Help Identify Spiders and More
Arrakis dune spider.
If you are reading the comments and know what type of spider bite, a visitor has, please feel free to help.
Warning: Some of these pictures may show a scary spider or a bite that has become infected and could be considered disturbing to some, so if you don’t like the sight of rotted skin or exposed bone, this may not be for you. However, it does drive home the importance of seeking medical attention before it’s too late!
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Would you like to see our collection of spider bite photos?
To: Racine
I was here because I too have a bite. But I had to write you because I’m an RN and from what you’ve said, you really need to get to a doctor as soon as possible! Don’t wait til after Christmas or to “wait until it gets better.” You not being able to sleep on the affected side and feeling like you are being hit by a bat is NOT good. Please see a doctor tomorrow morning! Best wishes, Kellye
Hello,
The photo below is of two bites consisting of two holes each, on my wrist.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Thank you very much,
Randy.
So its been a week from when I first noticed a raised hard nodule under my arm with at least two bite ‘marks’.
STEPS IT WENT THROUGH:
1) Started out hard and painless – like a superball size under my arm.
Never felt any bite.
2) Grew painful and irritated
3) A lot of pus and very painful and tender
4) Reduced in size, pus and painful – very red
5) Little blood and still pus and tender. Reducing in size
6) Now no swelling but the skin is indented (wife says its going to leave a scar) and the area is dry and tender when I move after not moving it for a bit.
Any clues? Spider? I live in Texas. I have no clue what this is.
A little over a year ago i was bitten by something as i lie sleeping at night. i was bitten in the head on my left side near the temple. the next day there was moderate pain and redness with some swelling. i didnt think much of it and thought in a day or two id be ok?. The second day the redness and swelling went to my temple and eye, by this time the pain was becoming overwhelming!. the following day was just too much and the bite site was a large bump with a white head. thinking i was a tough guy i stood in the bathroom and lanced the bite site with a sewing needle, ‘OUCH’!. and squeezed out the substance from the site.
Again i thought ok now i’ll be fine,’NOT’. the next day the pain was to great so off to the ER i went for an IV of antibacterium. its been a little over a year ago and my temple area to the touch feels like shared sliverd glass engrained in the skin and pressure in the temple and left eye. i went to the doctor agin and now im taking steriods for 21 days to see if the pain and pressure goes away??? if not a ct scan is in order. i tore my bed apart and moved my bedroom furniture, but all i ever found was a tiny redish spider under the bed? im not sure what bit me, what ever it was has caused eye site loss in my left eye, pain pressure and dizzyness.
Its gonna suck if a dumb little insect or spider causes an early end to my life!…
i grabed a shirt off the floor and put it on, hour later i see a red rash like thing in my forarm near my elbow, 15minutes its starting to blister,the blister itself is bumpy,its freaking me out.
yesterday i noticed i had a blister on my eldow, thought it was from a door panel or from this computer chair but after finding this recent bite i believe there is a little bastard trying to kick my ars.
i hate spiders, i hate them because they bite me when im asleep, crawl in ours mouths,drink from the corner of our mouths.
I hope im not alone with feeling this way towards spiders, sure they are cool, they kick ars but they freak me out and im just sitting here typing this out im itching,,, ARG :O
I got bit by something, can only think it is a spider bite, one on the inner side of my right calf, circle and swelling, pain to touch like a bruising feeling and hard. On my foot another bite, swelling throughout the day has gone from my tow up to my foot now all the way to my ankle, hurts terribly to tough it and the itch is aweful. I dont know if I need to seek medical attention or wait to see if it gets any worse, any suggestions?
