Wolf Spider
The wolf spider is a member of the Lycosidae family, the order Aranedia. There are around 125 species that are found in the United States and about 50 species that are found in Europe. A full grown wolf spider is typically a half an inch to two inches in length; they are usually brown or gray with various stripe-like markings on their backs. The markings are sometimes called Union Jack Impressions.? Wolf spiders are also very hairy.
Wolf Spiders
The eye arrangement of the wolf spider is one of its most interesting features; they have four small eyes in the bottom row, followed by two large eyes in the middle row, and two medium eyes in the top row. They received the name wolf spider due to an early belief that the spiders would actually hunt their prey in a group. Some other names for the wolf spider are the ground spider and the hunting spider. Wolf spiders do not actually make webs; instead they hunt for its meal. They are most commonly found throughout Australia. They make homes by digging holes or living under rocks. The wolf spider will often cover the burrow with leaves or grass.
During the beginning of fall, the wolf spider is quite often found in the home. The reason for this is that they are looking for a warm place to live throughout the course of the winter season.
The wolf spider would most likely be seen running across the ground, during the daytime. They search for their prey during both day and night. They have both excellent vision and touch. However, due to the fact the wolf spider is known as shy, if it’s disturbed it will quickly run away.
The mother wolf spider will usually carry around her egg sacs with them, which can tend to be on the large side. After they hatch, the newborn spiders will actually ride around on their mother’s back until they are about halfway grown.
Wolf Spider Bite
Even though the wolf spider is poisonous, its venom is not lethal. The wolf spider is not known to be aggressive; however, they will bite if they feel like they are in harm or danger. They also move extremely fast when they are disturbed. If bitten by a wolf spider, the wound should not be bandaged but an ice pack should be placed on the bite so that the swelling will go down. And if necessary the victim should avoid any movement if at all possible. It is extremely important that one sees medical attention if bitten by a wolf spider or any other spider.
Written by Jim on June 15th, 2006 with
173 comments.
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Ditto the “Thanks!”, Jen & Ryan. I’ve been looking for a decent site on spiders – this is a great start. Knowing about spider bites is also extremely important.
I live in Colorado now, and believe me we have plenty of spiders. They are all over my yard and house. When I was stationed on the NW Cape in Western Australia with the US Navy back in the early ’80s, there were plenty of Wolf Spiders.
The most amazing thing was a fight we observed between a Wolf Spider and a Praying Mantis. The fight lasted at least 30~45 minutes, and for a while it was pretty close. In the end, the Wolf won. It ate the inards right out of the Mantis.
Hey! I’ve been looking for some information on wolf spiders and this site had EXACTLY what I needed. Thanks a lot!!!
I have wolf spiders all over my house. I actually moved them from my old house to my new house in one of my statues. I killed a mom without knowing it one night and the babies looked like mini-marbles scattering around. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so freaked out. Thanks for the info. At least now I know exactly what type of spider I’m dealing with.
I found this spider in my bathtub yesterday, I think it might be a wolf spider but am not completely sure.
My daughter is doing a report on Wolf Spiders and she needs to know if they are endangered, what type of food they eat and if they are considered carnavore. I was wondering if you can help us out.
Thanks
I found this wolf spider today in my living room. He/she was running very quickly, but I got him. I believe this is the Schizocosa avida, but I am not 100% sure. It might be the Alopecosa cuneata. I wonder what symptoms I would have if I got bitten by this guy.
Martin
i dont know what kind of spider keeps biting me but the bite is red and swollen and very hot inside its painful for a week .. im glad im reading all this, its gross but i need to know why they only bite me.
Laurajean, when does the “spider” bite you? Do you think it happens while you sleep? In this case it’s 100% NOT a spider. There are no parasitic spiders. What you experience is most likely a bite from an insect, probably a bedbug, a tick, or simply mosquitos.
Most spiders in the house that look like wolf spiders really are not wolf spiders. Most are Funnel Web spiders (like the common Tegenaria atrica) or Hecklemeshed Weavers. Occasionally wolf spiders and members of other families wander into the house, but they are not permanent residents.
There are almost no dangerous spiders species, despite the common opinion. Most spiders don’t even manage to penetrate human skin when they try to bit. Most also try to escape rather than bite. If you ever tried to catch a wolf spider you have noticed that it’s quite difficult because they are so fast running away from you. You have to grab and squeeze them before they bite. So bites from wolf spiders are very, very, very uncommon.
If a wolf spider manages to really bite you, it’s mostly one of the large species that actually have the power to penetrate the human skin. Smaller species like Alopecosa sp. (see above) are completely harmless.
Yes, all spiders are carnivorous. Their prey is mostly insects and other spiders. A few very large species also catch very small fish and small mammals (e.g. mice). But most species are content with the occasional fly or bug.
Michael – spiders.mhohner.de
I was bitten by a wolf spider Thursday, while weed eating. Evidently, the string kicked the grass and he/she landed on my head. It bit me on the temple. I thought that it was a sheep fly. I didn’t smack it, I put my hand on the side of my head and kind of swatted it down and I saw it hit the concrete.
Yes, I killed it. I usually believe in “live let live”. The bite burned and swelled and by Saturday it had gone down. Today is Monday and it has sort of a tingle or numb feeling. I’m sure that it was of the Wolf Spider family. I looked it up on the NC State Univ. Website and it is called the “Rabid Wolf Spider” and it looks exactly like the one in the glass, Martin caught in the living room.
Hope this helps anyone who would like to know.
Over two weeks ago I caught or killed about a dozen Wolf spiders running across the floor in my house, all within 3 days. Most of them were seen in my living room but they were found all over. This was wierd because we have never seen a spider in the house before!
I was bitten several times on my leg, hip and neck and still have some (redness) sores the size of a dime with a small central hole remaining weeks later. We had the house treated by a professional and they seemed to go away.
Today my wife saw 3 of them and now my 21 yr old daughter seems to have been bitten several times. I looked at some of the glue traps I put out and found several of them, one with a dozen baby spiders stuck all around the mother. Two questions:
1) Should we see a doctor and
2) How do I get rid of them? (I can send pictures if you wish.)
Thanks!
Dan
This past Sunday at 4 am I awoke to a feeling of something in the inside of fold of my arm and almost immediately extreme itching. I don’t remember feeling a lot of pain with the bite just like something was there.
I checked the bed covers and the floor and immediate area not to find anything but my arm became red an area larger than an 1976 silver dollar with two red bumps one on each side of the upper arm and below the fold of my arm. I believe a spider got caught in the fold of my arm and bit me. a friend who is a nurse told me to take an antihistamine.
I took loratadine 10mg. she also suggested I use ichthammol ointment to draw out the venom, which I used that night. By the next morning it was not as red but still itchy. I went to the doctor and she confirmed it was a spider bite suggested it was ten years since my last tetnus shot that I get one. She said if the area gets red with a line moving up my arm or the area feels hot to touch or I begin to run a fever I should come back because spider bites tend to get infected.
