How do you know if a spider has bitten you? Read more to know what to look for and how you can keep your family and home safe from spider bites.
According to PestWorld, Most spider bites are less painful than a bee sting. Pain from non-venomous spider bites typically lasts for five to 60 minutes while pain from venomous spider bites frequently lasts for longer than 24 hours, but how do you know if a spider has bitten you?
Common Spider Bite Symptoms
Most spider bites are relatively harmless and may not cause any noticeable symptoms. In fact, some bites initially attributed to spiders can turn out to be bites from other bugs or insects, as well as even skin infections. If a spider bite does cause a reaction, these are the most common symptoms:
- Redness
- Swelling
- Pain
- Itching or rash
There are 3,000 species of spiders throughout North America, but only two kinds of poisonous spiders can be harmful when disturbed – the black widow spider and brown recluse spider. Most commonly found in southern states, both species prefer warm climates and dark, dry places. Typically, these are timid, non-aggressive spiders, often found in dry, littered, undisturbed areas such as closets, woodpiles, and under sinks.
black widow spider
Black Widow Spider Bites
- According to PestWorld, while the bite feels like a pinprick and at first may go unnoticed or seem rather minor, the black widow spider’s venom is reported to be 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake!
- Signs of Black Widow Bites
- Swelling and faint red marks.
- Within a few hours, strong pain and stiffness begins.
- Other signs and spider bite symptoms include:
- Chills, fever, muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting and severe abdominal pain.
- Typically, black widow bites are less common, but more severe than brown recluse bites. That said, no one in the United States has died from a black widow spider bite in more than 10 years.
Brown Recluse Spider Bites
- These spiders will bite if they feel trapped, such as when a hand reaches into a box in the attic or a foot slides into a shoe that the spider has made its home.
- Signs of Brown Recluse Bites
- The bite produces a mild stinging, followed by local redness and intense pain within eight hours.
- A fluid-filled blister forms at the site and then sloughs off to leave a deep, enlarging ulcer.
- Sometimes can develop a mild fever, rash, nausea, and listlessness.
- Brown recluse venom has been known to cause severe allergic reactions in children and elderly adults, as well as those with preexisting medical conditions.
How Do You Treat Spider Bites?
- First things first, a trip to the doctor is recommended, but be sure to clean the bite with soap and water.
- Apply a cool compress over the bite and make sure that if on an external area of the body, it needs to be elevated.
- Try a tight bandage on above the bite to isolate it to halt the spread of the venom.
How Clark’s Pest Pros Treat Spiders
- Our professionals make spot and/or crack and crevice applications into hiding places and entry points for interior spider issues. These areas include under/behind all large furniture, doorway frames, windowsills, openings, and anywhere the customer stated they saw spiders. We also treat entry points such as doorways, windowsills, other outlets, baseboards, etc. If web-building spiders are the problem, lightly treating the web with a non-repellent is effective because they recycle their silk. We also will place glue boards in or around the home as needed.
- With our annual Spider + Control, you are guaranteed eight enhanced spider services to the home and six exterior treatments for your yard/landscape and if you have a boat-house or dock, we utilize products intended for proximity to bodies of water.
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Or call us at our toll-free number 866-781-4991, or email our team at clarkscsr@clarkspest.com.
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