OT. Arachnophobes here?

[pyton357ru]

I don't mean the blue one. I mean eight-legged beasts, spelled with "i". Must confess -- I'm afraid of them.

[dialex]

I heard at the local news that there appeared a small black spider with a very poisonous bite. Many turists had serious health problems because of it. I don't mind about spiders particulary, but I don't like insects - generally speaking. The Crickets are an exception (especially the C29s) <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

<a href="http://users.pcnet.ro/dialex"><font color=blue>(my page)</font></a>

[delicrazy]

they scare the hell out of me. its always amazed me, a six foot copperhead causes no fear or emotion, but give me a little tiny spider and i start screaming like a little girl. which is weird cus the copperhead can cause some damage, but spiders around here are compleltely harmless. i think im gonna buy a millie and call it theropy <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

[J Smith]

delicrazy,I am the same way.I would rather walked through a pit of snakes as to have a spider crawl on me.


I learn something new everyday,even though I don't want to. Jeff

[glockman99]

I HATE spiders so much that I'm even afraid to get close enough to one to step on the **** thing! (I guess I'm lucky that I carry a 10mm Glock pistol to shoot those buggers with...LOL...).

BTW...Here in Washington state, we have a couple poisonous spiders crawling-around (a "wolf spider", and a "brown recluse", and there have even been sightings of a black widow or two.).

Dann Fassnacht Aberdeen, WA glockman99@hotmail.com ICQ: 53675663

[vampyrewolf]

I'm one of those ppl that even a spiderweb will freak out. I'll grab about a 3' stick to remove a 4" web... or walk the other way.

I worked in a zoo for a few years as a volunteer. That includes childrens zoo, with the 6' python, "Monty". I'd always have it around my shoulders, after I spent a year or so getting it used to my scent so it didn't tighten on me. Even the albino mice were great to play with, running on the shoulders as you talk to ppl... or playing with the lizards(skink, salamanders, iguana). only animal I didn't touch in there was the corn snake... and we had 8 monkeys!

But yah, stick me in a pit of spiders, and I'll squish as many as I can until I can run.

Mei Fides, Mei Victus <a href=http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett>My Homepage </a>

[Jimd]

I am terrified of spiders, won't even step on them. Yeccchhhh!!!!!!

I hate insects, in general. Especially the cockroaches inside the prison. Some of those things are just so huge, it oughta be against the law! Oh, wait....they're already in prison!

Sniper -- One Shot, One Kill Email: ST8PEN01@aol.com

[Sword and Shield]

Cockroaches, I kill on sight. Spiders, unless they're black widows or recluses, I leave alone. They cut down on the mosquito supply. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

The Man's Prayer- I am a man. But I can change. If I have to. I guess...

[spyderwa]

When I was a kid I had a pet tarantula. Real slow moving, ate flies and other bugs that I could find. One day it was crawling on my shirt and it made it's way under the front onto my chest. Maybe I was rough when I pulled it out, but it had it's fangs out. That was enough for my spider ranching days. I let it go back in the fields. Now I just keep Spydercos as pets. They aren't as hairy, and you don't have to feed them.
Spyderwa
Rare Spydercos
www.angelfire.com/trek/spyderwa

[SilverDragon]

I usually like spiders, as long as I don't wake up with any spider bites.

I've been bitten several times in my sleep and it's always a pain, soemtimes literally. I'm not allergic to their bites, but once I discover I have a spider bite (sometimes rudely when I wake up with a swollen lump) no spider is safe. I go on for about a week, vacuuming and fumagating my room against them and even if I find a itty bitty one, it'll be a yellow-brown smear if it doesn't vamoose.

-SilverDragon

[pyton357ru]

Guys, Girls, you made me feel easier. Thanks.

[chinook]

Finally had to have a quarter sized chunk of my butt excised to get rid of a purple/black sore that would fester to a head then recede every few months. Might have been a recluse. Hope I sat on the lil bastid.

Some other forum guy posted this pic. Didn't say if it was a fullsize or junior Wegner.

Disguised as a Responsible Adult

[Tio]

I understand that the great majority of Black Widow spider bites occur on men. Black Widows like to hang out in warm, dark wood- like below outhouse seats. Women can use the outhouse without incident, but men have certain appendages that protrude into the Black Widow territory, and that’s where they get it. Yeouch!

Darrel

[patogordo]

So thats why it´s called black widow <img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>

Slowly one at a Time, but somday...

[Joe Talmadge]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:<hr height=1 noshade>BTW...Here in Washington state, we have a couple poisonous spiders crawling-around (a "wolf spider", and a "brown recluse", and there have even been sightings of a black widow or two.). <hr height=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE></font><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2>

Experts seem to think there's no brown recluses in Washington State, or any other recluses for that matter, except for those that have hitched rides in furniture or whatever from the south. There are definitely hobo spiders, like the recluse are little brown spiders that have necrotic venom. The theory is the recluse is getting the blame for necrotic hobo bites in Washington (like recluses getting blame for yellow sac bites in central CA).

Chances are, many of the spiders you kill in your house are actually spiders that kill hobos or push hobos out of your house!

Spiders give me the creeps too, BTW.

Joe

[vampyrewolf]

http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett/pics/bite.jpg

that's a brown recluse bite... enjoy.

Mei Fides, Mei Victus <a href=http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett>My Homepage </a>

[dynaryder]

I'm not afraid of spiders,but anything w/more than two legs gets squashed if I find it in my apt. I have been a little paranoid lately,however. Couple weeks ago I killed 2 Brown Recluse in my apt in 2 weeks. I really don't need a run-in w/one of those.