I live in El Paso, TX and I think I was bitten by a spider, although I didn’t feel anything nor saw a spider. I got bitten on my back close to my side. I have small bumps on my skin in the back are and feel pain around the same area. Does anybody have an idea on how to take care of this symptom?
i hav got a spider bite on my left hand. i looks like two lumps . they are red and it has made hurt my hole hand
Hi mi name is kahlyn i live in va. umm…. I woke up a few days ago with a big red blotch on my lower stomach i didn’t have any symptoms but itching so i figred that it was jus a spot or something. But one day later i noticed that 2 more identical spots had started to apear so i became a little worried. Later that night i started having chillis and sweats and mi eyes started hurting and my ears were bothering me and i was achy all over….. so if you have ideas on what this could be plz let me kno….
thanks,
kahlyn
I Live in Indana I think a spider my have bitten me on the ear and cheek about a week and half ago. My ear has swelled up to twice its size my cheek is all red. The skin on my ear and cheek is very hot and flaky and bumpy please help
Almost sure a spider bite…..pin size markings which are red and tender in an area about 3″ x 2″…with a red area around all the pin markings.
It’s been a few years back, but I got a soar under my left arm. It progressively got worse. My whole arm and shoulder began to hurt, and seemed to be running fever. I went to the Dr. They gave me some anti biotics, and called it a carbuncle. It finally went away.
I had cleared some bush on a fence row an thought something may have bitten me while doing that. Then some guys and I went surf fishing in the gulf of Mexico, Crystyl Beach Tx. When we finished fishing, I noticed my knee was itching and stinging. I thought something had stung me while surf fishing, it got infected and felt a lot like the soar under by arm. I festered up and I even had trouble walking on it. It also seem to be running a fever. When it came to a head, I mashed it and it healed but left a deep hole or scar.
OK, I not finished, I got another one of these soars on my left hand by my thumb, but this time for no apparent reason. I thought I was afflected with some kind of disease. All this happen within about a month’s time. My wife had to take our twins to the pediatrition, and told him about my problem. He asked my wife if my work had changed uniform vendors recently.
We had changed uniform venders, almost to the date of my first soar under my arm. Come to find out, several people at my work had had the same problem. We have never seen any spiders, but pretty sure they were the problem. The uniform co. came in and sprayed, and there was no more bites (soars).
I noticed this bite after my shower this morning:
I went to see my doctor and he confirmed that it is a spider bite and prescribed prednisone and an antihistamine.
I have a red circle about an inch around ..There’s 2 blisters about the size of a pencil lead..There’s swelling and itching, and white fluid that comes out.. One blister broke and it hurts to touch sometimes…
I live in Illinois. I think I’ve been biten by a spider, while I was sleeping. I have an oval shaped bite mark on my lower neck, next to my collar bone, it seems to have one small hole in the middle. About 2 inches away a rash has started. It’s rather soft, and painful when touched. The rash has 3 claw like scratches and is fairly red. Behind my ear there seems to be another bite mark. The rash is about an inch by 1/2 an inch and is also in an oval shape. I was wondering if anyone could give me a clue as to what I might have been bit by.
I have been to a doctor, he had no clue, although he acted like he knew. He prescribed me an anti-bacterial and anti-viral medicine, I have yet to see an improvement, in actuallity(SP?) its seem to have gotten worse. I am very concerned, and it is quite embarrassing. Seeing the pictures of Shingles, I’m fairly certain that’s not it. Thank you for any help, I will try to get photos.
I didn’t realize i was bitten. My inner thigh started to itch and when i went to change for bed there was a big orangeish rash with a red welt in the middle. The welt is roughly the size of a quarter. It looks like a big mosquito bite, and the whole rash itches really bad and it has grown really rapidly. I don’t know what bit me, if its even a bite or anything about it and I just wanted to know if anyone could help before i go to a doctor or tell me if i dont need to.
Thanks.
i have a spider bite i do not now what kide it is because it is red and very big so can you tell me what kind of spider it is
I just discovered a bite on my 15 month old son. It is a very different looking bite and I am a little concerned. It has a black middle – very small like a pen point and then surrounded by a very red area and then surroundes by a light red area. The whole area is over a quarter big. The middle part that looks black is very hard. Almost like an ingrown hair. He doesn’t seem bothered by it but the hard middle is what has me concerend. I called my physcian and they said just to keep an eye on it. I can’t sleep knowing that he could have a bite that needs to be looked at. Can you help me?
