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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I live in Alabama, and think i may have been bitten on the knee area by a spider of some sort – it has 2 small puncture marks in the center, one of which we pulled out what looked like a thin, tan colored splinter. It started off as what looked like a nickle sized round bruise nearly black and hurt when pressed down on like a bruise. It’s now the 2-3rd day and looks light-pink in the center, dark-pink and purplish around outside seems to look better but I’m not sure, about the size of a quarter, and still tender when pressed down on. I’m outside in the garden allot this time of year in shorts and have been the last week. . it would be great if you have any ideas what this might be.
Thank you – little worried in AL…
Hi! I live in Alabama. I just got bit today by something, and I’m not sure what it is. I’m not sure if it’s a spider bite or not. It looks like a little white spot behind my ear, and that’s all it is. I feel like I am getting chills occasionally, but I do not have a fever. The spot is painful. Anybody have an idea of what this is?
We live in Pinellas County Fl. My husband was walking in the yard around 11:30 pm several hours ago, & was bitten which we think may be a spider or mud wasp. In between his big toe & foot it is turning blackish blue, stings. We have iced, ibprophen, epson salt, hydrocortizone cream. thanks
I had a bite a while back. Although I cannot provide a picture, I can describe the details. I got a bite on my arm the size of a mosquito bite. However, despite it’s itchiness, it seemed closer to a spider bite. It so happens that after the itchiness slowed down to a dull irritation, it began to hurt and turn redder than normal. Then the swelling went down and the skin began to deteriorate, and this made my skin very irritated. Now that it’s healed, it has left a scar. Any idea what kind of bug left this bite?
First off, if you can capture the spider, dead or alive it will help the doctor know how to treat it. The brown recluse and the black widow are quite poisonous and if you identify them as the kind that bit you then I would advise going to the doctor ASAP (look online for photos of spiders). Also, you should always keep Benedryl on hand. It is an antihistamine and helps with allergic reactions. You can also make a paste with baking soda and water and then apply it directly to the bite. This helps draw out the venum. This works for any bite or sting. Seek medical attention if the site gets inflamed, hot, or is full of pus. There are conditions such as cellulitis and MRSA bacterial infections that look similar to spider bites. You would need antibiotics for these ASAP.
a spider bit me april 19, 2009. 5 or 6 bumps straight across from each other in a line on my elbow, and 2 on my shin,1 on my ankle. they itch la lot. i didn’t realize i had the bumps until i woke up in the morning. well i haven’ t itched at them they are growing to a quarter size pus coming out of it and like a burning sensation. its hot at the touch
We are not sure but think this may be a spider bite, there is a pocket of what looks like fat or a love handle on my skinny son’s hip. The sore is about 3 weeks old it hasn’t changed much in appearance just a little more red maybe around the scab area. He doesn’t remember the wound ever being open, was scabby right from the start. Doctor was unsure of what it is. Put him on Cephalexin 500 mg but no change. Wisconsin residence.
Molly Hoffmann
I got bit yesterday morning and I felt it bite me but didn’t see it because i freaked out. I was wearing jeans. It bit me on my left shin. It started as just a red bug-bite-looking bump about half an inch around. It did not itch, but hurt like a bruise does. Today, it hurts worse and has red around the “bite”. That redness around it is hard and is beginning to swell up. Around that is a white circle. HELP HELP HELP ME PLEASE!
im not sure what bit me but its red a different temperature to my leg and swollen there’s a small hole in the middle and there’s a purple colored ring around it i live in Australia its not very itchy but its a little bit sore can you help me?
hey i have a spider bite on my left wrist and it was a green pustual type bump and so i popped it….after i popped it it swelled up pretty bad and its red all around it…I have been bitten many times and one time broke out in tiny red bumps all over….they come back only when I use a hot tub though so i don’t know if it was a bite or allergic reaction but I don’t get it in the pool so obviously its not chlorine…but anyways if anybody has any information on what spider bit me and if i should be worried about an early brown recluse bite I live in south Dakota so you can never rule out the notorious brown recluse
I was helping my little cousin Easter egg hunt and when i got back to the house i realized that my toe is swollen then this morning i looked at it and it has two bite marks in it :(!!!!!
