Brown Spider, Family Sicariidae (Loxoscelidae) has other names as well, including violin spider, Arizona brown spider, fiddle spider, necrotizing spider and of course, the brown recluse.
The brown spider is small and inconspicuous with slightly darker brown markings on the cephalothorax. These markings vaguely resemble the shape of a violin, hence the common names ‘violin’ or ‘fiddle’ spider. The species native to this area are closely related to the infamous brown recluse of the Midwestern United States, but the markings are less obvious.
Distribution and Habitat of the Brown Spider occur in the southern United States through Mexico and Central America. These spiders like to hide among desert debris and around dwellings.
The bite of a Brown spider can be dangerous to humans and may result in loss of limb or life depending on the neglect of treatment and other factors. The average person bitten by a brown spider usually suffers from a spreading sore. If you think you have been bitten by a brown spider bite, seek medical attention sooner than later!
I have a swelling behind my leg with a little reddish brownish dot on it can someone please tell me what it is? I’m really scared
I was but over a month ago by something as I slept, doctors said it was most likely a spider bite. I woke up in the morning, the back if my leg felt itchy, or something so I went to scratch it and felt something there, I looked at it in the mirror and noticed one big blister that looked almost like I’d burned myself, and a smaller one a very small distance away from it, there was a red streak almost like an L shape. It stung bad, then the blister few bigger and bigger and bigger, until the two looked as they had become one, I went to urgent care, and they lanced it, then it was do gross looking and pus coming out of it, the near on my leg looked crusty kind of, it is now finally healing, but will have an ugly scar. If there is a way for me to send pics please let me know. The crazy thing is about 2 months before this happened to me, I had one just life it except for it was on my stomach area, and that had also happened as I slept, but sis not get add big as the one on back of my leg. I get lots of camel spiders in my abatement, but today I found this brown one can’t figure out what it is. Please tel me how to send pics, want to know what bit me.
BTW – How do you post pictures?
For a few weeks now I have been catching spiders all over my house. What is the most effective way to get rid of them without poison. I have a small child n am afraid to use chemicals. I have caught 4 diffrent kinds including one that looks like a brown recluse.
I came to an encounter with a badly aggressive spider this is what it looked like. It had an orange abdomen green fangs white spots and the legs where red. that is all i remember because it was last year i was with my dad when this happened. i am nine years old i hope someone can tell me about this spider, please do not get bitten.
I live in Michigan and over the last week have seen 4 of these scary bugs. I believe they are spiders, but they jump like a cricket. They are a reddish brown in color, about 2 inches diameter, circular in shape, and have very thick front legs.
I have only seen these creatures after dark and they appear in my bedroom and bathroom. Direct spraying of bug spray only stuns them, they appear to have a thick exoskeleton. My son has what appears to be a bite on his ankle, its small, purple, and painful. What type of creature do I have lurking in the dark at my home.
I saw this brownish spider that has this yellowish hourglass on it’s back in my room on the ceiling and i am wondering what it is do you have any ideas? Please let me know when you find out when you do can you e-mail me at puppybree [at] kol.com thanks.
I got bit by a spider on my bed. I didn’t see the spider. its a tiny hole and the skin will peel around it. Every day the hole gets a little bigger. I live in Maine can someone help me and tell me what spider it could be.
@ ashley if your daughters bite is still spreading and seeming to cause her pain then it is likely the antibiotics are not working I would definitely take her back to the hospital and though it may not be a good habit to teach I would mark the outer area as a measurement and watch if it does indeed spread past that first mark i would take her and it will be a bit more believable for the docs that it is spreading and next time take her right after she is bitten whether you are certain or not
@jose this sounds very much like a brown widow though not widely known they were just recently confirmed to exist they are venomous however the venom is not as dangerous as a black widow they r mostly more toxic to infants and small children or anyone with a weaker immune system however anyone can have an allergic reaction depending on their body if ypu do get bit it would be best to see a doc immediately also remember to take the spider with u the best way to catch them that I’ve found is to use a clear glass and a flat card of some kind remember once u turn it over some spiders are great climbers although i do not know if these r hope this helps u
Have been noticing very small spiders on my couch. When laying down watching TV, I will feel something on me and see a small very light brown, very fast small spider running across my arm, etc. I try and swat it but they are too fast. Tonight I had one on my wrist and swatted it away, saw it on the floor running really fast and I think I got it. It took 2 slaps. Not sure I got him because the light is low there and they are so small. I have dark brown wood floors so it is hard to see them. I’ve never seen such a fast mover. What is this and is it dangerous?