I had the tetnus shot. I had a headache later and some joint acheness. My arm is somewhat more red and itchy. My bite accured while I was at our cabin on an island on the Susquehanna river we have a lot of wolf spiders there and we set off insecticide bombs to get rid of the spiders each spring which we did but we still see some that aren’t quite dead this year.
This is now Wednesday and the spot is now about the same size somewhat red or suntanned look to it is not oozing or anything. The wolf spiders are usually about 2″ across look sort of like little robots with swivel head and large beady eyes. When I see one my husband says my scream is an American Woman scream probably heard a lot along the Susquehanna river.
This wedensday i was bit in the back of the leg bye a spider and i was wondering if you knew what web sites i can go to, to see how spider bites would look like for each spider or some of them
To Michael re: spiders “DO NOT” bite people at night: oh yes they do. Almost any site or research about spiders will tell you that they occasionally hide in bedclothes and can bite you. I was awakened by a stinging sensation on my finger one night, which developed into a necrotic bite that was most definatly inflicted by a venemous spider.
I love spiders as long as they live outside, love to watch them work their web and catch their prey—-think I was bit by one a few days ago, lots of red blisters surrounding the bite above my eyebrow and red streaks going down face, some itching and swelling, I can feel the liquid creeping under the skin, anyone have any ideas, it has been 6 days and no improvement.
Here in Texas we are surrounded with Wolf and Jumping Spiders. The bite isn’t felt at the time usually while sleeping. Typically these spiders like to bite near the hip or navel area. The bite is simialar to a fire ant, red with a bull’s eye and white pus. I have been biten more times than i can count.
Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide 2-3 times a day at affected area and ice packs help control the swelling. Do not have pest control spray your home, the dead insects after spraying actually attract brown recluse because they prefer thier meals dead. There are spider traps available which are cardboard with a glue surface; so you can see what is actually bitting you, put several under the bed.
Hi, I went on your website to check out about wolf spiders. A few weeks ago I woke up sick on my stomach and that afternoon I found I had a bite on my right temple. It was swollen and the size of a dime.
last night I got bit after I put my p.j.’s on and then this morning I had 3 more bites one is red and the size of a nickel the other the size of a dime.
I found a spider under my bed, which I thought, was a wolf spider but it is more blackish in color and smaller. It’s not a black widow so what could it be?
I got bit in the same area as Mary and went to emergency room 6 days later because of lymph gland swelling and the area on my face between the brows had raised bumps. They treated the bite with with lavaquin antibiotics, bacitricin ointment, a tetanus shot and sent me home giving clindamycin while in hospital.
The swelling has since gone and I pray the bruise to skin will heal and dissapear. I dont know for sure what bite me but it started out like the symptoms Mary described on July 8; by the way this happened when I woke on June29 2007
Note:
Lavaquin is an antibiotic used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections including urinary tract infections, skin infections or respiratory tract infections. Levaquin is in a group of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones (flor-o-KWIN-o-lones).
Clindamycin is an antibiotic that is used to treat infections of the respiratory tract, skin, pelvis, vagina, and abdomen. Antibiotics will not work for colds, flu, or other viral infections. WARNING: Clindamycin may cause colitis, an infection of the colon that can be dangerous and sometimes life-threatening. If you experience severe persistent diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, or bloody stool while taking clindamycin or within a few weeks of stopping clindamycin, call your doctor immediately. Ask your doctor about the risk of taking clindamycin.
Bacitracin Ointment helps prevent infection in minor cuts, scrapes, and burns.
I found this spider and I was scared to death! My dad killed it because it was already on my shoe, under my desk…
This spider is huge and is about 6 cms in length! Here are two images, front and back:
Can anyone help me identify this spider? I am from El Salvador.
Is this spider dangerous and how do I get rid of them?
Thanks you.
Hello,
For anyone who is reading this, PLEASE look up to the picture on blogger #4’s comment. I found the same wolf spider tonight in my bathroom sink and I would REALLY appreciate it if someone could tell me what kind of spider it is (wolf spider?) and if it is dangerous.
Please and thank you!!!
Hey, I was spreading pine mulch about a month ago when I came across a wolf spider. That dirty bugger lunged at me so I did what any normal person would do and smashed it with my pitch fork!! I live in Florida, so be careful.
My friend was bitten by a spider a couple of days ago. She doesn’t remember what it looked, and stepped on it . The bite was outside during the day in the chicago suburbs. The bite is a hard nodule and is not at all red. The next day her kidneys started burning. They thought she had a kidney stone but that has since been ruled out and we are now wondering if the spider had something to do with it. Does anyone know if that is a possibiliy and if so is there anything she can do to help speed her recovery?
Griselda, I believe that “spider” is called an Amblypygid, or tailless whip scorpion. They do not have silk glands and are not venomous but can some very have prominent pincer-like pedipalps.
There is also a whip scorpion (shown below) that has the tail.
The Vinegarroon (also spelled Vinegaroon), Mastigoproctus giganteus, is a type of Whip Scorpion, an arachnid that emits a vinegar-like mist (containing mostly acetic acid). The Vinegarroon is not venomous and is not a true scorpion. It is related to spiders, true scorpions, and ticks. Classification: Class Arachnida (arachnids) , Order Uropygi (containing about 100 species of Whip Scorpions).
Vinegarroons are invertebrates that are found in the southern USA and in Mexico. Other Whip Scorpions are found in India, Japan, and New Guinea.
GRISELDA,
Hi!! I read your blog and that spider really surprised me– I’ve never seen anything like it before! So I did a whole google search for you, and I think I found it!
I think it’s called: Tailless Whipscorpions (Paraphrynus mexicanus)
Information from a google site:
Amblypygids, which include tail-less whip scorpions and whip spiders, are non-venomous, non-silk-spinning arachnids. Taxonomically they belong (along with true whip scorpions) between scorpions and spiders, having a closer affinity to the latter. They differ from the more elongate uropygids in having a rounded anterior and an elongated oval abdomen lacking a telson (tail) and poison glands, and in having the cephalothorax joined to the abdomen by a slender pedicel.
If you want to go to the site, it’s:
sasionline.org/tailless/Tailless_whip.html
Good for you! I’m really happy that (if I’m correct about the type of spider) it is non-venomous! You don’t have to worry.
Good Luck!
-Lisa
Are wolf spiders the most dangerous spider in Colorado and how can you keep them from coming into your home?
what do you do if you see one
A few days ago, I got out of the shower and grabbed my towel, started to dry off and felt something tickling my arm. I looked down to see what I think is a wolf spider, brushed it off and screamed for my husband (first sighthing of the year always does that to me.)
