Deadly Spiders of the United States

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Ranked #502 in Animals, #11,895 overall

Deadly Spiders are all around us!

Deadly spiders are not very common in the United States. The only two real threats are the black widow, and the brown recluse. Both of these spiders have venom that is potentially deadly to humans. With some common sense, and a little bit of knowledge about the different features of these two deadly spiders, you can safely avoid any confrontations with them.

While there are a few other spiders that can harm you such as the tarantula and the hobo spider, the black widow and the brown recluse are the focus of this hub. Other future lenses will go into the other types of dangerous spiders in the United States so keep an eye out for them!

Here is what you need to know!

My Personal Experience With The Black Widow 

I have always been deathly afraid of spiders, but at the same time fascinated by them. The black widow in particular is one of those spiders that you simply can not ignore. Just last week I had a run-in with this deadly spider in spades.

My wife and I have to lug off our trash and as much as we try, it will sometimes pile up on us. This past Saturday, I decided to finally go out and gather up the trash that had been sitting by our curb for a week and lug it to the dump.

After grabbing two big bags of trash, I went down to pick up a third. As my hand went to the next bag, I saw it. The biggest, fattest, black widow spider you have ever seen just sitting right where my hand was heading.

Now, one can surmise that the widow likely would have ran off, but if I had grabbed where I planned to, I would have directly grabbed the spider. That would have been a bite to be certain.

Five minutes later, I bumped into a second one behind bag number five. Lord only knows how many black widow spiders were among all that trash. It certainly has caused me to be more timely with the trash!

My personal experience with these spiders is that they are not especially aggressive. They like to stay well out of our way, and only occasionally do we come across one another. When we do, it is always my fault.

If you are careful, then the likelihood of being bitten is very slim. Check out some of the links below to get even more info on the black widow spider.

Which Spider Scares You The Most? 

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The Black Widow 

Deadly Spider Supreme

The black widow is the most common deadly spider in the United States. The black widow is famous for the red hourglass that you can find on the female's belly. This hourglass can also be a dot, or even a series of random dots rather than the perfect hourglass. The hourglass can also be orange in color rather than red.

The black widow is usually jet black in color, and has a large, bulbous abdomen. The black widow builds a rather strange looking web. It has been likened to a "drunken spider web" by many who have seen it.

The black widow's bite is actually quite dangerous to children, the elderly, or anyone that is in poor health. Even a full grown, healthy man or woman can be sensitive to the black widow's bite. Emergency medical treatment should be sought if bitten by this deadly spider.

Want to see a black widow up close and personal? 

This is a great video!

A great video of the black widow up close and personal. The black widow is actually quite beautiful and misunderstood. They are not quick to bite and would much rather escape than have a showdown with any human beings. This video shows the beauty of this deadly spider in a very unique way. Never attempt to get close to this spider as it is capable of a very quick bite.

Black Widow Spider Close up

Amazing but deadly Black Widow Spider. Produced by Kevin Bryant http://showbc.com

powered by YouTube

Spooky Spider Movies on Amazon! 

If you want to get the willies quick, check out any one of these great movies on DVD. All of them feature spiders, and all of them are scary. Check one out today!

Eight Legged Freaks (Widescreen Edition)

Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 07/06/2009) Buy Now

Arachnophobia

Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 07/06/2009) Buy Now

Kingdom Of The Spiders

Amazon Price: $15.99 (as of 07/06/2009) Buy Now

Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo

Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009) Buy Now

Awesome picks of the black widow and brown recluse! 

Some great pics of black widow and brown recluses. These spiders are so interesting.

the hourglass by airnfoto

Notice the big belly on this widow

Black Widow by hystericeyes

Black widows are great climbers

Black Widow by hystericeyes

Note the long gangly legs.

Black Widow by hystericeyes

What a great shot this is.

Black Widow by hystericeyes

The Black Widow

Personal Experiences With the Brown Recluse 

I had a very close relative get bitten on the foot by one of these little buggers and it very near killed her. Her foot began to rot away over time and the doctors were unable to stop the venom from spreading around her leg for a long time. She ultimately was able to recover, but never fully. Her leg still bothers her to this day, and she still has tissue damage.

My own personal drama with the brown recluse was during a visit to a relative in Missouri. I was staying with them, and my wife and I were sleeping in the basement of their home due to limited sleeping space.

During breakfast one morning, the subject of spiders came up. After talking about it for a bit, my relative told me that they have tons of brown recluse spiders in the house. As a matter of fact, they had more than a ton.

She took me upstairs to the attic and showed me the glue boards she had laying around to catch the buggers. Their were literally hundreds of them all over several of the boards. I nearly freaked out!

Worse still, we were sleeping in a dark basement where black widows and brown recluse spiders love to lurk. I did not sleep a wink the rest of the vacation.

The Brown Recluse 

The brown recluse is also a very dangerous spider that sometimes does not get the respect that the black widow does among deadly spiders. This spider has a necrotic bite that can cause tissue and flesh damage in and around the bite site.

The brown recluse is also about the size of a quarter, and has a violin shaped marking on its back. The "neck" of the violin points towards a rounded abdomen. This abdomen is generally one color, and the color is usually a tan color. The brown recluse can be various shades of brown, however, and the violin is not always readily clear. This depends on the age of the spider.

Like the black widow, the brown recluse bite is very dangerous and should be considered a medical emergency.

Great Spider Books On Amazon! 

These books are wonderfully informative and useful as far as information about spiders. There are suggestions here for every age of reader. Pick up one or two today!

Time For Kids: Spiders!

Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 07/06/2009) Buy Now

Spiders and Their Kin (A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press)

Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009) Buy Now

Spectacular Spiders

Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 07/06/2009) Buy Now

The Private Life of Spiders

Amazon Price: $22.76 (as of 07/06/2009) Buy Now

Please Comment! Tell Me What You Love or Hate! 

ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...

Hi,
My name is Elizabeth Jean Allen and I am the new group leader for the Nature and the Outdoors Group.
Lizzy

ReplyPosted May 20, 2009

StephanieManning wrote...

Great Lens! You should add the Brown Widow...Yes the BROWN widow. Many people doesn't even know it exists. It looks just like the black widow except that it is Brown and has an Orange Hour glass! Its in the south east in southern states such as AL. and now migrating into FL. My brother in law got bit by one just last week and the DR told him that he was crazy...that is until he pulled the spider out (it was in a baggy). They didn't even know how to treat it as they didn't even know it existed. They treated his bite like a Black widow and sent him home with some meds! Very Scary!

ReplyPosted November 09, 2008

WuksachiStaff wrote...

Brrr! Spiders give me the creeps, but are very interesting nonetheless. Good information and great lens!

ReplyPosted November 05, 2008

Zion wrote...

Wow! This is a great info for all of us.
I really like your lens! so I gave you 5*.. how about that?!...
Please try to stop by my lens. I would really much appreciate if you could rate mine too!
Thank you so much!

Zion
http://www.squidoo.com/effective-best-acne-treatment-info

ReplyPosted October 31, 2008

Squidaddle wrote...

OK, that makes me feel much better about the spiders in my new house! We have black widows, brown recluses, and hobo spiders here (in Victoria, BC), but we've also got a lot more giant house spiders that can't harm humans, but make meals of the other three.

ReplyPosted October 30, 2008

 
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