Brown Recluse Spiders

Brown Recluse Spiders or the ‘Loxosceles Reclusa’ is a member of the Sicariidae family of spiders. They are also referred to as the ‘American Recluse Spiders’ and the ‘Violin Spider’ or ‘Fiddleback Spider’.

Brown Recluse Spiders: How To Recognize Them

These Brown Recluse Spiders are between 6 millimeters to 20 millimeters long and may even grow longer. They are light tan to brown in color (sometimes deep yellow). They have certain markings on their body with a black line from the center, which looks like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing to the back of the spider.

Brown Recluse Spiders: Where Are They Found

These Brown Recluse Spiders can be found in sheds, woodpiles, closets, cellars and garages. They prefer places which are dry and undisturbed for a long time. They even prefer cardboards and have been known to go into shoes, bed sheets, dressers, stacks of clothes, behind picture frames – anything that has not been used for a long time.

These spiders weave irregular webs consisting of disorderly threads. They leave their webs at night to hunt. Although the males move out more during the hunting, females prefer to stay nearer to their webs.

The American Recluse Spiders are natives of USA. They can be found in the areas from the southern Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.

Brown Recluse Spiders: Bite and Treatment

Brown Recluse Spiders only bite humans when they feel threatened. When they are residing within stacks of clothes and are pressed to the human skin, they feel threatened and can bite the human.

Although the bite may contain venom, the poison is not life threatening. However, with people with low immunity, the bite can prove to be fatal.

The spider bites of a Brown Recluse Spider begin to itch and pain within 2 to 8 hours of the bite. The tissue around the bite may become large and may scar. There can also be symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, rashes, fever and muscle and joint pain.

The first aid treatment for the spider bite from an American Recluse Spider includes:

• Application of an Ice Pack on the area of the bite.
• Tying a piece of cloth along the limb to ensure that the venom does not travel to the rest of the body.
• Application of Aloe Vera to soothe the pain.
• Calling the doctor for further medical treatment.

The medical treatment usually ensures that the symptoms are treated and the wound is disinfected and cared for.