I live in Alabama and just the other day i found a spider crawling on my bed.Well, this morning I woke up and i had a pimple like bump on my arm and I didn’t think anything about it well later on in the day i noticed it was a brownish color in the center and i asked someone what did they think it was and they told me it looked like a mosquito bite or a spider bite and to just keep an eye on it. and now (about 3 hours later) my arm is starting to ache and I’ve been searching the internet on spider bites and i think it might be one but im not sure.. please help me :(
After work I took a shower and headed straight to bed. I woke up around two am with what felt like a splinter in the first knuckle of my right hand, a slight feverish-headache-y feel, and a dry throat. I didn’t look at it for a few hours, thinking I just had gotten a splinter at work. When I finally did look at it, I screamed! It looked just like a pimple filled with pus, only with what looked like a black stinger of some sort. I popped it quickly and both the pus and stinger are out, but the area is slightly red and the skin is sensitive almost like I have a mild sunburn. My boyfriend saw a small brown spider on the wall above my bed and killed it before I got a chance to see it. I live in Michigan, if that helps. It does not seem as serious as everyone elses’ bite, also I do not have medical insurance should I still see a doctor?
my spider bite has a little white spot in it and its very red and swollen and its where i bend my leg and im having problems walking and i dont know what to do about it. it hurts all the time and im young so i dont know and my mom doesn’t either. i just think i need some info about spider bites.
I live in Jakarta Indonesia. Last week I took a nap for about one hour from 9 to 10 pm with my right arm covering my eyes. When I woke up my right elbow was sore and over the next few hours it grew to the size of a golf ball and turned light purple. The next day I could not bend or straighten my arm, shaking hands was painful and I could not bring a drink to my mouth. For several days after that I had trouble sleeping and experienced pain in the biceps leading to my shoulder as well as extreme sensitivity anywhere near my elbow.
My elbow is still swollen today and a friend who looked at it said he thought it was a spider bite. I had been thinking it was gout, but remained puzzled over why it would appear at that time, in that place, not go away after 3-4 days, and would also cause muscle pain. I occasionally have had gout in my toe if I injure it but never in my elbow though I did once injure this elbow joint during sports about 13 years ago. Could this be a spider bite?
I sent a photo taken from my phone’s camera, but if needed I can take a photo with a good camera later.
I noticed a red, slightly irritating bump on my right hip area one morning about 5 or 6 days ago. It has since grown a little bit and become black and hard, with an outer red ring. It is painful to apply pressure to it. I’m not even sure that it is a bite, but if it matches a bite description, I’d appreciate feedback. Thank you.
I Think i got bit by a spider yet i am unsure this is the picture of the area it itches and burns and is very hot to the touch HELP!
Hola!me llamo frank yo vivo en manteca,california. un dia amaneci con una de mis piernas con algo parecido a un barrito pero grande me dolia mucho y al rededor estaba rojo no me siento enfermo pero duele mucho,busque en el internet hasta encontrar imagenes iguales a lo de mi pierna y me di cuenta que es una arania,que me mordio mientras yo dormia, yo recomiendo que se laven ,expriman bien pero es doloroso y que apliquen algun antibiotico,revisen debajo de sus camas, su ropa,calzado y muebles da mucha comeson,se sienten punzadas y duele demasiado.
i have a red spot it was small at first and then the next day got bigger. It was really swollen and it was on my butt so it hurt to sit i felt dizzy the last couple days not hungry very tired .. i applied heat some pus came out second day.. third day had big red ring around it like a target still hurts but not quite as bad. Is this a black widow bite my house had quite a few when i moved in… we thought we got rid of them.. i live in southern California
Hi umm i woke up this morning and i had pain in my thigh so i looked and i found a Small red circle that was kinda swollen with 2 holes on top of the red area so later on it stated to irritate me so i tried to pop it to see if i could relive the pressure but all that came out was a yellow watery substance and blood so i called my mom to see if she had any ideas and she said it was probably nothing but now its the size of a nickle and hurts really bad and the skin around it is hard so i live in upper west Ohio so if you have any information on it it’s a spider bite or not and if it is then could you tell me what spider it is.
-Kenzy
Raccine or number four post
i have something that sounds exactly like whatever you have, if you have found out what it was, please help me. However i recently went up to Pennsylvania, the location is a big difference but spiders are everywhere.