This morning there was another one on the same bathroom floor. We have this problem every fall, although it seems early this year. I believe they are wolf spiders but I am uncertain. They seem to pop up after it has been dark and the features I notice are very large eyes, long kinda hairy legs.
We have placed screens on the heat ducts, but don’t know how they get in. They really like bathrooms, but we do sometimes see them in other parts of the house. Could they be coming from the attic through the infrared light fixture and drop to the floor. They are almost always on the floor or wall of the shower.
Oh yeah, I live in western Washington. Next time, I will compose myself and get a picture. They are impressive spiders, but terrifying because they surprise me.
Hi just wanting to ask a question about a wolf spider bite. Should the place where you have been bitten by the spider still hurt occasionally 6 weeks after?
I wish I had photos, but I don’t, my mother and sister both got bit by a wolf spider a couple years back in florida. we had just moved right next door to an up and comming state park, so there was much wild foliage that likely held hundreds of thousands of insects, all right next to my house. we found 3 inch long wolf spiders (and many other spiders) everywhere, and my house was infested with every kind of bug in florida. we only got the house under the condition that it be treated with repellant. So a repellant was sprayed everywhere, and we “Bug Bombed” the entire house… all to no avail.
we could still go around the house at any time of day and find at least 10 spiders hiding around the house. well of course someone finally got bit, and first, it was my sister, she got bit 5 times, on either side of her left knee, and once on her left ankle, and on her right knee and right ankle. she said she encountered severe swelling, up to baseball or softball sized. the bites were fevered and oozing blood and pus. nothing could touch the bite areas or she was in extreme pain. they lasted about 3 weeks like that and lasted about 6 weeks till they fully healed. she also reported minor swelling in her lymph nodes.
But my mother got bit once under her arm pit, and the venom ran into her lymph node. she experienced searing pain and couldn’t put her arm down for anything in the world, her arm stayed perpendiculer to her body at all times. her bite area swelled to huge sizes and she went to the doctor who then lanced the bite area to drain the pus and such, and was told to keep piercing the bite area and continue draining everything inside. it finally went away… but not entirely. it kept reappearing and going away, it did that about once or twice a month for about a year or so.
Wolf spiders are nasty… and we no longer live in that house. No lawyer would take our case. we were sad. =(
Hi, I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and Ihave little dark brown/black spiders, no bigger than my husband’s thumb nail most of the time, running around my house from time to time. I wake up in the morning and they’re on the walls or scampering across the carpet. I showed a picture of the wolf spider to my husband and ask if thats what it looked like, and see said “Pretty much.” He said that it had brownish black legs, and a wishbone-type shape on his back. Any ideas what this spider is and/or how to get rid of it? …our bug bombs dont seem to be working. Also, CAN you get bit in bed?
Hey, I really need some help and i know nothing about spiders, but I know that there are a lot of Brown and black spiders all over my basement. I found one today and captured it in a jar, and it was really huge, about 2 inches long and looks like it would bite and could be a wolf spider (but a lot of the pictures i’ve seen don’t really look like it).
I’m so scared i have a niece and a nephew running around my house and them and my sister lives in the basement next to my room. I’m so scared for them, what if they get bitten? my sister’s kids are both under 3 and we have been killing them left and right, and we bought sum raid but they don’t seem to die from that stuff.
They seem to be really tough spiders and as we would spray them down, they would run extremely fast and just keep running until we lose them or until we kill them ourselves trying. They are such a pest! and i really really hate spiders. I found one on me last when i woke up and now i’m paranoid to even sleep, that’s how bad our spider problem is. Please, what is going on and what should we do about this?
That spider thats on its back the picture sent by griselda from el salvador. looks like a cave spider like the ones that got ate on fear factor las vegas episode. I dont think they are poisionous, but I could be wrong.
I live in Missouri. Tonight I saw a really big wolf spider. When I stepped on it a lot of baby spiders ran in all directions. This happened twice. It looked like the babies came out of a sack. Is it possible that they were on the large spiders legs or still in the sack?
My husband killed a wolf spider this morning when he got up for work. And when i got up to get my kids ready for school, he called a asked me to see if i seen the spider on our bedroom floor.. I said no and he told me to go look, so i did and i about fainted it was pretty big and gray colored it was a wolf spider. i was just wondering if there is anything that i can use to spray around the house that actually works i am scared to death of spiders and it is hard for me to sleep if i know they are there. I will lay in bed for hours just looking around because i know they are there, I get that feeling and i won’t sleep until i find it and kill it. So please if you know of something i can use tell me .. Thank you Kathy From iowa
I live in Co.Kerry in Ireland my sister in law is unindated with spiders coming into her house (wolf spiders), She had old sheds at the back of her house which she thought might be where they were living but they have been knocked and cleared away but they are still visiting her. I live next door and I am lucky we don’t have them. Can any one enlighten us why all of a sudden they are coming in the house and why so many. Mind you I am not saying they are coming in droves there is a few every day a few too many Thank you Linda from Co.Kerry
Recently I got bit by what i believe was a wolf spider. It was too painful to be a mosquito bite and the bite was very painful and felt unusually warm to the touch. The swell was full of a clear/yellowish fluid that drains quickly but refills within a matter of hours. There are two small punctures in the middle of it resembling needle pricks, it has been 3 weeks now and there is still a large lump on my finger where it bit me. No sickness came from the bite but it is very painful.
Being in the USMC I am in the field a lot so there is no telling what bit me. We spend a lot of time in the blue ridge mountains in Virginia training so it has to be a species indiginous to those regions. If anyone has any clue please let me know.
Thanks!
There are a lot of wolf spiders that i have found in my laundry down stairs. I have been bitten once by one and except from the swelling i was fine. Although i have three small children one is four months old, another is 21 months old and the oldest is four, if one of them was to be bitten could the bite harm them in any way
I have worked in pest control for over a year now, and have found that in most instances, any spider that bites you will leave some sort of swelling and redness. My boss was bitten by a wolf spider and his hand was disturbed for several weeks!
I woke up and discovered that my foot was covered with dry blood, several thin lines of dry blood around my ankle. I washed it off and realized that there were 2 puncture marks and some light swelling and the area was tender to the touch – see photo below:
I had this happening before about 3 years ago, but on my eyelid. I left 2 small scares. I am afraid to go to bed at night, because I have no idea what it could be. I spray poison against insects every few weeks. My bedroom is in the second floor and our house is surrounded by woods. I have seen small black scorpions, all kind of spiders and snakes in our garden.
Can someone help to identify what this bitemark can be from (perhaps a wolf spider?). One more thing: After I rinsed my foot off this morning, it still oozed blood and a watery substance.
Please help!!!
i think that wolf spiders are scary!! i found one today in my dogs water bowl and it was awful so my dad decided to freeze it !!
i hope that it won’t hurt me and by the way im am 11!!
I also think that you should maybe get medical treatment and stay away from your garden for at least 2 to 3 weeks and see what happens. don’t touch it or scratch it, it will make it worse.