Hm..I just caught a rather large spider. Its front part of its body (not the Abdomen) is Black, with a white stripe on the eyes, And the abdomen is is brown and furry. Its to big to be a wolf spider, a jumping spider, and way to huge to be a crap spider,I think its venomous it was eating a different spider. It has VERY large fangs Im a little bit afraid.. So please, someone tell me what it is
Monday May,02 2011
Where the spider bites make you have surgery?
#37, Julz. Sounds like you have a Giant Crab Spider. They are venomous but usually do not affect us humans. Only time they do is similar to Wolf Spider bites, when someone is allergic to their venom. Their bites hurt, but they usually do not bite unless you try to pick them up. They are pretty good about eating bugs like roaches and stuff.
my dog got a bite from a small brown spider with a skull on its back i need to know if she is ok
Um…….. I was bitten by, I wanna say a Wolf Spider or something different i cant tell. Maybe Yall’ can help me figure it out. I would REALLY appreciate it. It’s kinda grayish with black spots and has a HUGE abdomen.
Thank You,
Alexander
@ Rabeca OMG! You should seek medical attention immediately, hopefully you already did!
For 2-3 weeks now, a brown spider about 3 inches in diameter comes out at sun-down and makes a spider web on my back deck. He starts making the web at almost the exact same time every evening. The spider web is usually held up from the trees in my back yard to the house, spanning across at least 20 feet, supporting his circular web in the middle.
This spider fits almost exactly the visual description of a Brown Recluse, but there are no Brown Recluse web descriptions that fit this particular spider’s web. Everything I have found says that they don’t use their webs to catch prey, but I have watched this spider a lot and that is definitely what he is doing.
When he comes out tonight I will get a picture of him. I have been hanging out on my deck with him, thinking if I don’t bother him, he won’t bother me. I would like to know what kind of spider this is, and if I should kill it or not. Thanks in advance!
EVERYONE WHO THINKS A “BROWN SPIDER” bit them. They are talking about the brown recluse or Arizona brown AKA fiddler spider. Note what they said about the bite “The bite of a Brown spider can be dangerous to humans and may result in loss of limb or life depending on the neglect of treatment and other factors. The average person bitten by a brown spider usually suffers from a spreading sore. If you think you have been bitten by a brown spider bite, seek medical attention sooner than later!” The bite would seriously start eating your skin! so if you just have a bite and it isn’t doing anything. It’s not THIS KIND OF BROWN SPIDER.
Saw a small light brown spider with a yellow hourglass shape on its back like a black widow, Any ideas or info??????
this spider i caught is quite everyone keeps on telling me its a hobo but i don’t think so. now i dont know all the terms for the body of a spider but i’m going to describe this spider hoping that someone will be able to identify it for me. Following this page it is relatively brown but when it comes the abdomen or butt i think where connects to the upper body is white then the rest is dark brown the oddest part is how big it’s fangs are or maybe they are not fangs but they are pitch black and considering the spider to be your size without your legs they would go from your neck to your elbow on a human based scale the spider originally is about half an inch it’s extremely aggressive and how i know it’s not a hobo.
i have taken my time to catch a hobo that is more likely bigger than an inch and from my research doesn’t have whatever these black fangs or whatever are. one last thing this spider also appears to have not fuzz/furry legs but spines with a good space between them. hopefully someone can identify this spider i’ve looked everywhere it might just be a freak of nature but we’ll see.
sorry i’m unable to provide photos i don’t have any cameras that will give a clear picture.