I tried to pop the red bump on my leg too and its in a lot of pain and has a bump inside with two or three little marks on top and its on my upper thigh, if that helps.
I cannot stress to ALL of you just how dangerous it is to ‘wait out’ a spider bite. I’ll give you an example of something that almost killed my husband.
My husband was at work one day and felt himself get bit by a spider (no idea which type?) on his leg, near the knee. OK, he developed a lump within a couple of days, redness, then it devolped a head. It also became warm. His leg became so swollen that when he took his jeans off they left seam marks on his leg. This all was progressing very quickly. I took my hubby to the urgent care where they lanced it and put him on antibiotics. When they lanced it so much pus came out that the doctor was shocked and said that he had never seen so much!
Long story short, his knee never healed and he also began to devolop new bumps exatly like the one he already had. Every time we went back to urgent care for help. Not once did they do a culture. This went on for weeks and eventually I took him to the ER. They pretty much did the same thing as the urgent care, and again no culture. This went on for almost 6 months.
He had his regular appt. with his own doctor for his twice a year checkup and showed this to his doctor. (BTW, he had also began to develop them on his neck! They were all over his body at different times) One look by his doctor and he freaked, the doctor did. He sent my hubby to an Infectious Disease Specialist straight from his office. A culture was taken and my husband was diagnosed with MRSA! He was put on heavy duty antibiotics immediately and taken off of work. He’s diabetic and also has a heart valve disorder. MRSA could have caused him to develop pericarditis at any time and killed him within hours. My husband had gone systemic many times but we thought the urgent care and ER knew what they were doing. With his heart valve disorder this was especially dangerous, plus he could have spread it to me at any time, and I have an auti-immune disorder! I don’t know how I didn’t get it, we are married if you know what I mean.
MRSA can develop at any time once the skin has been punctured. We all carry staph on our skin and when it gets pushed in by a bite, it’s the luck of the draw. Luckly after 2 seperate rounds of heavy duty anibiotics my husband finally got this horrible infection from his system. But he could have died at any time and we were clueless.
Years ago after my husband and I were first married my teenage stepdaughter was bitten on the finger by something, we never knew. Her mother had taken her to the doctor because it was red, swollen, and full of pus. She was given antibiotics. After about 5 days she got up one morning and showed me her arm, which had red streaks going all the way up. I called our doctor and he told me to rush her to the ER immediately.
As soon as we got there he was waiting for us and took in her in immediately. He put her on an antibiotic IV and lanced her finger. She had developed blood poisoning!
Please, do NOT wait to see what will happen once symptons begin. MRSA is at an epidemic level at this point. And blood poisoning is a very real possibility also. I can’t stress enough how dangerous this could be. I hope my story will help someone to get to the right type of doctor right away and help to keep them from many of the terrible things that can happen. Also, if you go to the ER or an Urgent Care, make sure they take a culture and look for MRSA. Ask them for this and don’t take no for an answer.
i have i black dot on my chest and it surrounded by bruising [ yellow and black ]. i went to go lay down and it started bleeding. [ LOTS OF BLOOD ].. and i drained all the blood out of it and know i have this hole the size of a pencil lead tip. I don’t understand. I have had this bruising for a week now and it just decided to blow now… I am really concerned.
Hello everyone… I wanted to chime in to say that some of your descriptions do not sound like spider bites. Research MRSA. I had this last year and thought it was a mosquito bite to begin with but when it became inflamed and red, hot to the touch, and extremely painful, I ran to the doctor. Sure enough, MRSA. MRSA is quite often misdiagnosed, most often as a spider bite. Suggest this to your doctor and get tested for it! They can appear by themselves or spread to other parts of your body, and can infect the bloodstream. IT IS SERIOUS. Thanks, and good luck.
Located in SW Idaho. Woke up with this one today, Dermatologist suspects spider bite and prescribed keflex and topical steoroid. It burns, is not itchy, slight nausea and elbow on that arm is tender. Rather than take the keflex I would wait and see what develops but I have to leave tomorrow on a week-long trip without great access to medicine, so I guess the antibiotic is needed in case of infection.
Others have posted similar clear blisters surrounded by red area and livid ring around the reddened part. It would be great if someone could tell me what the pattern of progression of this wound is likely to be.
Thank you for the great site!