I do think that that is a wolf spider bite!! GOOD LUCK!! STAY SAFE!!
well today i found one in my hose by the door by where my dog was slepping these wolf spiders are pretty scarry!!!!!!!!!!!
well i have this project and i need to know if the wolf spider is endangered and if it carries anydisease?
I’m in FL and I actually have a bite right now from a wolf spider and this is the 4th and WORST one. I had 3 others on my legs. They all started out small and a little irchy and after a day or so got about silver dollar sized, hard, and extremely painful. This last one is on my belly and I had to go get it cut open and drained and packed with gauze and now I’m on antibiotics and hurting and miserable. Don’t be fooled into thinking these spiders are in any way harmless, they’ll DEFINITELY bite! It’s been about a week and a half and I go every other day to have the abscess repacked and redressed. it’s a painful process and I sure hope it all heals up soon. So just wanted let you all know to BE CAREFUL around those wolf spiders!
I was watching tv when i saw a large spider crawl across the floor it cought my eye so i looked up to see what i thought was a wolf spider. It was about the size of a cricket and it scared me out of my pants. My dad just got home and can’t find the little demond. Should i be worried? Can it hurt you? Im worried one of my cats ate it. Could that hurt them?
I live in Greater Vancouver, BC … grew up in Calgary Alberta… never before had I seen the likes of the spiders since moving here!!! omg… some of them have been 6 inches across… YES!
6 inches… I guess our lovely ‘wet’ coast weather makes em bigger. I have been bitten by wolf spiders but only the smaller ones with them leaving just a welt. My husband was bitten by a wolf spider of a fair size (he wasn’t able to catch it but him and his son did see it scurry away) which made him bleed and all the next day he had chest pains. He refused to go to the doctor.
As much as I hate spiders I do watch them late in the summer. They are a good barometer of the coming winter. This is an old prairie farmer trick I learned from my mother… if you spot spiders in your house in the late summer (august) it will be a harsh winter… if you spot them near the end of september it will be a mild winter … works every time for me!
One house we lived in had major spider problems… my mother had pest control come in and spray which took care of the problem for about a year. Currently I am nursing a hobo spider bite…
And btw cats know better than to eat poisonous spiders… they will play with them until they are dead but they won’t eat them.
I have found enough in my bed that I actually lift the covers and pillows every night before I get in. That’s when my husband gets woken up!
are wolf spiders found in ohio?
I was wondering if wolf spiders were found in Wisconsin? And when you get bit, do they always get full of pus? Can the bite just be two fang-like marks, or do they always get swollen?
And when you get bit does it just leave two fang-like marks or do they always get full of pus?
I caught a wolf spider the other day in my shed. I got a big cadge for it and i give it food 2 times a day.It eats fly’s,ands, and small insects.its about 1 inches long its brown and hairy and has stripes on it’s back. It hasn’t bitten me yet.
A week ago I had an itch on my right lateral calf. I scratched it lightly three or four times. It then started to tingle and become very painful. I looked at the area and freaked out because the vein in my calf where I scratched swelled up and was literally visible from under my skin. That vein measured 7 centimeters in width, and around 15 centimeters in length.
At first I thought maybe I had a blood clot, (I’m an RN) and asked my friend to watch me if I were to start having difficulty breathing etc. About two hours later the vein went down in size, and I was left with a huge purple bruise and pain.
I saw the picture of the brown recluse spider bite and it resembles that very much, however, there is no necrotic tissue (thank God) but the area has a “red white and blue” look to it. It is painful to the touch, but the bruise is fading, but not like typical bruises do by turning green, then fading completely. My concern is this: I have my three month old grandson living with me, and if whatever bit me did that to me, I can just imagine if he were to get bit.
I never did see any culprits after this occurred. I wish I would have taken a picture, but unfortunately I did not.
Any thoughts from anyone out there?
Thanks. And by the way, I live in central Iowa, and I have co-habituated with wolf spiders for years, and yes I squash them, and yes I do believe they are aggressive and nasty.
Lisa from Iowa
I dont want that lady saying thank god anymore, because it is only her fault that she got bitten, and nobody elses. If she wouldnt have gotten bitten then she wouldnt have to be talking of gods name. So next time be a little more responsible and dont get bitten.
George From Lansing
I have one of these in the house, well theres probably more but she’s the one we see the most. But she’s nice enough she like to watch tv with us at night; she climbs out from under the couch or out from under the coffee table, one time she came running out of the kitchen. We named her lucky cause she only has 7 legs. My brother is terrified of her because she’s about an inch long but me, my mom, and my sister are all fine with her. she will sit on our hands or shoulders or once she was on my head but that doesn’t happen very often. she’s been doing that since we moved into our house 4 years ago. do they live that long? or would this be one of her babies?
Wow, I think I got bitten by a wolf spider. I have a scab/welt/hive thingie on my arm, right next to a freckle.
i wanted to know about the spider that can live under human skin but if a certain type of person is looking for general info about spiders then this is a good website.
i was wondering if you knew anything about this type of spider one of my family’s friends had this living under there skin and you could see them crawling. if you have any info could you please send that to my email stated above that would be very much appreciated.
We live in a brand new, just built home and have wolf spiders EVERYWHERE!!!! I got bit on my back while asleep. Woke up with kidney/back pain. SEVERE pain…….. so bad I got sick to my stomach.
I didn’t know the bite was the cause until the following day when my back was tingly, burning, and itchy. Wolf spiders ARE DANGEROUS!!!!!! I have two young children who luckily haven’t been bit, but I need a solution to get rid of these spiders. HELP!!!!!!!!!
Doubt this is the place George (#50), but since you brought it up…I thank God for many things and surviving from a spider bite or Grizzly Bear attack would most likely prompt me to say Thank God more than once.
I hope I continue to have many reasons to Thank God.
Have a great day! If you do … Thank God!
JB
well my boyfriend has been bitten by a wolf spider and i was wondering what the symptoms….b/c i want to know what i can do to help him….he is very worried about it…so plz email me back and let me know the symptoms of a wolf spider bite.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Tiffany Marie Strunk
Ok. I was in jewett, right? I was packing up to go home for the summer. Ya dig? And out of nowhere I see this wicked spider. Let me lay it down for you: I’m talking black body, yellow striped bulbous bottom (this thing had eaten some meaty french toast), furry upper body, 8 thick juicy legs, and two fangs. Hella eyes, too. Blue. Like the ocean. This thing was a PLAYA.
But there’s more…
So it starts crawling, right? This thing is FAST. So I pin the sucker and it’s drying on my wall. It will be one hell of an add to the collection. But I need help identifying it. Usually I’d be up-to-date on my spider-ID but I’ve been doing some field research regarding Tetranychus piercei in Idaho.
Help a fellow arachnid lover out. YADADAMEAN?
-John F.