On Thursday, the 27th of May, I had noticed that the left side of my right knee had a little pain whenever I would touch it. So I lifted up my pant leg and saw what appeared to be what my bff thought was “just a zit” because it was tiny and had a white pus center. So naturally I scratched at it and squeezed at it to get the pus out. Today it is Monday, May 31st, and now what was originally a tiny dot of pus is now a blackish hole with like dried blood or something on the top covering it.
The immediate area around it is very hard and it hurts. Then there is a larger area around that that is red and painful. And then if you poke above the red area above it (towards my femur, so proximal to my body) that part is tender too. It doesn’t itch or anything. Its sore when I walk but hurts more when I touch it. Its warm to the touch compared to the rest of my leg. I spent 20 min. earlier today squeezing it a whole bunch to try and get any infection out. pus and a yellowish-clear came out as well as blood. I put a lot of hydrogen peroxide on it. So much that for about an hour, the edges of the hole were white from the peroxide. Oh yeah, the hole is about the size of a 14 gauge needle. And at first I hadn’t really noticed any bite marks, but that big hole is one, and now another bite mark is showing up next to it. It hasn’t bled or leaked any pus or anything yet, but its currently a faint black/purple-ish blue color. 🙁 Anybody know what kinda of spider or something bit me?! My Dad is concerned, he doesn’t know whats gonna happen to it- But he said that whatever bit me is giving me a bad bite. D: Please, if you know anything about what kind of spider this is, please email me at becca1339@yahoo.com
I plan on getting my RN to be a registered nurse a year after I graduate. I’m absolutely terrified of spiders to death. I’m not even kidding. I’m really scared, I don’t want to have to lose my leg or something because I don’t know how to treat it or anything. 🙁 My Dad is gonna get my an appointment with a Dr really soon, I just don’t know when. If your able to help at all I think you VERY much!!! I hope none of you ever get bitten by another spider, and certainly not this one. [[Ive been researching to try and find out but nothing comes to mind]]
IF YOU GO TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE, AND LOOK IN THE LEFT HAND CORNER AT THE FOUR PICTURES, MY BITE CURRENTLY LOOKS LIKE THE BITE IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER. D8
I keep finding small to medium size brown spiders with clear abdomens in my apartment. I’ve killed every single one of them, but I can’t figure out what kind they are!!! Can any one help?
I had this same problem I got bit by this spider at tumbling it didn’t look bad but was affecting my whole leg it may have been a big spider and tiny bite but a remarkable pain that I will never forget.Please if u guys go to tumbling at five star in northern Kentucky please try to make sure they cleaned that pit and that if one of your friends say i just saw a big spider ya-hi big please trust them believe them.
I’ve found several brown crab-like spiders in my house this week. they were all approximately 1inch in size and was semi slow and walked like a crab. one was crawling on my little boy and now im afraid to put him back in his bad. If i find another one i will take a pic. Im trying (unsuccessfully) to find info about it online. If you have any info, please contact me. thank you.
~Julz
i dont have a picture but i been bittin by the brown sprider i didnt feel the bite when it bite me i saw it one day and throught it was a a relgualer bug bite so i wasnt really worried but my leg started to hurt were i couldnt ever walk on it so i went to the doctor and they told me i came just in time before it had made it to the rest of my leg but it was horrible and i hope not to get bite by any sprider again but people there yall got to be careful no of days people dieing getting bit and stuff like that just be careful
I found a spider hiding in the recess of a sliding door to my backyard.
It is rather large, slightly bigger then a quarter, brown and lightly hairy, and has a violin shape on its abdomen(topside), not its back. I know the brown recluse has a violin, but was told its only on its back, not its abdomen.I was not bitten, but would like to educate myself for future encounters.
Anyone know what kind that is? or is it a different kind of recluse?
Any help is appreciated. I live in phoenix Arizona, It took nearly a dozen electric fly swatter hits to kill it, i wanted to preserve it for pictures. Will uplod some in a couple days.
my son came home from school with a blister on his eyebrow, 3 days later it is large and red and getting bigger i took him to the doctor and she tells me it is a skin infection but when i came home and moved his bed i found a spider that closely resembles a brown recluse he says it doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t bother him at all. the doctor said if it is even a spider bite they would treat it the same way . but i am still worried. i kept the spider (dead of course, got to love pledge!)