I live in Michigan. About 4 nights ago..I began to undress to put my pajamas on. My fingernail bumped my belly and it hurt like hell. I looked down to see a black dot in the middle of a bump the size of a quarter. It was red all around the bump….probably like a baseball size, and super tender to the touch. The mark is directly below my belly button, about an inch above the hair line. The pain from this thing is almost excruciating. It feels like someone is holding a small torch on it. It burns and stings very bad. I’m embarrassed to go to the hospital, because of its location and “What if its nothing?” Any suggestions?
Update: Nov 29, 2007
Turns out. I have MRSA. It Stands for (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Its a staph infection of the skin and looks like this now. I did go to the ER on Nov. 27th and a follow up at the doctor’s today.
In case you don’t see the picture, I’ll describe it. Its now about a 3/4 inch gaping hole in my stomach, directly below my belly button (right in the middle of my beautiful mommy stretch marks. If what you have looks like this, I recommend to seek medical attention as soon as possible, as this ordeal has been extremely painful. Not to mention, it could become life threatening if not treated properly and in a timely manner.
Hope this helps someone else get help before its too late.
I noticed a small red dot on my left thigh. It looked very similar to a pimple. A day later the area around the dot is swollen and the center has turned purple. The area around it is pink and very sensitive but the center part does not really hurt. There is no white ring around the bit. I put a band aid over it with some triple antibiotic ointment and I noticed several hours later when i took the band aid off that there was a little drop of blood. It only hurts when in contacted with my pants or if I touch it. Any ideas?
I had 4 pinprick sized red dots in symettrical order, like a dot on each corner of a square. It then had numerous red dots trailing off in a slightly curved line. It looked like the little dipper constellation. It was on the back of my leg near my buttock. They didn’t itch, but rather hurt like a pimple. Now, a week later, the symmetry is gone, and I have sporadically located larger red bumps all over. They still hurt. Are these bites, and if so, from what? Or is it a rash? Or is it ingrown hairs? I do alot of driving, alot of sitting down.
I think I have a spider bite, but I’m not entirely sure. I have received many lately. They only hurt on rare occasions, and that is when I first notice them. Then, they start to itch… a lot. There are two holes, just the size to fit a small to medium spider. It doesn’t swell up, it is only red, and it stays there on my skin, no different then when it was at first, and then just suddenly goes away. After a while, it stops itching, but is still there. Like said, its only red, not swollen, no blister. But it never stops itching. I don’t know whether it’s an actual spider bite or not. It’s definitely not poison ivy or anything like that. I am very certain of that. I just want to make sure.
Hello,
I have a mark on my hip that I belive to be a spider bite. Normally when I get bit by a spider I swell up a lot and get a fever on the bite, because I am allergic. This however is different. I woke up with a red bite on my hip (right under the band of my sleep shorts). I thought it was odd becasue that usuallu is where a chigger of flea might go but I live in AZ now and we dont have those types of bugs. It looked like a mosquito bite when it happened. There was one head on it, and in the past four days now there are four. What d oyou think. It is itchy wiht no other side effects but I would like to know if anyone has delt with this before. Thank you!
I have a spider bite on my right hip, or I think it is a spider bite. It started about two days ago, and looked like just a pimple, then after 24 hours it was very swollen and about an inch in diameter around the original “pimple.” 48 hours later, it is about two inches in diameter and the “pimple” is about 3/8 to 1/4 inch and has a bit of a grey spot in the center – see the picture below.
I don’t know what this is, but would like to know, as it could possibly need antibiotics or an antivenom.
My name is David
I hope I can find some answers on here. I would go to the doc, but I have no insurance. I got a bite on my left thigh. It has fang like marks. I noticed my leg itching pretty bad yesterday in that area where the fang marks are. Today I noticed my thigh was burning. Like I had spilled some gasoline on it like. There is no redness or swelling, but the burning area is growing a little larger. The burning will ease up, and seams to get more intense when on my feet. It is not an unbearable burning, but I am concerned that it seams to be spreading. I live in Florida, and the only hospital I would go to is thirty miles away. I hope someone can tell me if this seems serious or not. I’m hoping my body can fight it. Any information would be very much appreciated.