Megan
I was bitten by a spider and it is as big as a life saver mint. Tomorrow later it had a black line in it so I scraped it off, and now it is swelling and hurting. So I went to the doctor and he said it is very very bad. So I went home and took care of it the best I can and before you know it, it starts to bleed like crazy! This bite is on my forearm and I can barely feel the area it’s around anymore. I saw a sneak peek of it. It was I think brown and it was on my bananas. Don’t ask why. There is tons of them in my house! So I’m eating bananas anymore. Does anyone have any idea of what this spider is and what I should do about this bite? It hurts so much.
my dog got bit not to long ago and not shure wat bit her still worried
About a week and a half ago, I went down to my jacuzzi and returned home with a very large bruise forming. Over the next few days, it grew a little bit more. It was about 3 or so inches long and just about as wide. The center was very red, and the outside was an extremely dark green with several dark red or purple spots throughout it. There is a lump under my skin in the center (tissue necrosis?) that is an oval shape and about the size of a dime or nickel. The bruise is finally starting to fade, but the lump will not go away and is still a little painful to press. I live in Southern California. Please let me know if you have any information on what this might be from. Thank you!
“My bite”
I was in Colorado (Denver area) visiting my Aunt and was doing yard work and going through things and cleaning. Never saw a spider or nothing …but I think I was bit in my sleep I woke up and noticed my butt cheek hurt and was really hot i itched the spot and the skin fell off and into a hole and the hole turned black and was still hot and hurt……also had the flu.. not sure if this went with it or I had just got the flu but was out for like 5 days vomiting and what not but like I said I could have just had the flu……Thank you this pic was off my phone and doesn’t really show the inside was black. Thank you
I have a cluster of blisters, approx.1″ x 1/2″ on my middle thigh. I noticed it yesterday, but never remember feeling any bites or stings. It is slightly sore to touch. Since yesterday there has developed reddness around it, apprx. a half dollar size. Does this sound like a spider bite??
Hi all, just posting this g/p. Hope maybe someone has more answers than myself, or hoping this helps someone else. I know how not knowing can really effect your mental state. I was bitten on the upper part of the outside of my arm bout 9p.m. Wednesday night. The red that surrounds it is cellulitis, it has progressively gotten bigger. Within a week, Monday it is the size of a baseball. It is swollen, very sore, red and has lots of pus. I know that this is the sign of a staph infection. I like to think that it is not the worst form of a staph, and that would be mrsa. i know staph infections are contagious, but don’t know what strain and to what degree. I have two small children, and am very concerned for their well being.
If you are like myself and havnt went to the doctors here is some pretty concrete information as to what to do to remedy this kind of bite.
I was informed that if you think it will just go away, your wrong it won’t. You may need to go to a hospital to have it drained and dressed. I have not done this myself, but am wondering westher i should or not. I am hoping that what I am doing currently well be enough to cure this.
You need to be taken antibiotics, I have been taken Bactrium which is prescribed for mrsa. It should be covered with a dressing and cleaned and changed about three times a day. The best thing to clean a staph infection, and more than likely if you have any of the symptoms i noted above, you have a staph infection, as to what strain, you would have to see a dr. to know that for sure. You should clean it with chlorhexidine, rinse that off with a saline water, and cover that up with sterile gauze. It is imperative to wash your hands with soap and water, before and after changing the dressing.
I have been using Lysol everywhere in my house. Like I said, I am extremely concerned for my two boys and their chances of contracting something from my arm.
I am posting a picture of my wound, it’s as of day 6. Hoping someone might know more than myself as far as contagiousness and anything else that might help.
Wishing all the best
N
I am a 47 year old healthy male. I went to bed two nights back and woke up with two bumps on the back of my right leg near the top of my leg.
There is an associated pain with the two bumps and there are small infected areas that are materializing. I went to a doctor and he advised me that I had Shingles. The only thing that is confusing me, is that I don’t believe I live under much stress, I don’t believe I have an underlying medical condition, as I feel good, sleep well etc.
