![]() ![]() (Some of these may seem silly, but many of the spiders below that are not brown recluses are regularly misidentified as brown recluses by non-experts. Now that all that’s out of the way, here is a series of questions to determine if a spider is NOT a brown recluse**. Furthermore, misdiagnoses of all manner of other (more serious) conditions as brown recluse bites are rampant throughout North America (even in areas where the spiders do not occur), adding fuel to the already raging fire. The small percentage of bites that are very serious are the ones that get all the attention in both the medical literature and the media, which has led to the misconception that recluse bites are always severe, require hospitalization, result in extensive scarring, and so on. Of those rare bites the vast majority of bites can be effectively treated with RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) without any dire consequences. Even in places where brown recluses are common, bites are very rare. I encourage you to peruse his website and the articles linked in this post yourself, but I will highlight a few of the more compelling reasons that the brown recluse hysteria is unwarranted.Įxhibit A: brown recluse bites are rare even where the spiders are abundant.Ī family lived in a house full of brown recluses (more than 2000 of them!) for half a year and not a single bite occurred. ![]() His website is full of excellent resources, and is the source of most of the information here. But before we do, it’s important to note that even if you do find a brown recluse, it’s not that big a deal.Īrachnologist Rick Vetter is an expert on the brown recluse spider who has done a ton of research on where they are (and aren’t)and how dangerous they really are (hint: not as dangerous as you think), as well as spending a lot of time dispelling myths and misconceptions held by both the public and the medical community. The brown recluse spider ( Loxosceles reclusa) is arguably the most feared and most misunderstood spider species in North America. So, here we will find out how to tell if a spider is not a brown recluse. A female brown recluse, Loxosceles reclusa.
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