Spiders

[Heimkehr]

The way people act when talking about spiders always amazes me. They are ubiquitous, yet so many people actually know literally nothing about them

All public forum spider discussion lead to recluses. People start spouting off so much BS they know nothing about.

What I can't figure out is the reaction from people when they're told the ulcer/abscess/bite they have is 99% more likely to be from something other than a spider especially a recluse bite, because it would be more rare than winning the lottery given you're in Washington, or Oregon, or Alaska... where they just do not exist there.

People get SO F'ing BUTT HURT.

It would seem so.

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[Deleted member 59498]

The way people act when talking about spiders always amazes me. They are ubiquitous, yet so many people actually know literally nothing about them- their natural history, nothing about taxonomy, their habits or the actual threat they pose, which is very close to zero. They are awesome creatures.
Places where Latrodectus are the predominant species, bites are astronomically rare. By the numbers, your neighbor's dog is far more dangerous to you than the 20 widows that hang out around your house at night.
Probably the most fascinating though are recluses. All public forum spider discussion lead to recluses. People start spouting off so much BS they know nothing about. The recluse range is known, and it does NOT include most the US though everyone and their grandma swears they or someone they know was bitten by a recluse in a state they do not exist in. Some study back I was doing my population work on wandering spiders showed that in one year in the early 2010s there were some 900+ recluse bites diagnosed by clinicians in Florida and they came from every corner of the state. Only 5 brown recluses have EVER been found in the state. Whereas a state like Kansas where >50% of homes on the eastern side of the state are infested with L. reclusa, there were only like 10 confirmed bites in the state in the same year. Explain that.
What I can't figure out is the reaction from people when they're told the ulcer/abscess/bite they have is 99% more likely to be from something other than a spider especially a recluse bite, because it would be more rare than winning the lottery given you're in Washington, or Oregon, or Alaska... where they just do not exist there. People get SO F'ing BUTT HURT. I like knowledge, and am driven by the pursuit of knowledge. So learning facts I don't think should threaten people so much.
Bottom line- not much you can do about spiders in your rig, other than appreciate them and clear them out if you want. As stated before due to their unique anatomy, they are resistant to traditional pest treatments even though companies will be very glad to take your money.

Spiders. Are. Awesome.

So I am lying about getting bit and must be a meth head?

 

[JLRyder]

you mean diatomaceous earth??

LoL yea that one.

 

[Apexcars]

i was in L-town at the time and a buddy of mine called and said he found a baby rattlesnake in his shed just west of Manhattan. It had to be a massasauga, which I was so excited about. I asked him all the important ID questions before I drove over from Lawrence- the color and pattern, what its pupils looked like, what it was acting like and if it had a button on its tail. He confirmed all of these and so it HAD to be a neonate western massasauga. I made the drive, get there, and it turns out to be a fairly average-sized lined snake. I was so pissed, I asked him what the hell man you said it had this, this, and this exactly. He's like, well yeah, I mean to me, yeah! I said it has round pupils, LINEAR STRIPES, and NO BUTTON or rattle at all! He said, well it looked to me like it did. So I drove back home. This was before the age of sharing photos or facetime in real time.

The point is people absolutely friggin suck at the details. They will convince themselves that anything can look like anything. To most people, if it is a spider, and it could be argued to be a brownish color, it is a reclusa. Doesn't matter that they don't exist somewhere..

I know what you mean about mis-identifying spiders and snakes. Around here anytime anyone sees a snake in or near the water it is automatically a water moccasin. Not that I blame people for going with that. It’s a lot better to avoid a garter snake near a pond than to dismiss a water moccasin and get bit.

 

[sentience]

 

[west tex]

Spiders?

Heck, I consider them as allies in the War on Bugs. They eat insects, after all.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

I leave all my snakes and tarantulas alone. They eat what I'd rather not have around. The one on my hat got released on the wood pile.

The only spiders I've found in my Jeep have been really small, and hardly any at that. We had an abnormal amount of daddy longs legs (what we call harvestmen) this year, but none found their way into my Jeep.

They like to get in big clusters like this during the day, and they will all stated bobbing up and down when you get close.

 

[[DELETED USER 82058]]

I’m pretty much ok with all the creepy crawlies. That being said I don’t want a black widow or brown recluse bite so I keep an eye out for them. Snakes I just relocate. Rodents are killed asap, they tear up too much.

 

[blessidsoul12]

So I am lying about getting bit and must be a meth head?

Clearly! No, they do bite for sure. And their bites can suck. Just by the numbers their bites are actually incredibly rare. Most wounds diagnosed as recluse bites are not.

 

[blessidsoul12]

You can't tell me my P. metallica is not one of the most beautiful creatures out there

 

[Deleted member 59498]

You can't tell me my P. metallica is not one of the most beautiful creatures out there

That is a pretty cool looking spider.

 

[Red Dirt]

Unfortunately for recluses they also overlap heavy methamphetamine and other drug use regions, so most of the "recluse bites" are likely abscessed needle sites.

There are anatomic limitations to recluse chelicerae that make them uniquely challenged when it comes to biting large things like humans.

Well THAT took a turn. I'll be polite and give you the benefit of a doubt that you didn't intend for your statement to imply that I, and indeed the entire southern Midwest (where the highest concentration of brown recluse live) are meth heads with "abscessed needle sites" instead of spider bites. Such an offensive accusation might hamper support for your advocation of spiders.
You love spiders and that's cool. Really. Your blue spider is spectacular and I need to clarify that I don't hate ALL spiders. Just the ones that get on me and are in my house. I actually have a fondness for garden spiders. I literally live with brown recluses in my house daily. Just killed one in the bathroom an hour ago. I'd much rather have my neighbor's dog on my lap than a spider.

 

[CreepyCrepe]

Burn it with fire.

 

[Mos.Jeep]

I used to drive a Suzuki Samurai with a soft top back in… a long time ago. That thing was a spider magnet. Nothing like turning your head to back up and planting your face fully in a spider web strung across the roll bar. I still hate backing up because of that!. CHEMICALS, DEPLOY!

 

[Mos.Jeep]

OH MY GAWD! I am sitting at my favorite local establishment where I read this post…. Out of the corner of my left eye I see something black on my left shoulder… I totally freaked the F out! It was a fly. You guys are creeping me out. Sorry for 2 consecutive posts.

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