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Adam
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Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:18 pm |
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1pissedoffguy
F L I N T O I D
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The Brown Recluse Spider has been in Genesee County since the late 1970's Adam. Their bites are very painful and also cause terrible ulceration and skin loss . The skin around the site of the bite turns blue,black or purple ( or all 3) and then the skin essentially rots ( called "necrosis ") . A victim may also suffer kidney malfunctioning and other organ problems months after being bitten. I had at least two friends bitten by these spiders.
Back in the 80's I had tarantulas and had an interest in arachnids and studied this subject pretty deeply. Brown Recluse's range increased into areas they were not native to because of central heating made garages and other storage places easier for them survive because they now had warmer places to live in. Typically , without central heating, Brown Recluse's would have perished in Northern climates. And being animals, they soon adapted and now there probably is a variant that is much better suited for survival than previous generations were.
The Black Widow has variations that only remotely resemble the well- known , stereotypical ones people have seen in movies and on television . |
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Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:56 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Can we turn a bunch loose in the North end.  |
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Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:20 am |
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Cornbread Maxwell
F L I N T O I D
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| At the MSU Extention hotline that identified the brown recluse spider, the experts there do not believe the spider migrated here intentionally. This is an extremely rare incident and it is much more likely they were brought here in moving boxes or something. The Brown Recluse IS NOT native to this area, and the rare incidents that they have been found here can usually be explained by nonintentional migration. |
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Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:38 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Their was a guy on one of the forums I frequent who got bit by one in his hand and before it was over he wound up losing his hand. They are nasty.  |
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Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:09 pm |
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lacyw
F L I N T O I D
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| Oh they are here and they are nasty. My neighbor got bit by one on his hand. He wound up spending a week in the hospital. He said he was just glad it was him and not one of his kids. It looked awful. We gave them some osage oranges to put up in their basement and recommended some home defense stuff to try to keep them out. |
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Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:23 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Professor says brown recluse spiders found in Flint are no cause for panic
Published: Saturday, August 13, 2011, 9:00 AM Updated: Saturday, August 13, 2011, 9:03 AM
By Ron Fonger | Flint Journal The Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan -- The discovery of brown recluse spiders in a home here shouldn't trigger a communal arachnophobia, a Michigan State University expert says.
In fact, MSU entomologist Howard Russell said the spiders were more likely carried here from a state with warmer weather rather than examples of a larger migration of the feared arachnids.
View full sizeBrown recluse spider.
"My guess is there were the result of hitch-hiking spiders or offspring of spiders that hitch-hiked," Russell said. "I don't think it represents that Michigan is widely (infested)."
A Flint-area master gardener who works at the county's MSU Extension Office sent the three brown recluse spiders to Russell after a Flint woman found in them in her home on Fenton Road.
"Right away I recognized them as brown recluse," said Ruth Simon, who took in spiders at the MSU Extension Office. "She said the house was loaded with them -- all different sizes."
The brown recluse is extremely rare in Michigan because the spider cannot live in temperatures below 40 degrees, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Spiders that are found here have typically been in heated buildings and were probably introduced in materials shipped from the southern United States.
The brown recluse is feared because its bite can cause necrosis to the skin in rare cases. Bites are rarely fatal, the DNR says on its Web site.
The spiders are described as soft-bodied, yellowish-tan to dark brown, up to one-half-inch long, with long, delicate gray to dark brown legs covered with short, dark hairs.
Russell said the spiders have three pairs of eyes arranged in a triangular pattern.
The recent discovery of the spiders in Flint isn't the first time the recluse has been found here.
Five years ago, Russell said the spiders were found in Flint and Grand Rapids, and Simon, who handles calls on the MSU Extension Office hotline, has seen them before when they have been brought to the office.
"People are concerned (about the spider migrating here)." Simon said. "Some say it's (a result of) global warning. I think they get here accidentally and they find someplace warm to survive."
The spiders are "kind of scary," Simon said, but the brown recluse "just wants to be left alone."
"They are hermits but accidentally you can roll into one" and have a very bad reaction to the bite, she said.
Russell said most people bitten by a brown recluse will have a reaction similar to having been bitten by another spider or mosquito. Many people, he said, blame any insect bite that "festers up" on the brown recluse.
"The bottom line is most people will go through their entire lives without seeing one," he said. "I don't think it's cause for alarm." |
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Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:23 pm |
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twotap
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| GLOBAL WARMING Cmon knock it off will ya. |
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Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:52 am |
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