The Recluse Spider. OMG, forget Lions, Tigers and Bears - this little bitch will kill you. I'm not lying, it will. This little brown spider has been know to paralyze and cause the skin to die. I have a couple of friends who have been bitten by one of these, and they went through horrendous weeks of pain and torture. They eventually recovered with treatment and surgery, but the adverse events are what sound problematic. Along with their physical pain, they developed arachnophobia.
According to recent research, the recluse spider may be making a migration to the United States in large numbers, because climate change is threatening their existence. But little do people know these spiders already occupy most of the country.
"They tend to live under bark or logs in dry areas or underneath hanging rocks. But humans also create a good habitat for them in cellars, attics and garages," according to Rick Vetter, a research associate at the University of California, Riverside. Their venom contains a toxin that causes skin to die, resulting in what are known as necrotic lesions. In about 90 percent of cases, the bite of a brown recluse has virtually no effect. The other 10 percent cause severe symptoms with potentially life-threatening complications. There are no solid statistics available, but Vetter estimates that one or two bite-induced deaths occur each year, typically in small children.
6 comments:
I'm a person that believes all life should be respected and not killed except when theY potentially threaten my family, aka me, my love and puppies. I see these, or believe I see them, quite often and even sometimes in the puppies housy. They then promptly get squished and murdered so that they don't kill or mame puppies. Okay, I don't always know for certain if it's the dreaded RECLUSE! or not, so it's just best to not be a large brown spider in our house. Just saying spiders, just saying. You have been WARNED.
I remember reading about this spider in my Weekly Reader as a kid.
I used to love reading Highlights, I don't remember the Weekly Reader, but cool nonetheless. Spider not so cool. :-)
well you are a 'few' years older and wiser than i. Mom would say that spiders and females would be toxic.
Just seeing that thing gives me chills....*shivers* gross
I know, very scary and frightening. I try not to squoosh all spiders, there are some good ones.
Post a Comment