I was kayaking one day (in Florida), and i went to cross this log that was floating on top of the water (it was blocking my path, lol) but just as i was maneuvering my boat so i could step out, i looked at the branch of the tree.
A MASSIVE SPIDER, I’m usually not too freaked out by them, and this one was a pretty good ways away from me, but this thing was bigger than my hand! It had the same coloring as the pictures of the wolf spider, and was perfectly camouflaged with the oak. my dad stared at it for 5 minutes before he actually saw it. Oh, and I’m not exaggerating about the size either, HUGE.
I was so MAD that i didn’t have a camera. I did not harm it, or poke it, prod it, or try to catch it. but i did avoid it. it was big enough to swallow my head, lol.
Could that have been a wolf spider?
I wish i had a camera!
Often health care providers generalize out of ignorance. For their own reasons wolf spiders do bite sleepers indoors – I am one. I awoke this spring after a cold snap to 21 raised red welts (not bullseye) across my eyelid and forehead, each a penny to a quarter sized, with two little black fang bites in the center, causing temp and localized pain for 8-9 days. Not bedbugs, perhaps wolf spider. Each pair of fang bites turned into a 2-3 mm black scab. Welts subsided over the next 6 weeks and necrotic brown tissue under the scabs was the last to heal. Bacitracin promotes healing without scars. I have only one scar from a potent recluse bite that liquefied muscle tissue but caused no real pain.
I recently got two spider bites: one on my forearm and one on my finger. The one on my arm isn’t big, but swollen enough that I can’t see any bite marks. After a day it started turning light purple around the edges and yellow in the center. There is no pain but sometimes itches.
The one on my finger has tiny bite marks, less than 1/2 mm apart. I noticed slight bruising around it and have limited movement in my entire finger.
I’ve also been feeling a little weak and nauseous and have been sweating constantly (even though I’ve been staying indoors in the ac).
I’m not sure what kind of spider bit me even after looking over all kinds. If anyone has any idea, please reply.
Thanks.
Hello, I am not quite sure how many times i was bitten, but i am moderately sure it was a wolf spider because for 3 or 4 days I’d go to sleep, and wake up the next day with itchy, red spots that seemed like mosquito bites at first but some became very itchy with many bumps and looked similar to a poison oak allergic reaction I’ve had.
The bites occurred everywhere i wasn’t covered, since its hot here (Georgia in the summer) i slept in shorts only i got bitten on both legs ankles knees and all over my chest and sides, hips and elbows my throat up and down my arms the back of my hand and badly on the right wrist. i counted somewhere between 50 and 400 bites I’m not sure how many were bites and how many were just the allergic reaction, i found a wolf spider in the bed a few days later so i am pretty sure thats what was biting me.
I am a heavy sleeper so i didn’t wake up but the day i slept with a shirt and long pants and socks i was only bitten on the arms. its been about a week since it started and its extremely itchy in all the places i mentioned. i researched wolf spiders and i believe most of the bites were “dry bites” without venom and there is about 7 spots where the allergic reaction is, i think those were the ones with the venom. anyways ..the areas around the bites is sore and red and itchy, so yeah you can get bitten in your sleep and it sucks! ha.
I also wanted to add that, the wolf spider i found was relatively small, maybe the size of a quarter all the way around or a little bigger. i didn’t associate it with the bites but i was thinking, a few days ago i had strange pains in my chest and kidney area i didn’t think it till i read the answers here so maybe that had to do with the bites as well, as i don’t normally get pain in those areas.
I think what happened was, i move around in my sleep and the spider was in the bed so i probably kept rolling over it or near it. i think this because the bites are one big poison oak-seeming rash area, like on my hand, and then there is a trail of little bites down my arm up to my arm pit where theres another rash, and same on both arms is like that. also my ankle has the rash, then its a trail of little bites up to my knees which have the rash. my chest has it on one spot then just bites all over there up to my throat. I’m really glad i don’t sleep naked.
I have lived in my house for 3 years now I have a 3 year old and a newborn.All the responses I have seen are from the US and over seas I am from NS Canada. And my house is infested with spiders that appear to be wolf spiders.
I was skepticle on the type until I killed one that had what seemed to be hundreds of babies on its back. Are these dangerous to have around my children?
I have seen some that are about an inch long and others that the body is as big as a golf ball with A leg span as big as a regulation size baseball.
I was bitten by a Wolf Spider on Saturday. This is the first time I’ve been bitten by one, so it came as quite a surprise. I was near my garden and stepped in the grass near the border, and felt a sharp pain.
At first I thought I had stepped on a mint stem that had been mowed, but when I looked, the spider came out of the grass obviously ready to protect it’s home. I spent half a day with ice on my foot. It is a painful bite, but ice did keep the swelling down.
Val
in MD
To Amanda
The spider in the picture you posted is a huntsman spider.They’re very common in the southeast and feed mostly on cockroaches and other household pests.Most huntsman spiders are harmless to humans and rarely bit as long as they’re left alone.
Hope that helps.
We found this one dead in our pool yesterday after returning from vacation. My husband put “it” into this bucket. It looked bigger when pulled from the water because it was more extended. It was in the bucket in the hot Mooresville City, Irredell County, NC sun all day so it has been decomposing some. I have spent my night and most of my day obsessed with identifying it. I am completely freaked out though I know “spiders are good”. Sorry… I’m still terrified and no amount of “get over it” will make me be ok. This research is totally creeping me out and I have trouble looking at spider photos.
Can anyone tell me if this is a wolf spider? I threw a quarter in the bucket so you can get an idea of it’s size. Also, it appears as though the front legs have pincher looking things on them. My husband thought it had 10 legs but I am going with 8 plus pinchers. It is black. Sorry the photos are not great. The back looks as thought is has a bit of shine… no hair. PLEASE help! Thanks, Rebecca
P.S. We have no spider bites so far but have three dogs that we want to keep safe, as well as our three kids.
I have thousands of the evil brown spiders on my property.
have them from a dime size to around 6″ inches (the breath of the legs) the larger ones take some real dosing of spider rated spry to kill. The 6″ one I dosed with RAID completely covered the guy. The first time he just wiped it off his eyes and came right at me. So I put a stick down in front of him, he just jump on it and started climbing at me. So, while he was climbing I walked him over to a concrete slap and tapped him off, where he looked around and started toward me again, This time I did not spare the RAID, bad boy got a shower plus of the stuff, plus some extra pools of the spry around him for good measure.
This seemed to stop him. So I went to get a jar to be able show what walka and stalks the farm to the kin folk. Come back in about half an hour and he is Gone!! Now I got a pissed 6″ wolf spider that knows where I live! Geez, Now I am begining to posion the full farm with the Ortho Max, I have herds of the dime size one, Yep, Herds of them. Well so much for the fun part of country living.
