So 2 Saturdays ago one of my co-workers was bitten in his backyard (on the outskirts of The Bronx) by a spider. He didn't feel anything initially but later it started to swell and got all red. I saw him at work Monday and it was pretty swollen but not that bad. Tuesday it was worse, and the owner of our company told him to go to the hospital. So he did, and ended up staying there for about 10 days! They had to drain the bite several times and cut away the infected flesh. I don't think they know what spider did this. Below are some photos taken a few days ago. He'll probably be back at work in a few weeks.







I'm pretty sure his hand will never be the same again.

8/30/2007 1:49:20 PM

that is fucking gross

8/30/2007 1:50:36 PM

that last one almost looks like a mouth photoshopped onto a hand

8/30/2007 1:51:47 PM

they dont know what kind of spider did that? there can only be a couple possibilities right?

8/30/2007 2:01:49 PM

holy moly....
that is disgusting!

8/30/2007 2:05:27 PM

you'll have to let us know what his hand looks like in a couple weeks...i'm sure he'll have a scar but i've seen some people with bad brown recluse bites who heal in time and don't look as bad as you might think

8/30/2007 2:33:05 PM

this is why I prefer snakes to spiders.

8/30/2007 2:34:30 PM

hooo
lyyy
shiiiit

8/30/2007 2:38:10 PM

He won't be fucking around with that spider any more, that's for sure.

8/30/2007 2:59:33 PM

brown recluse

8/30/2007 3:02:15 PM

Quote :

"this is why I prefer snakes to spiders."

8/30/2007 4:36:46 PM

i'd be scared of the spider that made this

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/30/spider.web.ap/index.html

8/30/2007 4:45:33 PM

I think it was a bad call not going to the hospital after it started swelling.

That being said, JESUS.

8/30/2007 4:52:41 PM

Quote :

"There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs"

^^from your link

[Edited on August 30, 2007 at 4:53 PM. Reason : .]

8/30/2007 4:53:08 PM

HOLY JESUS THAT IS AWFUL

[Edited on August 30, 2007 at 5:23 PM. Reason : ]

8/30/2007 5:22:50 PM

Quote :

"brown recluse"

Thats what I told everybody at work after he went to the hospital and they said it was serious. Thing is, this is NY State we're talking about, and I thought brown recluses stayed pretty far south, and that venturing into NC was even a bit of a stretch?

8/30/2007 5:50:15 PM

Taco kisses?

8/30/2007 5:55:46 PM

HOLY SHIT

Those pics look like ones you would find on an urban legends website with the word "FALSE" written after them.

OK dude, here is a favour: We would kindly like a pic after 1 week, after 2 weeks, after 1 month, and then finally after 3-4 months.

Thanks!

8/30/2007 6:23:39 PM

brown recluse

i got hit by one in the arm... luckily when mine turned into a blackish green large zit thing i went in and got a shot and it drained and cleaned.

p.s. i was bit in VA which they're not supposed to be there either.
weird shit happens.


[Edited on August 30, 2007 at 6:39 PM. Reason : .]

8/30/2007 6:38:00 PM

^^^^ they aren't native to the Northeast. They're native to Texas and surrounding states. There have been a few small populations found in NC.
BUT that doesn't mean they can't be transported into other areas of the US. Brown Recluses like to hang out in boxes and dark places (attics, basements, in walls, hanging clothes in closets, closets, storage units, sheds, etc...) so it is possible that it traveled to NY via boxes or other items that were stored in such a place.

It certainly could be something else. Maybe a staph infection..
But i've seen some necrotic wounds like those pictured resulting from brown recluse bites before. Both on a friend and in the research I've done.

Patrick - You may remember Tonya from Hi5. She was bitten 5 times by brown recluses when we were living in an old house by Cameron Village. Luckily she knew what was biting her (nursing student) and got to the hospital before they looked like those wounds but she still had nasty necrotic wounds that required serious attention and even skin grafting for a few bites.
They were living in the attic and walls of the house and scavenged in her room at night.

[Edited on August 30, 2007 at 6:46 PM. Reason : ugh]

8/30/2007 6:43:51 PM

^ I'm calling the exterminator right now

8/30/2007 7:08:38 PM

yea an exterminator came to our old place twice. they kept biting. we ordereds specific traps made for brown recluse spiders and caught a few that way. but there were just too many babies in the house....

8/30/2007 7:32:27 PM

I don't think that is very textbook-like of a brown recluse, but he did go untreated a few days... there are many other venomous spiders that it could have been.

A small sample:
http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html

[Edited on August 30, 2007 at 8:34 PM. Reason : ]

8/30/2007 8:33:21 PM

Quote :

"They were living in the attic and walls of the house and scavenged in her room at night"

That made me cringe...

8/30/2007 8:37:05 PM

Sucks to be that guy.

8/30/2007 9:09:53 PM

id cut it off

seriously

8/30/2007 9:20:24 PM

Quote :

"Patrick - You may remember Tonya from Hi5. She was bitten 5 times by brown recluses when we were living in an old house by Cameron Village. Luckily she knew what was biting her (nursing student) and got to the hospital before they looked like those wounds but she still had nasty necrotic wounds that required serious attention and even skin grafting for a few bites. "

Yeah no way I'd forget Tonya. Holy shit thats crazy though. Glad she was alright! Tell her I said hey next time you talk to her.

