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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Hi,
I live in southern California, and The other day, I got a Spider bite. It Itches Terribly, andhurts a bit when I scratch it. It oozed a bit of pus this morning, and my uncle says it is filled with it. I don’t know if it was a poisinous spider, so if anyone has any idea if it will do damage please tell me. If you have any questions about the bite, feel free to ask.
Thanks.
My mom was bite by a spider last night and the spot looks like a bruse. There is a bump under the skin. No pain no itching. Does anyone know what type of spider bite this could be and if it is serious???
hi At the time of the bite i was living in the desert part of california,now i did get a look at the spider, who bit me, but have yet to identify it.The description of the spider is a fire red & to my surprize it was no bigger than an ant.My main concern is my health.After the bite it swelled up,but not dramaticlly . It was a little bigger than worse case senerio mosqito bite,so i didnt think to much of it .But in a period of three years its has swelled up, on and off ,as much as it did when it first happen not mention the minor loss of pigmentation in bitten area.also the bite seems to be spreadin up my arm.Any advice,or information would be helpful….thank you for listiening
I was bitten a couple of days ago, the day after it really hurt but I only noticed after my work shift at my coffee bar but it got really swollen to where the skin on of most my back thigh was painfully tight and it was viciously red and the area around it for about 2 inches was extremely hard. I put triple-sec antibiotic ointment on it and iced it and the swelling went down and it’s not as bad today doesn’t really hurt but still hard around the area about an inch or so and red for about 3 and it oozed yellow pus (which most bad bites I get do). I’m not sure if I rolled my ankle but my heel and back tendon are sore though I think it’s a coincidence.
Last week i belive i was bit by a spider.. it has a knot and redish pinkish color….I have been putting baking soda on it and it seems to be helping but the thing is that tonight i had an of duty peramedic look at it and he said he wasnt sure what kind of spider bite it was but i need to go get it checked out.. Well theres only one peoblem to that one is that my family doc. office isnt open on weekends so i have to wait til Monday…. Dose anyone have any ideas on what i can do for it intil im able to get to a doc.?
I have three red, raised, (I think filled w/ pus) bumps, equal lenth apart on my thumb (looks like a triangle). The high, center one has a small purple dot. They are slightly tender. I noticed them yesterday, but am becoming increasingly scared after doing 2 hours of research on the web about spider bites. I live in Alabama, would someone purdy please give advice? Thank you thank you!
Bite happened on Sunday and this is how it looks on Thursday.
I live in rural Alabama and walked into a web on my front porch. A day or two later I noticed this small red spot on my abdomen that felt like a burn, very tender. Treated with Neosporin but yesterday noticed 2 lines, almost like a ring forming around it. Remembered walking into a web (suspect one of those spiders that make a zig zag in the middle of their web, common in this area). But, later thought it may have been a brown recluse as this is a camp house and I stayed there that night. Have felt bad for several days (zero energy, muscle fatigue, upset bowels, but no fever). Can you identify? I think I should see my doctor because it won’t get well.
Hi,
I woke up about 2 days ago to a bad, itching and burning pain on my foot. I put ice on it, and took some pain pills, figuring it was just a small bug bite, the next day (yesterday) I noticed that my foot had swelled and Pain lvl had increased. I am having a hard time sleeping at night, because the pain is really bad. and this morning, The swelling is worse, and the site of the bite in leaking, as well as discolored (blochie brown colored), and the pain is intense. Some One please tell me if i should go see the doctor? And also please tell me what kind of bite it is. I live in Oregon.
Hi. To be quite honest, I don’t even know if what I’m dealing with is a spider bite at all. So, right out of the gate, I want to apologize if I’m wasting your time. :) I’m from the Midwest and am currently in Oregon (a densely wooded area of it), so I’m not completely familiar with some of the kinds of spiders and insects I encounter here and I’ve been reacting in an admittedly flustered way to the massive amount of mosquitoes, ants and spiders around where I’m living. (Do I get points off if I say “ick”?) The cabin I’m staying in is just getting out of a massive overtaking by carpenter ants and I’ve found quite a few “scary” looking spiders inside the place –from small, short ones bodies to much larger ones with spindly legs (not “daddy long-legs” –although there was one of them too).
