Ok I know this is a little dull but there is some really good info here. Bear with me and enjoy. And at any time click here to find wonderful products to treat them with.
Where are they?
Weems and Whitcomb (1975) noted that, “on many occasions specimens have been inadvertently brought into Florida in trucks and automobiles, hidden in luggage, boxes, and various commercial cargoes, but to date it appears to have been unsuccessful in establishing breeding populations in Florida.”
Gertsch and Ennik (1983) reported a few records from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Wyoming and Tamaulipas (Mexico).
What do they look like?
The description is taken from Gertsch (1958). Adults of both sexes are similar in appearance and size, ranging from about 7 to 12 mm in body length. Adult females average slightly larger, about 9 mm compared to about 8 mm for adult males. In total, these markings appear in the form of a violin. In addition, three dusky patches may occur along the margin on each side. The sternum is yellowish, with other ventral body parts of the cephalothorax darker reddish brown.
Where do they hang out?
Most are found in buildings and outbuildings, especially in boxes and among papers, in every room from basement to attic. They were found in almost any place which had remained undisturbed for lengthy periods of time, such as behind pictures, beneath or behind furniture, in boxes of toys, in clothing, among stored papers, in the corrugations of cardboard boxes, and in discarded articles, such as tires, inner tubes, and assorted other junk. Most of the specimens found in feral conditions were under rocks, especially in bluff outcrops, with a few under bark or in logs. They definitely seemed to prefer dry conditions.
female with egg sac
Bites and Bite Symptoms
Brown recluse spiders usually bite only when they become trapped next to the victim’s skin. Bites occur either when sleeping humans roll onto the spider or put on clothes into which the spider has crawled (Vetter and Visscher 1998). Typically bites occur under clothing, mostly on the thigh, upper arm, or lateral torso, less often on the neck (Anderson 1998).
Description of the symptoms is from Wingo (1960), Gorham (1968, 1970), Anderson (1982, 1998), and Vetter and Visscher (1998). Reactions to a bite vary from no noteworthy symptoms to severe necrosis or systemic effects. Discomfort may be felt immediately after the bite, or several hours may pass before any local reaction to the bite occurs. In one study, only 57% of the patients realized they had been bitten at the time of the bite.
Typical symptoms are as follows: Symptoms start two to six hours after the bite. Blisters frequently appear at the bite site, accompanied by severe pain and pronounced swelling. By 12 to 24 hours, it is usually apparent if a Loxosceles wound is going to become necrotic because it turns purple in color; if necrotic symptoms do not express by 48 to 96 hours, then they will not develop. If the skin turns purple, it will then turn black as cells die. Eventually the necrotic core falls away, leaving a deep pit that gradually fills with scar tissue.
Author: G.B. Edwards, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry.
Originally published as DPI Entomology Circular 406.
Photographs: Jeffrey Lotz and G.B. Edwards, Division of Plant Industry; Jim Kalisch, University of Nebraska – Lincoln; and James L. Castner, University of Florida
Project Coordinator: Thomas R. Fasulo, University of Florida
Publication Number: EENY-299
Publication Date: August 2003. Latest revision: June 2009.
Copyright 2003-2009 University of Florida