[Harpy]

When I saw "Arachnophobes" as a posting, I just had to stick my two-cents in. I'm a writer who has been researching brown recluse spiders, one of the few poisonous spiders in the US. Most of what you hear about recluses is myth, much of it flowing around the internet. Check out the scientific data, not just the numerous recluse sites that claim how deadly this species is. Yes, the recluse does deliver a necrotic venom, but its effect varies from person to person. On many people,it will not affect them any more than the bite of any other arthropod. Stories of limbs dropping off and so forth, are either false, or the result of several forms of bacteria that any biting insect, spider, or arthropod can deliver. The wolf spider, for instance, while its venom is unpleasant, alone can't cause serious injury: however, its bite can be septic (that is, can carry dangerous flesh-eating bacteria, among others), and this species is also rather aggresive, particularly if you venture near its egg nest. (By the way, if you care to, one way to spot wolf spiders in your garage, for instance, is to take a flashlight at night and scan the floor with the light. Wolf spiders are wary visual hunters, and their eyes, like a cat, will reflect light like tiny headlights. So if you have any wolves in the garage or shed, you'll be able to watch them watch you. Heh.) Hobo spiders, found in the west, are also rather aggressive, with a similar necrotic venom as the brown recluse. The recluse, for some reason, seems to get a bad rap, which is ironic, because it is rather shy (hence the "recluse" name) and will only bite humans defensively. Even then, while the bite should be examined by a doctor (capture the spider if you can to verify what species it is!), massive necrosis is so rare as to challenge whether it happens at all. In addition, the greatest myth about the recluse is that, to hear other people, the little critter is rampant in all fifty states. Not so. The recluse is found in the central-south areas of the US. No one has ever verified a recluse population beyond these regions. (Look up Rick Vetter's Brown Recluse Site on the internet for a map of BRS population areas.) You'll also find quite a few sensational sites containing gruesome photos of supposed BRS victims, and a number of sites trying to cash in on the BRS myth: one doctor has a site recommending the use of a stun gun to cure the supposed bite area; other sites, including Terminex, offer special pesticides and traps designed to kill BRSs and hobo spiders. Ain't the American system of capitalism grand? Reminds me of the gougers of the recent (August 2003) power blackout.
The only REALLY dangerous spider in the US is the black widow, and even then, while the widow's venom is an extremely painful neurotoxin (an excruciating cramping of the abdomen is the first sign of a widow bite, and usually happens within an hour after the bite itself), the few who actually die of a widow bite are children and elderly people. Fortunately, antivenim is available for widow bites, and usually brings immediate relief from the many painful symptoms of this kind of bite.
As for the Spyderco insignia: It's occurred to me that the design looks more like a mite or tick (both arthropods and distant relatives of spiders), and to downplay the "spidery" attributes of the design, the legs are blunted and the "body" appears to be one joined form, as opposed to a genuine spider, which has a distinct cephothorax (head and thorax fused) and abdomen.
I've never heard of a satisfactory reason from any scientist as to why arachnophobia is so common. I can't stand the little critters myself. Any spider wandering in my home must die! It surely can't be because it has eight legs instead of an insect's six. A spider with only six legs is just as scary. (Spiders, incidentally, have a peculiar ability to auto-amputate one or more legs in case of danger, and if the spider is young enough, can regrow the limb partially.)
I'll try to download a photo of a BRS. If it doesn't work, though, the BRS is of modest size, and has a violin-like design on its head and thorax (hence, the BRS is sometimes called "fiddleback" spider). It ranges from light tan to dusky brown.
Sorry about the long lecture. Hope this helps clear things up.

Edited by - Harpy on 8/22/2003 7:02:39 PM

[Joe Talmadge]

Good post! Pretty much what I've found as well. Hobos et. al. causing bites that the brown recluse gets the blame for. And most spider bites *can* turn necrotic, due to bacteria on the fangs. Regarding this statement:

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:<hr height=1 noshade>I've never heard of a satisfactory reason from any scientist as to why arachnophobia is so common. I can't stand the little critters myself. <hr height=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE></font><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2>

The explanation I've heard, and in my intellectual laziness have decided is a satisfactory explanation is: Fear of snakes and spiders is so widespread that we can look at evolutionary pressures. Perhaps those afraid of spiders and snakes lived longer and reproduced more successfully than those who didn't? Anyway, seems a plausible explanation to why fear of spiders and snakes (but not ladybugs or worms) seems to be pre-wired into many people's brains.

Joe

[Harpy]

Thanks for the kind words, Joe. I need to make a modest adjustment to my post, however, and for peoples' general safety. Rick Vetter tells me that small, isolated populations of BRSs have been found in places like sheds and so forth outside their usual range. I imagine an occasional BRS accidently hitches a ride and establishes a small population outside its usual area. But these incidents are extremely rare, and the renegade population short-lived. Also, Mr. Vetter (University of California, Riverside) and his colleagues have personally captured hundreds, even thousands, of BRSs in human habitats where the people have rarely or never had any problems getting bitten. One of my personal contacts says they run around his office (in Oklahoma) all the time without anyone getting hurt. In any event, better to worry about West Nile virus-carrying mosquitoes or Lyme diseased ticks than a brown recluse hunting for you. Ta!

Edited by - Harpy on 8/22/2003 6:55:25 PM