The other day I noticed a tiny, hard, red bump on my elbow that’s been painful to the touch ever since. It’s no bigger than the head of an eraser and doesn’t seem to have grown in size, but it’s quite painful. Does that even sound like a spider bite? I’ve naturally been bitten by mosquitoes plenty of times in my life (humid area of the Midwest) and I’ve been bitten by honey bees and “sweat” bees before, and by a wasp once, but those have either immediately hurt or eventually itched. I’m not familiar with a bite that only hurts after some time has gone by.
Anyway, I think I’ve sufficiently made a fool out of myself.
(Insert eye rolls at the over-dramatic bug-phobe here.) ;o)
Thanks, guys!
-Kristin
hi, quick story–
i was going to sleep to { prick } i felt sumthing sharp in my toe, i pulled up the covers to see my toe but itwas dark– so i get a light on and check it out. it appears to be …… a 2-D shep of a fang. 1 hour later im on here looking for answers. but it still seems like a full fang just a really thin one. my mark on my toe is a mere red dot from them wound and isnt a deep wound – but it still pierced the skin.
i will wait it out for now…. i guess
I have a vary large purplish black bruise, about 3ins big. With a raised hard knot in the middle. It doesn’t hurt much. The knot hurts a bit but the bruise its self doesn’t. On the knot theres two little dots which I’m assuming are the bite marks.
Yesterday morning my daughter woke up with a bite it seems like a spider bite it is red aroung and white inside, there is no pus or anything is just a big red spot with white color inside. I don’t know what kind of bite it was or even if it was a spider bite. She had this a long time ago, but on her stomach.
Any suggestions as to what it might be?
Okay, so about 2 days ago these two bites showed up on the back of my thighs. one on the left thigh one on the right. when they first showed up they just looked like little mosquito bites. 2 days later[[now]] it’s a little bump and at the top of the bump it look like a little black dot/scab. And. about a 1/2 inch around the little bump all around it theres little red dots forming a circle. any idea on what kind of spider bite this could be? should i go to the doctor? what should i do?
i moved back into my trailer after it had been parked in a field for ten months, i cleaned it really good but there was a little trap door in my room that lead to the pipes for the tub and it was not sealed very well so i think there were a lot of spiders under there. i went to bed and woke up my leg was itching, i reached back to scratch it and it felt funny, i looked and there were two little holes side by side, it was red and continued itching the rest of the day.
The next day it was really itching and i looked down and there was a long red streak going up my leg almost to the top of my leg and i knew i was getting blood poison, i couldn’t put my leg down it hurt too bad, i had five kids to care for so couldn’t go to the hospital, i am a christian so i called my friend who was a prayer warrior and she prayed for me and i went to bed and the Lord had healed it totally, the red was gone and everything, but i felt the itch for over a year, i could reach back and feel where it had been, it was weird, don’t know what bit me though, kind of curious. most spiders i think only leave one hole.
Hello! I got bitten by a spider last night right as I got into my car when I was leaving a friend’s house. We live in the metro-Boston area. Anyway, I actually thought I just had an ingrown hair and had just bumped it, but after a few minutes it began to burn like a bee sting and then faded to a dull pain/pressure in my fore-arm (where the bite was). I then turned the light on in the car and actually saw the spider on my arm rest. It was smallish no more than a half inch in diameter and white. I ended up killing it because I get freaked out by spiders to begin with. Its been over 12 hours and there is still some dull pain, but nothing serious. The bite itself just looks like a smallish sand-flea bite and there is no swelling to speak of. I’m not looking for medical advise as I feel fine otherwise, but I am curious to see if anyone may have a suggestion as to what type of spider bit me. Thanks!
It looks as if I havent been bit at all..there is just a red spot kind of pink on my leg..But there is noticable sweating.I can also feel my ankle and part of my feet going numb.
There is a raised red section on my forearm about the size of a nickel. It almost looks like a knot. The bite is yellow/white in the center. I live outside of Atlanta. Any advice would be helpful, thanks!