My father found a huge brown shaprly jointed legs, definate hairs, flat octagonshaped body, small abdomen, light brown on sides and hour glass shape inthe middle of it, turtle shape looking pattern to the flat body and thick with furry looking black things on his fangsnot bulbs like brown or hobo looking thiink with black furry tips on them mean and and transperant in th efirst joints of there legs pleas ereply we have no clue neve rseeen one like it. CJ
I have been fighting these little brown devils for several years now. They like woodpiles, porches, but don’t hesitate to move into the house. You get an itchy spot that looks like fang marks. 2 little dots and if you scratch it, watch out, the poison spreads and the sore just gets worse. I usually get 2 days of headache that won’t go away no matter what medication I take and 2 days of mild diarrhea. Getting the yard sprayed on a regular basis helps, but if you have houses around you that are vacant or not maintained they do and will come back. Just thought someone might benefit from this info. I’ve become an expert.
Hello,we live in Peoria,Il. county side, have six acres, we have these big black spiders, they get into the house, they also run and are able to stand atop the pool water,tried to hold them under the water, doesn’t phase them.They are fast, going to get exterminator out this year, they tend to come inside when it cools down outside.
I was bitten tonight by a spider that looks like the picture on here of the recluse it was alot smaller than I expected it to be I felt it bite it stung and now itches there is no mark yet I tried to use the spider to compare but ended up squashing it cause it was still moving and they really creep me out I have noticed a lot of spiders lurking around my home which I moved into yesterday….YUCK!!!!
What symptoms should I look for and be worried about?
My daughter was bitten before 9pm Aug 26th. Was a quarter sized red mark. I marked it in case it was a brown recluse. In the mornign i woke up and it grew half an inch at 9am. After looking up bites and talking to other bite victims I called the hospital and made a same day appt. well an hour after making the appt. i noticed the red area was swollen and buldging a bit. So i decided to hit the ER instead. While there it grew anouther half inch from the morning.
After waiting a few hours I was told it was a Brown spider bite,was given antibiotics for her and sent home to wait it out.
the red area is slowly growing slowly. So im gonna watch it even more. Its the size of my palm now, hot to touch and tender.
I have found a Grass or wolf spider, a small dark brownish redish spider and the brown recluse in my home so they are all suspects of who bit my 3 yr old girl.
Hi, tonight at about 11:30 we were looking for a cat because we live out in the country, and she dissapeared after we heard a loud screach… As we were searching we saw this HUGE spider, brownish grey, crab like leggs. Insainly huge abdomen … very scary, we want to know if it is poisinous, we live in the SLO area and want to know if this has happened to anyone else and if they know what it is, and what happened if they god bit… include pictures if any!!!!!! thanks
wow this is alot of help my step dad got bite two times a a spider and lived!!!
About a year or two ago, I had been bitten by these small brown spiders, I’m sure there were more than one because I counted how many bites I had when I had awaken…and there were 47 spider bites on my legs, groin, hips, and my left side!!! They itched horribly bad, and looked exactly like Teena’s bites at first, then got progressively worse to where pus was coming out so bad that my clothes were sticking to me. The day after I felt kind of like I was stuck between a dream and death, this went on for a couple of months. I sought no medical treatment of any kind for this (I’m the kind of person who never goes to the doctor for anything, nor uses any medicine). Then about half a year or so later, the same bites appeared except there were 13 of them this time, recovered in a few days.
I think I got bit by a spider last night. I woke up this morning and my thumb is swollen yet it didn’t get bit. I have a small red bump on my hand that stings when I touch it. My fingers are slightly swollen, but they dont hurt. I live in Upstate NY, could it have been a brown recluse?
Hello,
Ground this one up in my garbage disposal this morning…. It was brown and had a 4-5 inch circumference. I live in SE Michigan … any ideas what this is? I DO NOT want to see this again, I have a toddler and incredible fear odd spiders. All help suggested.