I live in South West Florida, and for about the last month and a half I have been steady killing Wolf Spiders just about at least one every two days. There medium to small in size. The first one I seen though, looked like a Tarantula and nearly scared me half to death, as I surely have archniphobia. My worst fear is spiders next to going to hell. Anyways, I tried Black Flag Spider/Bug killer, but that stuff does not work at all. I sprayed it on the spider, and the spider just acted like I hadn’t done anything to it. I have found two in my shower, and the rest in my bedroom, which scares me. The first time couple times, I had either my landlord or my boyfriend kill it. That got to be a little funny, because my boyfriend was just as afraid of it as I was. So one day, when my bf told me that he would “be the man” and kill the spider, he tried several times to kill it, but ran out of the bathroom because it started spiraling down it’s web down the middle of my shower.
So I took a flyswatter and smashed it. That was my first kill, and ever since, have grown used to killing them. I have learned over time that they do not like the light, and run at the sound of noise. However, I caught one in my bedroom closet one night, and to calm myself, started singing softly, “On Bended Knee” by Boyz II Men. The spider did not run, and stayed where it was, and did not move at all. I continued to sing until I was able to get my flyswatter and swap it dead. But most of the time, they like to run when they see you, so I found it a good idea to SPRAY THEM WITH BLEACH AND THEN KILL THEM WITH A FLYSWATTER. WORKS BEST SO FAR.
Hi. I just wanted to thank you all for your comments on here. I just got bit a few times this past weekend at a hotel in Kansas City. I thought it was mosquitos but the welts are bigger and hot to the touch. Anyway, I too got the bites while sleeping and I did see the little spider stare at me and then run and hide under the refridgerator after waking up. It had the same look as the wolf spider. He must have been on the bed while I was napping and bit my leg when I got too close. Anyway, I’ve got a nasty red welt on my leg. I keep it covered because it’s the only way to keep myself from scratching. I was worried that it might become an MRSA infection and I don’t have insurance so I went to a clinic. They wanted $200 just to look at it. I told them I’ll just die. (overly-dramatic I know…) Anyway, I’ll try some ice and if it gets any bigger or redder I’ll hit the nearest emergency room. BTW: Is Bicactrin ointment something you can buy over the counter?
About 4 days ago I woke up to see two little puncture marks on my left forearm…actually there were three marks, two more underneath that and one under that. There’s been a lot of little brown almost black spiders around my house lately and the seem to like to live in the laundry. After I got bitten the bite kept getting worse and now the whole area is swollen with little fluid filled blisters…they kind of look like the ones you get with a really bad cold sore. They are in a circular pattern and the middle is red…it’s extremely itchy, worse than anything I’ve ever dealt with before including poison oak and ivy. I’ve been putting antibiotic ointment on it, but it’s not helping. Anyone ever had a bite like this? Should I go to the doctor?
o and if you see those pics on top of the page those are brown recluse spider .
we havw a million wolf spiders in our basement its so disgusting i’ve never been bittin and dont plan to!!
Hi, in regards to a brown recluse spider bite. #49. We moved into a model home in S. CA and purchased the furniture also. There must have been a brown recluse in the mattress on the bed. When i got up there was a red welt on my thigh. 3 days later it wa about 6 inches accross with 3 layers. First layer was raised and red, 2nd layer was raised off the first and was a darker red, the 3rd layer on the 2nd layer was a hole about an inch in diameter. It was purple and open and wet looking. I went to the dr. and at first they yhought it was flesh eating disease. It turned out to be a brown recluse bite. They put me on a strong antibiotic and it took about 2 months for the scar to start to fade. Hope the helps.
how do you get rid of these spiders (wolf spiders) where the kids play and mostly close to the house.
Just an FYI. I am a nurse that has worked in both the jail system as well as the prison. we commonly get alot of requests to be seen for spider bites. 9 times out of 10 it turns out to be MRSA. This is a staph infection that is resistent to alot of antibiotics. It can be very difficult to treat, reaccur and can be spread to others if they have an open wound.
So I was reading all these stories about the Wolf Spider, and I started to laugh to myself, because as far as I knew they were not poisonous, and do not bite.. that is.. you can actually let them crawl on you.. I have done so for many many years. They are a bit scary looking, but once you get past that, you can see that they are quite neat looking. I have tons of them living in my yard and I let them be.. they have never once tried to come after me, and they are good to have around, they eat the bad bugs we do not want around!
I say.. if you have them.. leave them.. let them be.. they are not going to bite you.. they will run away first, and they are quite friendly.. like I said.. have had them crawl on me several times (which either they are just friendly and do not actually bite like everyone here is saying.. or I am extremely retarded?? ) Either way.. Wolf Spiders are cool.. let them live! Thanks!
It concerns me that some of the pics I’ve seen and comments I’ve read don’t sound at all like the wolf spiders I’ve dealt with here in NC. The ones I’m used to look very much like the ones pictured in comments #4 and #6. They are very common here in NC and I see them quite regularly however, they have never been aggressive and I’ve never been bitten or had any experience with anyone getting bitten by them. They are actually quite skittish and usually found on the ground or lower part of the wall. They move quickly so sometimes they surprise you and some can be large enough to frighten those that have never seen them before. But I just scoop them up on a piece of paper if possible (sometimes they run too quickly for this) or just gently come near them with a broom and they’ll run the direction you want them to. I have to agree with comment #75 that they are harmless and very neat looking.
Also in response to #65 Rebecca, that does not look like the wolf spiders I’ve seen and I live pretty close to that area in Rowan County. I’m sorry i can’t be of more help in identifying that thing for you but I would definitely say that it is NOT a wolf spider.
Krystal – next time I’ll post photos of all the dead wolf spiders I clear out of my house every week after spraying. If I do get bit again by them, I’ll post that too. My wife had been bitten three times and I kept telling her it wasn’t the spiders… then I got bit. I’m quite certain that you can let them crawl all over and not experience any bite… but I am 100% sure that they CAN and WILL bite. The bite area swells, then oozes, and the bite location remains red and swollen for almost a week. Once the swelling and redness go down, it’s much less annoying and painful than the first few days. I’ve got no beef with them, but every one I see in the house is going to be one less spider in the world. I’m bagging about five a week at this point and am waiting for cooler weather to start making it rather sporty.
Can you tell me if this is a wolf spider?
I notice the web looks like a funnelweb.
To #79, no that is not a wolf spider. Wolf spiders do not weave webs. That is most likely a grass spider or some other variety of funnelweb spider. The photo is too unclear to make out details. One thing that would help you to identify it would be to examine the eye pattern. The eye pattern of wolf spiders is very distinctive and looks something like this:
0 0 <— Two large eyes that are slightly to the sides of the head
O O <— A row of two large eyes in front
…. <— A row of four small eyes along the bottom
Okay, I’am very very scared of spiders.It seem that their out to get me.
