calm.

Too much excitement or movement will increase the flow of venom into the blood. Apply a cool, wet cloth to the bite, or cover the bite with a cloth and apply an ice bag. Do not apply a tourniquet. It may cause more harm than benefit. Try to positively identify the spider or catch it to confirm its type.

Call a doctor if: You have severe symptoms throughout your body. An open sore and necrosis develop. Necrosis is black, dead tissue.

Native ranges of Loxosceles species in the United States. Recluse spiders outside these areas are rare and almost exclusively restricted to buildings. Image by Richard Vetter, used with permission. These spiders are chocolate brown in color, and their bodies are about 9 millimeters in length with long legs. They have three pairs of eyes, arranged in a triad, and have a violin-shaped marking on the cephalothorax.

The body of the "violin" is near the eyes and the neck of the "violin" extends backward, ending before the abdomen. Males are similar to females in appearance. Brown recluse eye pattern. After mating in June or July, the female will deposit twenty to fifty eggs in a spherical case. She can produce two to five such batches of eggs during her lifetime. Laboratory-raised individuals can live for two to three years.

The young require about one year to mature. The brown recluse, L. In structures, it will live inside cracks in walls and boards and behind and under any number of items in storage.

The brown recluse prefers nesting sites that are warm and dry. In contrast, L. Multiple studies have found that "brown recluse bites" are overdiagnosed and the majority of "bites" are misdiagnoses of other issues, including poison ivy, chemical burns, and diabetic ulcers.

Within their native range, brown recluse can be common and abundant in homes, yet confirmed bites are rarely reported one study reported a home in which more than 2, spiders were collected over a six-month period, yet the residents hadn't been bitten in six years.

When bites do occur, it is usually because a spider is trapped against the skin and feels threatened, such as when someone puts on shoes that were left out overnight or rolls over a spider while sleeping.

Outside their native range which includes Pennsylvania , brown recluse are restricted to buildings and are almost exclusively brought in by humans such as when someone moves from an area where brown recluse are native. They are therefore extremely rare and localized. They are not found outdoors, and the risk of being bitten is virtually nonexistent. Consequently, they are more likely to wander into shoes, clothing or bedding at night and bite people when they inadvertently become trapped against the skin.

At times, brown recluse spiders will be seen during daylight hours crawling on floors, walls and other exposed surfaces. Such behavior can be triggered by hunger, overcrowding, pesticide application, or other factors. The tiny emerged spiders gradually increase in size, molting five to eight times before becoming adults.

The molted shed skins of the brown recluse have a distinct outstretched appearance and can be useful in confirming infestation. Brown recluse spiders mature in about a year and have an average lifespan of 2 to 4 years. The females produce up to 5 egg sacs in a lifetime. Infestation levels in homes vary greatly, ranging from one or a few spiders to several hundred. Like other spiders, the brown recluse is not aggressive. It is quite common, in fact, to live in a building that is heavily infested and never be bitten.

Most bites occur in response to body pressure, when a spider is inadvertently trapped against bare skin.

Some people are bitten when they roll over a brown recluse in bed. Other bites occur while moving stored items or putting on a piece of clothing that a spider has chosen for its daytime retreat. Brown recluse spiders have very small fangs and cannot bite through clothing.

The initial bite is usually painless. Oftentimes the victim is unaware until 3 to 8 hours later when the bite site may become red, swollen, and tender. The majority of brown recluse spider bites remain localized, healing within 3 weeks without serious complication or medical intervention. In other cases, the victim may develop a necrotic lesion, appearing as a dry, sinking bluish patch with irregular edges, a pale center and peripheral redness. Often there is a central blister.

As the venom continues to destroy tissue, the wound may expand up to several inches over a period of days or weeks. The necrotic ulcer can persist for several months, leaving a deep scar. Infrequently, bites in the early stages produce systemic reactions accompanied by fever, chills, dizziness, rash or vomiting. Severe reactions to the venom are more common in children, the elderly, and patients in poor health.

Persons bitten by a brown recluse spider should apply ice, elevate the affected area, and seek medical attention immediately. Spider bites are difficult to diagnose, even by physicians. Contrary to popular belief, it is difficult to diagnosis a brown recluse spider bite from the wound alone.

Many medical conditions mimic the necrotic-looking sore from a recluse bite, including bacterial and fungal infections, diabetic and pressure ulcers, and gangrene. Several misdiagnoses have arisen from outbreaks of drug-resistant infections by Staphyloccus aureus commonly referred to as a Staph infection. That bacterium produces painful skin lesions that resemble recluse bites, and can run rampant in close living quarters such as hospitals, camps, barracks, and correctional facilities.