To anyone reporting blackness involved with your bite, I believe that would be almost certainly a brown recluse bite. it starts as a blister possibly with a white circle; the blister tears away and reveals a depression with blue or black colors. those can be really nasty bites and you should definitely seek medical help. the wound can keep decaying until you have serious permanent scarring or maybe more serious problems like loss of limbs or nerve damage.
Also, wolf spiders can leave a black wound; they can also cause a tear in the bite area because they have extremely powerful jaws; those bites are a lot less serious than brown recluse bites.
i have a bump on the back of my neck.im not shure if its a spider bite or not.it doesnt itch.i have a little pain.and its hard.but it has gotten bigger withen a couple pof hours.
Ok… I’m not even too sure if I have a spider bite.. I don’t have a picture (sorry) but I can try describe it the best I can!!
It is BIG and swollen and RED and it doesn’t itch and it doesn’t hurt… but when I first notice it, it was maybe alittle bigger than a quarter. Now it is as big as the bottom of a plastic cup!!!!… And it has this little purple-ish dot in the middle… Can anybody tell me if I should be REALLY worried about it.. or will it just go away!!
I came down with intestinal flu-like symptoms and a fever which lasted about two miserable days, and broke early Sunday morning, which left me feeling good enough to go out for brunch. Suddenly exhausted after 3 hours, I went back to bed and immediately noticed my right calf had swelled so much it was difficult getting my leg out of my jeans. To my horror, the entire right side of my calf muscle had turned black and blue, surrounded by bright red splotches the texture of cottage cheese! Strangely, it didn’t hurt, itch, nor burn. I went to SF General Hospital the next day and saw a parade of experts, none of them could identify what had happened to me, but after a myriad of test results, here’s what I learned:
It wasn’t a spider bite, because there was no wound, no puncture marks, or openings. It wasn’t MSRA (staph infection), nor a burn, because my white cell blood count was normal. But the visual clues definitely supported all three!
My doctors said their best hunch was an allergic reaction to something I ate, which in my case was thought to be catfish. Lots of catfish come from farms, and lots of what they feed them, including hormones and polluted water, ends up in our bodies. They were more inclined to believe that my organs finally backed up with enough toxins to infect my vascular system, a condition called Vasculitis, which BTW, can also be triggered by “powder” drug use.
Some might say it wasn’t worth seeing a doctor, but don’t be fooled. It’s better knowing what your affliction is not, than to find out too late how costly ignorance can be.
I got bit by something. It started out about the size of a dime and was round. Now it is the size of a quarter and almost looks like a long narrow diamond shape. IT is hard and warm to the touch. It itches and is sore to touch. It is on my mid back left side under my bra. At first I felt like under my arm bra area was sore. Nothing now except the actual bite area. Any suggestions…
In my school window there is a spider it has gotten in the window and it i s wondering around on the floors a teenager complained a couple days ago of a bite it was big red and had a black dot in the middle she peeled what she thought was a scab and out came pus and blood. She had to go to the hospital they told her it was nothing but the bit keeps getting bigger and she went back and they noticed it was a spider bite. Can anyone tell me what kind of spider it is? It has yellow on the legs and a yellow stripe down down the back. Thank you!
I have this bite on ma left arm and I do believe that it is a spider bite. All my friends and teachers keep telling me that its a spider bite. It didn’t really bug me b4 but it broke out two days ago when I was in the shower. it’s itchy and very sore.
I did go to the doctor but he couldn’t tell me what it was and gave me a prescription but the stuff he gave I am allergic to. I dunno what it is and it is driving me insane and hurts. Some nights I cant sleep and wake myself up by scratching it causing it to bleed and open.
I have never had this before and honestly I don’t ever want another one. Could someone please tell me if they have ever seen this or have ever had this before so I can tell ma doctor what I need?