My grandson was bitten on the ankle by what experts think was an Arizona brown spider or brown recluse. He is in the hospital on intraveneous antibiotics and the tissue is necrotizing. If you google brown recluse spider bite pics, you will see what is happening and our fear.
hey i live in spain and i found a orange and black striped spider it was almost the same size of my hand i went to pick it up and move it it raised its to front legs so i backed off as i backed of it ran at me and the ran back and kept doing this for several minutes so i left it it didnt look nice either the fangs wear rather big with red hair around them i will try and find a picture but if you know anything please inform me
many thanks charlie
Well, I’d have a picture, but it’s dark and I don’t have a camera.
I walked outside my front, and saw a spider on a web in the corner of the porch and decided to take a closer look. It has a small thorax, an overly large abdomen (at least as big as the rest of the spider), it is about a quarter of an inch in diameter and is a dark brown – almost black. On the abdomen there is a perfect white hourglass.
Have I found one of these brown widows I’ve been hearing so much about? I’ve looked all over the internet, and I haven’t found any pictures or information that describe what I’ve found.
By the way, I live in Central Arkansas.
i believe i got bitten by a brown spider because the facts are that it looks like a mosquito bite itchy and sore and don’t know anything about these things so i researched a brown spider bite and it told me what felt like and what it looked like.i need to do something about it but what???
thank you
harmony mccullough
I was bitten by a spider yesterday sitting at the picnic table . It was a grayish/tan color and the body was not big at all the more and more i look at the brown recluse it looks like that but the body is that that big? could you tell me what it could be. i have no bump that is noticable today so i was just wondering?
I believe i got bit by maybe a nursery web spider while i was at a strawberry patch its about the size of the end of a writing pen the circle part it didn’t hurt at first but now a few hours later it kind of aches is this harmful. it has a lot of pus coming from it. its a perfect circle with kind of raised edges. has anyone had similar bites?
I`M having the same spiders bits as Jamie #16 and “#7 ….this as been going on for two & a half weeks and now my 4 month old as got bit too… I have try every thing I can think to kill the spiders but a day or two they come back….. can some one tell what kind of spider this is?
My bite is exactly as this girl’s bite. It is a reddish, circular bump about an inch in diameter and occasionally itches. I was also bit on my hip and have had the bite for almost two months. What do I do to get rid of it?
i have been bit by something in my sleep. and I woke up to find a bump like teena has posted up…and it is itchy and sore….And it is only one bit and i can’t see any teeth marks… but it bothers me that if it is a spider it will come and bit me again..and I’m am deathly afraid of spiders…..also…do spiders bit in one general area because i got it on my hip and i see that alot of others got it on there arms….can anyone help me?
i just caught to little spiders in my back yard sorta a brownish color big ones kinda mean to the little one fond em while messing around in the wood pile they are realy fast i have em in a bucket right now i havent been bitten yet they are on a secure place i dont know if its a common brown spider but one is 1 centimeter the other alittle smaller than the big one they are a brown color and they are pretty fast and its hard to see there fangs tell me what kinda spider it is please so i know to be careful!
Aright, so I just switched rooms in my house and Im sleeping on a different bed – just across the hall.
I woke up the next day realizing I had huge (in my opinion) bumps behind my knee (right) and where my ankle meets my foot (right).
They itched pretty bad and the one’s behind my knee bled apparently because when I showed someone what was going on they’re just all red from so much scratching.
The 2 on my foot leak pus, along with one on the left front-side of my knee. I have about 7-9 of these total all on the right leg.
They’re all circular with a small pus center and slowly leak the pus over time. The bump is firm if I press on or around it and I put some benadryl cream on it and took 2 benadryl pills just so the urge to itch is gone.
Anyone have any idea what this could/may be? Or have any of you encountered this problem?