This is a bite I got from a spider.
My dad has three spider bites. One on the back of the head, one on his elbow, and one on his elbow. His forearm is numb and his muscle above his elbow is bacily like peraliss (spelling?!). He is woozy and sleepy and we arent sure what kind of spider bit him. We are from Ashville Ny. He was staying in a camper down by a creek. My grandpa said he killed two shiny black spiders but we arent sure if they are the same kind which bit him. If you have any information to help us please let me know. My email is rainbowvomitxxx @ aim.com.
Thank you for reading.
Please let me know asap.
I got bite by something a day or two ago. I have a bite on my wrist, two on my arm below my shoulder, one by my elbow and one on my ankle. They all started out looking like mosquito bites and the reason i think its a spider cuz i’ve found twos piders in my room since the bites happened.. the spiders were probably about the size of a nickel or so and brown.. i didn’t look at them closely. But the bites are red and seem to be getting bigger. And also in the center of each its like you can feel a tiny bump like where the initial bite happened. The itching comes and goes but when its there its a constant and it itches horribly. Could this have been from the spiders? and is it enough cause of concern to go in to the doc??
Thanks
Shaleese
Soo, yesterday my foot started itching and my foot was all red.
Well, today it’s swelling pretty bad, and my skin is stretching uncomfortably. There’s a little pain. I’m very much arachnaphobic and I’m incredibly paranoid it’s a spider bite and not a mosquito bite. I’ve never had a mosquito bite this swollen or uncomfortable. When I stretch the skin It looks like there may be two prong marks.
I’m not sure what spider it may or may not (haha) have been.
HOWEVER, lately we’ve been getting huge black spiders in our basement. HUGE. I don’t know what kind they are and I really don’t want to look it up because even seeing pictures of spiders makes me want to cry :l any help?
Hello i got bit by something and im not sure what it was. My bites are red and raised with what it looks like to be pus, look almost like a pimple. They are only on my left leg and left arm.
I woke up one morning with what appeared to be a small rash between my breasts there were up to 12 small red welps -I live in Southwest Virginia and well had a dr appt 2 in 2 days so i assumed an allergic reaction but he advised it was spider bites! There was no spider in my bed that I saw but have noticed several small black spiders(no marks on them) in house since. Very itchy the first few days now I am drying it out with cortaid at Dr.s reccomendation. Anyone have a guess at what kind of spider would bite so many times in same area in my location??
On 7/29/08 an important new treatment story was added to the lead-in article on the Spider Bite Treatment thread. If you are hunting for treatment, and read that area before this date, go back and hunt for the story from Gerald.
Yeah. so the oter day i woke up with a bump on my neck. my sister said that she thinks its a heat bump.
but now there is a kinda large red bump with a white head lookin thing in it.
im not sure what it is. or if its a spiderbite at all?
it hurts to move my neck and the pain has statred to go into my back.
im scared.
any ideas?
i have a huge spider bite what to do?
I got bit on my foot yesterday. I was wearing flip flops, and I thought ants were biting me, when I looked at it, it was a small black ball with scrawny legs. (may have been tanish) I flicked it off, and went on about my day. Today, I found myself rubbing a bump on my foot. It was the spider bite. It looks like a zit.
I thought about popping it but when I put my fingers around it,a and gave a little pressure, I felt extreme pain.
Is this something I should worry about or just, ignore it?
Hi
I am from England and I am currently in Pennsylvania as I married an American!!! I suffer soooo bad with bites, it isn’t funny. On Monday, I woke up with a 1″ diameter red, raised bleb, which quickly grew to a 5cm one within 1hour. The following day, it was the size of a medium sized honeydew melon, and it felt like an extra weight on the side of my leg. The blister that was forming in the centre (which I burst as soon as I could from past experience) was about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, pretty small for the size of the hugely swollen area. Heat radiated off it and Nothing ould calm it down.