Well, it’s now going in to the month of October, and i live buy the greenriver in kentucky. I keep finding theses spiders that look like wolf spiders but I can’t tell if their brown recluses either. And i don’t want to get to close. But i wined up woken up by theses huge spiders crawling on me. it makes my heart pound to a different beet. I also have a baby that sleeps with me so having a spider on me is bad but on my child its worse for me. i find theses spiders mostly at night time. and I’ve never killed any that was in a web. so what i’am i dealling with?
I just moved into a new apartment only a month ago. I have had a spider problem since day one and have complained. I am killing regular type spiders daily, most days, more than one. This morning, the biggest spider I have ever seen in natural habitat, in my life, came crawling across my kitchen floor and my kids and I panicked. It was seriously about the size of a small mouse and looks like the pics of the wolf spiders I’m seeing. I am fed up with this place, I cannot live like this anymore. I want to know what my rights are getting out of a lease to a place with this kind of spider problem? All my neighbors admit to having them as well and one of them has a spider bite that won’t even go away. I’m truly sick and don’t know what to do. HELP!
killed this spider last nite, cant tell if its a wolf or hobo spider, im in arizona, i know hobo spiders are more prone to northwest, but ive also heard that they are seen all around the country.
Hello,I was at school today and was looking on the ground and I see this spider(I believe it might have been a wolf spider)and it crawls under my shoe,I then ask my teacher the permission to squash or release it.She then says,”You,can squash it.”(me liking animals it was hard)but as I tried setting my foot on it it lnged toward my classmate who was sitting next to me(Of course the whole class knew about it by now,but they still freaked out)but it then lunged for my other classmate who squashed it as it came near.I then picked it up with some paper but I don’t think it was dead.Anyway,I am having trouble with my hands eversince then,they have become very weak and very ache in the fingertips,but I am also having headaches(light headaches)and trouble with my lungs.I am wondering what the symptoms are,for I have never really been bitten by a wolf spider(I think)and am concerned.
P.S.Sorry,I don’t have pictures…since I was in school.
last night, my husband went into the laundry room in our apartment and this ‘creature’ was just about to come out of a wall vent. he got the bug spray which only made the big bug madder and ran like the dickens.. only way he could get it was with his size 10 1/2 shoe! he went back to look around and saw a dead one in the same room only on the floor near the air condioning / water heater units.
he put them into a sandwich baggie and took them to the office this afternoon. the woman screamed but a guy there said they are probably wolf spiders. they were about 2 inches plus and black! after reading all this stuff, i cannot sit on the floor, walk into any room without lots of lights on, and finally went to sleep around 5 a.m. help!
We moved to the Susquahanna PA area almost 3 yrs ago. This spider was found in our basement while we were renovating this past summer (6/2008). My husband found it during the day and it appeared to be sluggish and was easily caught. We believe it is a wolf spider. From leg tip to leg tip, this spider was between 2.5-3.5″ wide. Since finding the spider, we have had several small black wolf spiders that we’ve killed.
The exterminator was back again today and set off a bomb in the basement. He also treated the exterior perimeter of the house. Here are the chemicals he used: Drione, PT 221 L Residual Insecticide Aerosol Lambda-Cyhalothrin and PT 565 Plus XLO Pressurized Contact Insecticide Aerosol Pyrethrins. We live close to woods and therefore, are subject to these little critters.
I hate all spiders I even have nightmares about spiders I wish all spiders didn’t live in this world and if there had to be spiders they would not be harmful they would just catch flies all day in their web
I HATE SPIDERS!!!!!
well, I woke up today feeling very woozy, my head is all dizzy and I’m slightly sick to my stomach, honestly my head has never been this dizzy before, and it’s long lasting too. the dizzy feelings started getting bad when i got up out of bed, the sudden motion must have made what ever venom was in me go straight to my head…
I can’t find a bite anywhere, but while getting on my computer I did see a small furry black spider crawl very quickly across the wall I managed to hit it hard with a fly swatter but can’t find it now..
I’ve seen the wolf spiders around here and there are three species I note, the large black ones, the green ones, and the brown striped ones. of which the black ones have pretty rough venom, it’s a nerve toxin. I’ve seen it kill/paralyse 5 in grasshoppers in about 5sec. never been bitten by one before but this woozyness is getting worse.
and the wolf spiders around here make webs even the brown sriped ones have a “home base” where the team congregates (comprised of leaves and twigs woven into a ball against a brick wall or tree..) where as the furry black ones usually don’t make webs but when they get big, they make strong very sticky cobweb-like funnel webs, I stick a stick in one before to tease the spider and the web wouldn’t let go of the stick! it kept stretching, and boy was he a big sucker, about 3inches!
but yeah wolf spider bites can make you quite light headed and slightly sick to the stomach. the light headedness sjhould be “waving” as in it worsens in waves. getting strong then subsiding, then stronger.
okay my room is in the basement and the window is locked… these wolf spiders are making me very angry because somehow they keep getting in.. and im afraid of spiders to the point where… i cant even explain it. is there anyway i can prevent these spiders from entering my bedroom. i am positive they are wolf spiders and i have actually captured one and brought to a freind who studys spiders and he says they are as well.
and one more thing is it true that spiders crawl in your mouth while you are asleep?
Tonight me and my sister finally found where “our” wolf spiders were coming from! First, we thought they were coming out of the air vents but we stood on spider control duty to find out they were coming out of the door panel! We have killed too many of these creatures! But we now found out the problem so no we dont have to move out of our aparment! We were terrified of these things but now we can sleep in peace! Oh yeah, pest control guy isn’t very good! We had to found the secret hiding spot!
@#88 Cliff, and the vast majority of posts…
If it has a web, it is NOT a wolf spider. Read the article, specifically the part where it says “Wolf spiders do not actually make webs; instead they hunt for its meal.”
Most of the spider bite descriptions here sound like they are not from wolf spiders. While their bites can be painful, unless you have an allergic reaction to them, they do not cause many of the symptoms people are mentioning. The venom of the vast majority of wolf spiders species is not necrotic.
I am in Oklahoma. I woke up this morning to the sound of two of my cats playing around with something. My fiance looked at them and thought they had a tangled up ball of string or something. When we actually got up and turned the light on, we saw that they had killed a huge spider (good little hunters they are!). At first, we were freaking out over the possibility that it was a brown recluse. The thought of one of those in the bedroom is nerve rattling to say the least. I put it in a plastic bag as evidence. Thankfully, upon further research, I have come to the conclusion that my kitties took out a wolf spider. It looks exactly like the pictures that I have found relating to wolf spiders in Oklahoma. I am so glad it was not a recluse. I turned the bedroom upside down at 5:30 this morning cleaning out from under the bed searching for more spiders.
Also, those of you who are getting bit and the bites are swelling a lot, filling with pus, making you dizzy or short of breath, need to go to a freaking doctor because you have most likely been bitten by a brown recluse and NOT a wolf spider!!