Thanks
hello all, i found a bite (at least i think it is) under my waist line!!! it doesnt hurt and looks to have a small area of pus on top of the bite. It is realy hard i mean it feels like a pebble under my skin. can any one help me out here??? i live in Kansas
Thought you might be interested in these pics of a Brown Widow. They are not native to CA, but are a relatively recent invasive species. Pretty, but a bad bite.
i have been bit by something in my sleep. and I woke up to find a bump like teena has posted up…and it is itchy and sore….And it is only one bit and i can’t see any teeth marks… but it bothers me that if it is a spider it will come and bit me again..and im am deathly afraid of spiders…..also…do spiders bit in one general area because i got it on my hip and i see that alot of others got it on there arms….can anyone help me?
this spider hasn’t bitten anyone yet – could you possibly tell us what kind of spider this is. poisonous? we are in S.California (Santa Monica), yesterday 2 of these spiders made there homes 1. at our front door 2. at our kitchen window.
the photos are of the 2 spiders – both have the same coloring, same size but one has a more round abdomen. appreciate your help! actually looking at the photos again I’m wondering if they are the brown widows that I saw on your website???
What do i do with this type of spider that bit me the brown spider is there some type of treatment or something.
Didn’t get a photo but I saw a large skinny long legged brown spider on our wall in our bedroom about the size of a silver dollar. It looks much like a recluse. It was large and I understand that recluse is small about 3/8 of an inch.
This one was much bigger and moved very quickly when I got close and disappeared before I could kill it. What spider could that be?
The more I check the more I believe that what I saw was a recluse. I’ve read that they get as big as 3 inches.
Thanks,
Ross
I am visiting Oahu and have been bitten at night the last 2 nights. I am sleeping on a blow up mattress on the floor. I don’t feel the bites as they happen, only upon wakening and they itch really bad. Two are on my leg in the groin area, one on upper thigh and one right behind underarm towards back. They are red, swollen and itchy, look like hives.
This a.m. I took the sheet off and found long legged small brown spider under it, is attached as the one called live. I found another on floor close to mattress, different style of spider. Am enclosing pics of bite and both spiders. Would appreciate any info. Wondering if I should seek medical advice.
a brown spider with a yellow circle bit me on the cheek. People say it was a hobo spider but i don’t think it was. It has been a day and i haven’t seen any symptoms except slight cheek swelling where it bit me.
Norina that sounds like a wolf spider…
Please help!
we had about an inch and a half in diameter brown fury spider with a turtle shape back, white on the top of the leg, and a yellowish, beige strip down the back with lining of the same color around the shell like back. on the butt he has a v coming up towards his back in the yellow beige. please, please let me know if you can identify this spider. we live in South FL.
thank you,
yes i just got bit by a spider i have a small hole between by ring finger and my pinky finger the spider was a jumping brown spider and it has light brown legs and it was hairy i wanted to know what do i do because it bit me and im having slight numbness in my hand i put rubbin alcohol on it but i wanted to no if i squeeze the bit wit whatever it bit me with ,it was a small spider.please let me no what i should do im trying to catch it so i can put it outside because i have a baby.
I think I have the same problem as you Danette!! I also saw a small brown spider, but it was on my bed, and I can’t find it now! 🙁
About five days ago, I woke up to an itching sensation on my arm.
Because I was rushing, I didnt pay it much mind. By the time I got to work, I felt itching sensations all over my shoulder, arm, and back. I’ve counted 12 bites all together !!! They are all located on the left side. They looked like spider bites to me, but still I was unsure. They are small red bites with only a small pus center, rather than a big pus center like the photos I’ve seen on this site. Well, they were before all the scratching !! They dont itch all day, mostly in the morning and at night. Tonight, I was laying in bed watching T.V. and out the corner of my eye, I saw something scurry across my pillow. IT WAS A SMALL BROWN SPIDER !!! My first reaction was to smash it ! And thats what I did ! When I removed it from my pillow, it was not totally smashed, and I could see that it had two rather large fangs for such a small spider ! So I smashed it again. I now wish I would have taken photos of it. Could this one small spider have bitten me all 12 times? Did I take my frustrations out on the wrong insect? Or could there be more spiders lurking in my bed !!!!!!!!!!