Thank you :)
one day wn my dad was coming back from the army he had this really big boil on his arm it started to hurt so he went to the doctor so they toke him in and when he was sitting their his boil popted and a bunch of little spider came out of his hand so the docter found out that a spider lied eggs in his arm!
Hello, I live in Oklahoma and got these in one night (I’ll send pictures), last night actually, they are all over both arms and on the back of my neck. I sleep with 2 kids and neither one of them have any of these marks. Please help, should I go to the doctor? They are hard, not any pus or anything, but they are hot to the touch!
Thursday I picked up the puppy, felt something bite me and assumed it was a flea, apparently not. Thursday evening I realized my arm was itching way too much for a flea bite and looked at the site. I hadn’t realized that I scratched open several of the pustules clustered in the area-looked like poison ivy really.
By Saturday morning my arm was swollen from wrist to elbow and about 2 inches wide, with major itching and redness. The foto above is day 5, still swollen a bit, still itchy, and notice all the tiny little bumps. so far, i haven’t the foggiest what type of critter bite this is, not recluse, not widow–anybody?
i think i was bite by a spider.i woke up out o my sleep. my foot felt like it was stung. it hurts but i can’t see anything. is this possible not to see anything
i think my boyfriend got bit by a spider and at night he got a severe fever which went away a short while after, but the effected area turned hard and after a while became a crater, like a hole (on his knee) this eventually healed, but i want to figure out what it was.
Too bad I don’t have a web cam. My fiance got bit by what I believe to be a spider. A couple of days ago, he squeezed what he thaught to be a pimple on his side. The next day their was a large, maybe 3 inch red area and the middle is a raised, almost black area. Today, I am freaking out because it lookes worse, definately more swollen in the center, and he doesn’t want to go to the doctor because he has no insurance. From what I have read I think he has to go so thanks for the info.
it started as a little bump with a black dot them it started gettin puffier around it, i squeezed it and blood and pus came out, same thing under my left arm
My son has been “attacked” on two separate occasions overnight. This last episode left him with four red “spots” up his neck, a cluster on his left shoulder, and a few scattered around his back. They initially look like mosquito bites, become red when agitated and then shrink when left alone. They itch him terribly. I took him to the doctor and she suggested fleas or spider bites (they are lots bigger than your typical flea bite). I always assumed that spiders bit once or twice, not a dozen times!! I have researched bed bugs, and mites and have ruled them out. I would like to get to the bottom of this to ensure he doesn’t continue to be eaten!!
I have a bownish sorta? itchy circle thing on my leg its like the size of a penny and a little reddd
I have a small bump from two days ago on my elbow and it is swollen and red around my elbow. I have tried ice and heat and soaking. It is kind of warm to the touch and getting larger. It’s now about the size of my hand. There is no fester of a postule or any kind of drainage. Is it a Bug bite? Ant bite? Sorry, I do not have a picture..
Hi there, not sure if my husband got bitten or not. It has been about 3 months since I found what appeared to be a blackhead on my husband’s shoulder. It was very hard to the touch. We decided to squeeze it out because it was pretty big. It finally started to come out and had a stringy white substance attached to it that just kept on coming, probably in length about 1 1/2 – 2 inches. It never did pus but finally put out a bloody/oily substance. It left a pretty good sized empty hole (as you could imagine). He didn’t have any pain at the time and himself didn’t even realize he had this on his shoulder. Since that happened, he has had several episodes of hot flashes,cold flashes,headaches,dizziness,weakness,trouble breathing. All of these things happen together and just periodically. Was talking to someone yesterday who’s wife is in the hospital with a terrible spider bite with similarities. He said they thought hers was a blackhead also and that several months later she is not in ICU. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Most posts on here indicate that people knew they were bit and refer to 2-3 days after symptoms. Please help. He is going to the doctor today and I have begged him to mention this to them.
My 2 yr old grandson has a mark on his stomach which I thought was a small ringworm,it is red and about 1/4 inch in diameter. My husband and I wonder now if it is a spider bite.He does play outside alot. I am putting Mupirocin 2% on it. Has anyone had a spider bite of this description? Please let me know. He doesn’t fool with it so it doesn’t appear to hurt or itch.I am watching it to make sure it does not get any larger. Thank you.