Thank you for some valuable info,recently I got the crap bit out of me , four times on the same leg, it started out like a insect bite , little itching, then hot searing pain, it felt like a hot poker, then i noticed that there was redness appearing around them, I,ve been bitten before, but not at the same time..the first one i poured alcohol on it,then it came to a head with two puncher holes in it,I thought i could fix it myself , I cut a slice between the holes,then puss,blood,and a green looking dead skin came out, I’m concernd that they will come back,what is the best way to get rid of these venomus, blood suckin creatures……..HELP!!!!!!!
P.S. I had to have the other three bites done by a doctor…Less Pain! I HATE ALL SPIDERS !
Hello,
My name is Tina from upstate ny, A couple of weeks ago my husband got bite by a spider.( At the time we did not know what it was) His finger got all black and blue and there was 2 little fang marks. We went to the emergency room and the doctor gave him some medicine to take. Hes OK now, but his finger did hurt him for about 2 days. He said it felt like a bad bee sting.
Today he was in his barn fixing his car and what do you know a spider was walking across the floor sooo he put it in a test tube, I’m sitting here looking at it right now trying to figure out what kind it is, I think its a wolf but not sure its small so it could be fairly young.
I will post a picture soon
On Thursday night I apparently got bit on my back next to the spine at my punk brothers house.
I thought it was a gnarly pimple, one of those ones that really hurt. but by that night, after finding it in the morning, it hurt my whole back and any muscle movement because of the location of it. told some friends and they looked at it and almost smacked me cause it was a huge inflamed spider bite!!!
what?i cant see it. its in a weird spot. i just knew it hurt a lot and was getting worse.
so today is Sunday morning and i just got off work(which really sucked cause the bite) and now I’m freaking cause its as big as a ping pong ball, swollen, red inflamed and really hot!
i don’t have insurance and i don’t take meds. this really sucks but this website helped so thanks everyone for their comment. it helped my but now i am going to go run up a huge doctor bill cause i think this really needs some attention. my whole spine and back hurt.
no beuno sir. no beuno
hey, some of these pictures are cool.
wow a lot of people got bit.
I didn’t think they were dangerous, we have one living on our hallway floor at night, we just leave him, probably others around.
To #61 ~ Ronnie ~
I think you were being bitten by bedbugs, not a spider. I haven’t been bitten by a wolf spider though they were all through the house my ex and I bought. They did bite the children who lived in the house before we did. (That’s all I knew about it. I don’t know how bad the bites were, or how many.) They scared the dickens out of me every single time! They are pretty scared of people though. They would “freeze” if we saw them first. Blink, and they were gone. But dang, they are just too darn big for their own good! So big, that I actually heard one drop, as it scrambled to get away from me, and went over a box. You know those fake spiders people use to decorate with at Halloween? These are that size. No kidding. And hey, for anyone squeamish about killing a spider, feel free to use my mantra: “Any day is a good day for a spider to meet God!” You betcha! Most spiders I just put outside.
Black Widows and The Brown Recluse, I kill on sight. I have been bitten by many a spider in my day, fortunately for me though, not by a wolf spider. I can always tell a spider bite by the fang marks, be they small or medium. Fortunately for me, the bites I received were just red, swollen and itchy for a few days. I never could find the culprits, but I didn’t need to. Their trademark bites are unmistakable. Always, it’s the fangs. Now bedbug bites, on the other hand, are usually done in threes. What is referred to as “Breakfast, lunch & dinner.” You can’t feel them at the time, what you feel LATER is the unmistakable itch. (I think the spider in your bed was probably just a coincidence.) Since you don’t feel the bite happening, you don’t often SEE the bedbugs.
They don’t like light, they prefer the darkness. I am 45, and it wasn’t until three months ago that I knew bedbugs were REAL, and not just part of a “goodnight, sleep tight” chant. I began waking up with bites all over my legs. Then it was my chest. Then my stomach, then my back, then my arms….the list goes on. Over a three month period, I would say I had about 400 bites, if not more. Scratching also spread any infection over other parts of my skin, which then also became covered with itchy red bumps. (Naturally, I have sensitive skin. Also, any insect within my vicinity that is going to bite, will inevitably bite me, and possibly nobody else, naturally. They seem to like my blood. Lucky me. ) Suffice it to say I was embarrassed to leave the house.
It was crazy making! These bites itch so much worse than a mosquito or flea bite. (Yes, I’ve endured those too.) These bites itch, and itch, and itch, even long after the scab has disappeared and all you see is the red blotch beneath the skin. They start out small enough, but once you begin to scratch, they open up to about the size of a well swaddled Qtip. They get infected easily, so I ended up using a cortisone based cream on them while they were so in need of scratching, while also taking an antihistamine pill, to help combat the itch.
Once the scab is gone, I start putting vitamin E oil on it after each shower. (I learned this trick after a surgery. My incision is no longer visible.) I stripped the bed and turned over my mattresses looking for those darn bugs and never did see one until one day, just by chance. It looked almost like a tick, but I knew what it was. Darn thing was on my snowy white pillow, just getting ready to wander away. Naturally ~ I killed it immediately. If only there had been just one! I don’t know how many of them were feasting on me nightly, but I do think it was probably at least three or four. Those little turds can go for months without eating. (I guess they found me too delectable to pass up.) No matter what I did, I could not get rid of those things. I researched online. I cleaned and vacuumed like a fiend. I was fastidious, and it mattered not. Then, I had to move, and a “hiccup” took place, which at first I did not see as a blessing. That being, my things are stored in a friends garage, and I am bunking elsewhere until my new place is ready. At this time of year, it freezes at night.
Well, from what I read online, steam, or freezing temperatures are the only things guaranteed to kill those buggers off. It’s not in my budget right now to purchase a hand held steamer, or I would have. But this works too. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to sleep in a bed where I am not being bitten every night, and to wake up without fifteen new bites all hither and yon. Glory be and hallelujah! The things we take for granted until they are gone.
Anyway, good luck with this honey. I truly wish you all the best. Oh, one note of caution, the cortisone cream, if you use it, should not be used for a long period of time, as it can actually change your skin. So be sure to talk to your doctor about it if you do. Otherwise, something like neosporin, and an antihistamine pill might be sufficient. ~ Sending good vibes your way ~
To #95, Oh Kristina! You poor thing! I’m glad to hear you are going to see a doctore, I think that’s wise, considering how bad the description is. Is there a public clinic you can go to that might be less expensive than an emergency room? Whatever you must do though, consider how bad your reaction is to that bite, it is WISDOM telling you to seek and get professional help. Sending healing thoughts your way.
My 3 year old son just found a wolf spider at least the size of a quarter in our living room, we live in Florida with a lot of woods beside our living room, I’m glad he showed me and didn’t try to kill it himself but I was curious about what would have happened if it would of bit one of us? I hate spiders!