I have had these things for 3 years when I have been over here and they are getting bigger ang worse every time. My doctor in England gives me higher strength anti-histamines and anti-biotics in preparation for the events, and only 3-4 days into them does the swelling area seem to go down. Almost always I am left with scars the sze of the blisters. I have had 7 of them this sumer (in 6 weeks) and have just awoke with a 1″ bleb on the back of my neck. Here we go again. If anyone has any idea what this is, please help me. I wish I could know what I am dealing with. Thanks
I found your site while I was trying to diagnose a bite on my leg. It is bright red and somewhat triangular in shape. It is not raised or swollen at all. It has been itching pretty bad the past couple of days (it actually woke me up in the night it was ithcing so bad), but other than that, there have been no other symptoms.
I’m pretty confident it’s a spider bite, but I’m not sure what kind of spiter caused it. My house is filled with spiders and I need to use a bug bomb. I went on a rampage the other day, sucking up all of them, along with their webs, with the vaccuum. I think this is their revenge. Seriously, it would be great if you could help me identify the kind of spider that bit me. The ones that live in my house look a lot like an hour glass. Long, cylindrical back ends and short noses. I attached some pictures of the bite.
Sam
My 3yr old daughter woke up this morning with a red circle on her thigh and it has what looks like a pimple with a black mark at the tip,It’s no bigger than a quarter.I live in las vegas so i am concerned what type of bite this may be.any idea’s?
A couple days ago I woke up and noticed that the right side of my face is swolen and I have 2 little puncture marks on my cheek. It was swolen so badly at the time that I had to pry my eye open with my fingers because it was swolen shut. At first i thought maybe I had just smacked myself in my sleep, until my boyfriend’s mom pointed out the puncture marks and I remembered we have a lot of spiders around here. I went to the hospital, but all they did was give me pain pills and antibiotics. We live next to the river in Indiana. Does anybody know what kind of spider could have bitten me and what to do to ease the ache so I can sleep? I’ve also been vomiting and have been dizzy.
well my husband got bit by what we think is a spider. upon the bit he expperinced a burning in his back up to the back of his arms. this happened on a thursday and its monday now he has 12 red bumps on his back and several on his arms, the only sypmtms were the burning itching that lasted several mins.
yesterday i got bit by a spider. right on my elbow it is swollen and u can see the 2 marks it left. it hurts when i move my arm, its throbbing so bad. i tried icing it and putting medicine on it and it still will not help. i tried maybe popping it and it will not do anything………..any help?
No matter what type of spider bite you get, I would highly advise any person to seek medical attention within 24 hrs.
Spider bites are no laughing matter. A person that is not trained to diagnose spider bites will not be able to identify the difference of a bite between a venimous or a non-venimous spider.
Please heed this warning! I am a certified EMT and I have seen several cases of this genre since being certified.
Have you ever seen a bite like this? I believe it was a small black spider, who bit me in San Francisco. I think he started at the top, and then just bit his way down (it’s about 5 inches long). It is incredibly itchy/painful (still, after almost a week).
Best,
Arakashi
My name is Tracey and I seen your website regarding spider bites.
My husband last night complained that he was nauseous, dizzy, hot, cold chills and he was literally shaking, just like flu symptoms. This morning he could barely walk, and he had swelling on his leg with a deep red circle and in severe pain.
We went to the doctor, and he said that this was possibly caused by a brown widow. He did get a prescription for the spider bite. He did state that if the area went a deeper red or black, then he was to go to the hospital immediately.
I have attached pics of my husbands leg.
I am trying to get pics of spiders that we have in our garage, they are similar to some on your website, but not 100% sure. If I get pics and then send them to you as well.
We live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is it possible for them to live here in our climate?
I have attached a pic of a spider web under our stairs. Do you know what the little balls are? Are they eggs or food that they have captured?
Hope to hear from you soon.
My mom got bit by a spider about 1-2 days ago. Then after she started scratching it, her whole foot swelled up. There is a little bite thing with peeling skin around it between her little toe and the one next to it. Someone please tell me what this is?