Hi, Im a concerned Mom and I need help. I have done serveral hours of resreach on spider and insect bites and cannot figure out what is biting my one year old daughter. It has Happened several times usually when shes sleeping her crib. I have killed two differnt types of spiders in there. A jumping spider and a real tiny nearly transpranet spider. After this she had no more bites. Until yesterday, she was bit while playing in her play yard. I was right there and never saw anything on her. It leaves big red circles with a white pimple in the middle. You cannot pop the pimple as it is extremely hard. These circles enlarge quite a bit, become really hot to the touch and then a rash breaks out around them. It has very fine bumps and I notice it itches. She goes crazy trying to itch them. It is also never just one bite but multiple this time its nearly 16 bites. On her arms and legs both the right and left sides. They stay for nearly two weeks then they leave light brown marks where the bites where. Any help in figuring out what is biting my little one is greatly appreicated.
I have a place on my arm witch looks alot like the first picture to the left on the first page of this web site the place on my arm has never hurt I have never got sick the only thing it does is itch really bad it is red and swelled and when I put a bandaide on it the surrounding skin gets a look as if the bandaide has burned the skin, if you could please give me an idea as to what this place could be.
I woke up and it felt like some one punched my arm really hard(in the shoulder area), when I went into my bathroom there was a small bruised circle with a pin point hole in the middle. My arm is still very painful, hurts to lift it. I didn’t see a spider.
I live in Maine and have gotten MANY bites in my garden and in my attic. The bites have 2 small holes side by side. Sometimes they result in a swollen superating wound that can take weeks/months to heal.
Sometimes, but rarely, I feel a sharp pain when the bite occurs. I got one in August on my foot that started as an itchy area; when I scratched it, the outer layer of skin, about an inch in diameter, sloughed off like a blister. Then over the next few weeks the tissue at the center of the bite died off slowly so I was left with a deep crater. It is late October now and the hole is almost filled in but there is a bruise remaining just smaller than the size of the area that sloughed.
Having been cleaning my attic recently, I have little 2 pronged marks all over my legs and arms. There is bruising beneath most of them. I never see what bites me but I’ve always assumed they were spiders because of the 2 holes.
There are many spiders in my garden which live in holes in the ground which they cover with bits of plant material. I have tried to find out whether these really are spider bites but what I find is on Brown Recluse or Black widows.
Could these be spider bites or am I seeking information in the wrong place?
I got bit yesterday afternoon on my finger tip in the yard and now my finger is swolen 2/3 of the way up as fat as my skin will stretch. Most of the swolen part is dark purple. It’s darkest around the the bite hole where it looks like something dark is stuck in there like a splinter. I also had my throat close up this am. I wasn’t sure if the sore throat was related to the bite or a coincodence.
The doctor told me to ice my finger and he put me on Predisone. Any ideas what kind of insect this could be I live in Rhode Island. The doctor asked why I didn’t bring in the dead squished bug. My guess is it was a spider. I just thought I killed it and didn’t realize until after I flicked it away that I was bit when it swelled up. The discoloration didn’t happen until this am.
hi, my name is Elisa. i woke up on friday morning extremely early, and wondered what in the world could’ve woken me up. i soon realeased that the left side of my bottom was extremely itchy. at first it felt like a zit, and was even pusing. i soon realized it was a huge bite, (i’m guessing a spider bite.) the area became very large, very firm, and extremely warm. i attempted to pop it and it pused and drew blood. honestly, it was disgusting.
a couple days later, it is still there and hurts increadably bad. the pain has even began to reach down my left thigh. i cannot even sleep on it. and in order for me to be ok with sittig at the desks at school, i have to take at least 2 i-bprofine. please help contact me with about what i need to do. i’m deathly afraid of doctors, and don’t really want anyone of the sort looking at such a private area. thank you.
~Elisa