8/30/2007 11:04:06 PM

fuck i hate spiders

8/30/2007 11:16:29 PM

They could be anywhere man, in your house in your cloathing, even in your underoos

8/31/2007 9:19:31 AM

Quote :

"we ordereds specific traps made for brown recluse spiders and caught a few that way. but there were just too many babies in the house...."

8/31/2007 10:40:52 AM

Quote :

"yea an exterminator came to our old place twice. they kept biting. "

Sounds like you pissed them off.

Glad she's ok though.

8/31/2007 10:46:29 AM

^^


isn't that the responsibility of the homeowner?



I'd think that he should be the one to pay for the exterminator and all the hospital bills after that first bite.

8/31/2007 10:47:48 AM

^^^ Baby spiders - just to clarify. not infants

haha

long story

the landlord paid for the shitty exterminator. (he lied and didn't do what he was supposed to do)

our landlord ignored us. ignored the hospital bills saying that we had no proof that a spider bit her while in the house. ignored our repeated visits to the office with pictures of the bites and scars and the hospital bills (doctors identified the bites as brown recluse spider bites), etc... after months of living in fear and our shitty landlords refusing to acknowledge the situation and release us from our lease - we left. we gave notice and cleaned the place up (we were too nice) and moved out. it was a matter of safety.
then almost 3 years later a collection shows up on my credit report. no warning. no calls to collect the money. just a nice big blemish on my credit.
I did consult an attorney. we had/have a case but the other girl wasn't willing to go pursue legal matters. and without her (the one with the personal injuries) there isn't much I could do except dispute the collection with the credit agencies.

It's in the past. I still have great credit (this is the only negative thing on it) and was able to get a car loan and a mortage no problem. I'm not giving them a dime to take it off my credit and will just wait till it disappears.
/end of story

Don't rent from Cottages on Grant next to Cameron Village (off Oberlin). I really don't know how the owners sleep at night (nevermind they're scummy landlords...)
The creepy thing is an old man lived in the house before us and died there. They found his body decaying.. we didn't know that until we'd been living there for awhile and the neighbor told us. Bites that go untreated can lead to infections that are fatal- especially to an 80 something year old man with a poor immune system

[Edited on August 31, 2007 at 12:41 PM. Reason : d]

8/31/2007 12:39:59 PM

oh shits.



That's a pretty fucked up situation. I think I would've tried to cash in on his ass.

8/31/2007 1:01:34 PM

Quote :

"^^^ Baby spiders - just to clarify. not infants"

oh yeah i got that... hence the eek



btw, here are some pics:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/brownrecluse.asp

8/31/2007 2:13:35 PM

do preying mantis' eat brown recluses? cause i might have to unleash some preying mantis' in my crib...at least they look cool when they're bobbin back and forth

8/31/2007 2:26:17 PM

well ya never know on here

8/31/2007 2:41:57 PM

i don't think preying mantis's are noctural...
creative but probably wouldn't work

8/31/2007 2:43:59 PM

poor guy

8/31/2007 2:44:46 PM

my mom got bit by a brown recluse
she had to have surgery and a large chunck removed from her leg

8/31/2007 3:00:44 PM

this thread is useless without pics of brown recluses so i know what kinda spider to stay away from

8/31/2007 3:02:53 PM

It's insane that he had to be told to go to the hospital.

Granted his hand probably didn't look like that, but still.

[Edited on August 31, 2007 at 3:22 PM. Reason : .]

8/31/2007 3:21:31 PM

"How could a spider bite be graphic?"


ugggggggggggggggggggggghhhh

8/31/2007 3:22:47 PM

brown recluse dood

8/31/2007 4:50:21 PM

god, as I was reading this thread i felt something crawl on my foot and it scared the fucking hell out of me

8/31/2007 4:55:17 PM

all this spider talk is making me itch.

8/31/2007 8:54:01 PM

unpaid(or paid) collections never disappear, I am a loan officer, seen unpaid collections from 10 years ago on CBRs that the person supposedly had no clue about.

9/1/2007 4:27:24 PM

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061.html

Brown Recluse


Size of a quarter
Violin Shape on their neck

Quote :

"The physical reaction to a brown recluse spider bite depends on the amount of venom injected and an individual's sensitivity to it. Some people are unaffected by a bite, whereas others experience immediate or delayed effects as the venom kills the tissues (necrosis) at the site of the bite. Many brown recluse bites cause just a little red mark that heals without event. The vast majority of brown recluse bites heal without severe scarring First Aid If bitten, remain calm, and immediately seek medical attention (contact your physician, hospital and/or poison control center). Apply an ice pack directly to the bite area to relieve swelling and pain. Collect the spider (even a mangled specimen has diagnostic value), if possible, for positive identification by a spider expert. A plastic bag, small jar, or pill vial is useful and no preservative is necessary, but rubbing alcohol helps to preserve the spider. Control Control of indoor infestations of the brown recluse spider can take a long time (6 months or more) and can be difficult because humans have a very low tolerance for this pest, it tends to be widely dispersed within infested buildings, and it seeks secluded sites. Control of spiders, including the brown recluse, is best achieved by following an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. IPM involves using multiple approaches such as preventive measures, exclusion, sanitation, trapping, and chemical treatment when necessary."

9/1/2007 4:59:47 PM

so are they giving him anything for pain?

9/3/2007 2:00:00 AM

God man, this thread scares the shit out of me.

9/3/2007 12:14:42 PM