Southern Spiders - Not So Worrisome After All

I was both curious and shaken when a recent trip to our mailbox put me face to face with a nasty looking spider.  
My short-term plan consisted of not screaming, closing the mailbox, and doing some research about my eight-legged tenant. With the help of a knowledgeable neighbor and Google, my unwanted guest quickly gained a positive identification: a black widow spider. After reading on National Geographic that black widow venom can be 15 times more potent than a rattlesnake’s, I decided to call my neighborhood Terminix office for a professional opinion.
“The brown recluse and black widow are really the only two spiders in our area that you have to worry about,” said Ashley Sheats, who works with the Terminix office located on Flintstone Drive in Tucker. As Sheats inspected the mailbox and around our house, he explained that black widows are found primarily outside the home. They typically live on or near the ground and eat mostly flying insects caught in their messy, tangled webs. Brown recluse spiders, on the other hand, will sometimes enter homes looking for food. They eat crickets, cockroaches and other insects commonly found indoors.
Sheats explained that homeowners should look for and remove webs around doorframes, porches and carports. Preventative chemical sprays aren’t very effective on spiders because the spiders must be sprayed directly. Such treatments can, however, help control the bug population that spiders depend on for food.
Both the black widow and brown recluse are naturally shy and generally bite only when startled or if they feel trapped. They prefer to build their webs in seldom disturbed areas. Removing clutter both inside and outside the home, keeping shrubs and trees pruned back away from the house, and frequent cleanings will reduce the number of spiders around the home. Wear gloves while gardening or working in the yard as a sensible precaution against being bitten. Be cautious and aware when cleaning out boxes or clutter in the home.
The vast majority of spiders in our area are harmless, but if you think you have been bitten by a poisonous spider, it is best to seek medical attention promptly. According to Piedmont Hospital, symptoms of a black widow bite can include immediate pain, burning and swelling, as well as abdominal cramping, tightness in the chest, headaches, dizziness, rash, nausea, swollen eyelids and excessive tearing of the eye.
Symptoms from a brown recluse bite are seldom immediate, sometimes delayed by several days. Pain, burning, itching and swelling are common. In addition, nausea, fever and a rash can be present. A “bulls eye” bruising pattern along with a blackened ulcer or blister may appear. Both black widow and brown recluse bites, though rare, do require prompt medical attention.
Though seeing a poisonous spider is unnerving, according to KidsHealth.org, “Fewer than 1% of the people who report being bitten by a black widow die, and even fewer people die from brown recluse bites.” Sheats reassured me Tucker residents needn’t spend much time worrying about black widows or brown recluses. “It’s rare that I ever run across them,” he said.