HI my mom just was in the pool 2 hours ago, in the shower she saw a bite 5 in long, red, blochy on the edges, that hurts, and now she is very tired. Do you guys know anything thats bite/stings like that? If you do please decribe and tell if we sould go to the doctor. Thank you.
ok, i THINK i may have been bitten by a spider. i didn’t feel anything at all. i went to put on some socks and after a few minutes i felt like i was getting a cramp… like my muscles were balling up… beneath the ball below my big toe. i took my sock off and the area was very red, with small tendrils of red traveling up my foot. there was no blister or pronounced spot. the next day, i did have a large blister in the middle of the redness. i CANNOT walk on this foot at all without severe pain. it has been three days now and it is not getting any better or any worse. the pain has not ceased at all, but it also hasn’t gotten worse. Any ideas??
Last night i noticed two small pimples on my ankle it looks like a spider bite but i popped them. Then they started to leak a clear liquid for a while. The location of the bite mark is now purple just the two holes where i got bit. nothing else. what kind of bite is it?
and dont tell me to go to the doctors please im a college student with no health insurance.
Sorry but I lost my cable to my digital camera so I can’t send a picture. Here’s my story. I woke up 2 days ago with a clear itchy bump in the v of my thumb and forefinger. Not noticing I popped it but it isn’t going away. It is small and red with a crater in the middle. It still itches and I don’t know what kind of spider it might be. I got the bite in Illinois in a corporate apartment my husband and I keep. It doesn’t look like some of the awful pictures that I see on your site but I’m concerned if I should see a doctor or let it go. It’s still really red and itchy.
I’m not there now so I can’t take the bed apart and see if there is a spider nest in the box springs but I will whenever I return. It’s freaky that I wasn’t doing anything or even reaching for anything and I got bitten.
I was bitten by something i dont exactly know what it was but its like a big red circle and it was alittle hard i have waited almost aweek now and its still red no pus no blackness just read can someone tell me what this is??? and it itches i scratch of course like an idiot, and then it hurts after that.
so i was outside today with my grandpa and on my shoulder i had what looked like a mosquito bite, well after itching and leaving it alone little red dots started to form around it what is it?
A small black spider with short hairy legs bit me on the heel while I was in bed. The area was unchanged for several days then it turned red, itched and burned terribly. My head hurt and I bacame nauseous. In my regular Dr.s’ appointment the next day my blood pressure was so high that they would not allow me to leave until the med they gave me brought it down. The bite continued to hurt, itch and spread until I repeatedly applied silica, removed and replaced it several times. The sand that stuck to the wound turned green/yellow before I removed it. I’ve had no problem since.
Bill R
Help this is the 2nd time a spider bite me in 3 months.
what spider is this?
Hi i live in Memphis Tn & think i may have been bitten by a spider.
Behind me right leg below the knee is a big raised circle with a little dark red spot on the end & what appears to be a dark bruised line going down the infected area 2 1/2 inches down. I was at best buy yesterday when i felt a small bump & started scratching it. It itched more than a misquito bite tho. now its been a day later & its a big circle.
I haven’t felt any symptoms & i’m anemic so i don’t feel any extra tiredness.
please anyone with advice post a comment
my bite was a huge well it looked like a misqeto bite and it only lasted for a day then went away into just a big red spot now it is 2 little dots from the bite a week later
my sister is 5 months pregnant with a little girl.
she recently got bit by some type of spider, but wasnt sure what kind.
she went to the doctor this morning and they were not able to identify what kind could have bitten her either.
they did say that she had an infection in her body and they gave her some antibiotics.
they are going to do an ultrasound on wednesday to make sure the baby is still ok.
although she says the baby is barely moving.
i have not seen the bite yet but she says that there are 2 blacks holes and its bruised to about the size of a fist.
she has said that there are red streaks coming from it.
this is all i know.
Well…I think I’ve been bitten by a spider. I didn’t feel anything, and I’ve no idea what I was doing when it happened. I noticed a small hole on my finger, and squeezed at it. I looked at it again about an hour later and saw a second hole, and that my finger was quite bigger than the one on the other hand. My hand is quite stiff, and there’s a bit of pain traveling up my arm.
I live in Central Pennsylvania, if that helps any.