These two bumps showed up over night and I do live in a house that has many spiders. Can someone tell me if this is a classic shot of shingles or could this be in fact two spider bites, happening on the same night, most likely by the same spider.
about 30 minutes ago i realized that there were two red pin sized dots about 1cm apart on my right wrist whilst cleaning the garage and am worried that it is a spider bite. i did not see it…i don’t feel any pain …please help. if it is a spider bite could u please help me identify it.
yes i was sleeping on friday…just recently and i found out after third period on school i had an ace on my leg… i didnt know what it was and i didnt mind to check i thought maybe i just bruised something…i didnt wake up at all in the middle of the night from a spider bite pain..but then when i got home i check too see if there were anything wrong it looked like a spider bite….i boiled a sewing needle and popped it it wasn’t swollen just like a bubble.. i popped it and blood and some white stuff came out i squeeze in all directions the next day it started to swollen and it is very acey i can barley put on a pair of pants.. it hurts so bad..
I have a bruise that is the size of a nickle on my lower arm. It is round and purple with white in the middle. No visible bite marks. You can feel a small knot in the middle. It does not hurt, just feels like an old wound. A friend thinks it’s a spider bite. I have no idea? I don’t remember getting hurt.
I got bit a few days ago. I don’t know what kind of spide it was or even if it was one cause from the get go i couldn’t find the puncture holes. the wound is the size of a half dollar, hard, warm and raises a bit off the skin. plus it is red. i am in oregon but i got it the day i came here from washington so it could have happened on the train ride here. just curious. it doesn’t seem serious.
Hello
I live in Australia. I’ve been bitten by something but have never seen what has bit me. I’ve been bitten by this unknown insect at least 20 times in a year. If anyone could tell me what insect bit me I would appreciate it.
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I am 18. I live in Florida. I got bit by a spider. Im not sure when but i think it was on Saturday morning today is Monday. I have two small puncture holes on the lower part of my thumb. It doesn’t hurt, not swelling or anything its a little red around the bite marks and thats it. I’m not sure what kind of spider it was but I was on a cruise when I noticed them. I was in the Bahamas, any help?
Message back to black_arabian103190@ yahoo.com
I live in Nebraska. This morning when i woke up my elbow area was sore, there was a swollen area about the size of a nickel, and there was an obvious center, but I can’t tell if there’s any puncture marks. By the end of the day (now) it’s bruised, red, It’s hot to touch and itchy, but not terribly. It’s still sore and at this point its slightly bigger then a dollar coin. It also feels hard. Please help! I don’t know if I should see a doctor, and the fact that I live in a part of Nebraska that inhabits the brown recluse, well scares the crap out of me.
Hello,
I’d been bit by something three days ago and I am starting to get worry because the inflammation is getting bigger, it’s hot by the touch and I can see two little bit marks…I went thru your website and I am wondering if you know what it it??? Do I need to go to the hospital???
Thank you for your help,
Lily
I Live in Massachusetts, I’ve seen a dark/red spider in my wood pile. The body & legs resembles that of a black widow but have not seen the bright red hourglass. They live in an erratic web.For the first time found one in the house. I have a new born baby and want to make sure this is not I should be concerned with. I have a photo (a little blury) but need an e-mail address.
I live in Cary, NC and Sat. morning I woke up with 6 bites on my side. They are spread apart and pink. The pain is getting more and more severe as the days go by. My whole side is sore, like a burning sensation and then I get these striking “jabbing”‘ pains that go directly to the bite. Everything I am reading says a spider bite has a red bullet around it, but these do not show any signs of pimpling or redness around the bite. Just the pink sores. I have been extremely tired and sleeping all the time since Sunday. Is this a spider or some sort of bug?
Well i slept in a hotel maybe a week ago and i had shorts on after showering i laid in bed. i checked out the next morning noticing a pimple like bump on my upper right buttocks i put some alcohol on it then it got bigger started to itch and very sore. i couldn’t lay on it i laid on my left side or on my stomach. i cleansed it 3 times a day took so pain killers and some antibiotics.
I’ve been with high fever for a week every night now can’t eat anything but drink fluids. sleep all day and take sleeping tablets so i can forget about the pain. i have and the little hole began to open the next couple of days i cleansed it more i would go in the bathroom and touch it and a tomato paste color and fluid began to drain so the next two days i kept cleansing more tomato fluid drained then tonight i cleansed it and took a shower and i went to the bathroom to check it out and it was a whitish looking marble where the hole was i squeezed and it came out on the gauze i saved it so i can take it to the doctors office. but as soon as i removed it i felt a huge amount of weight removed like the sickness was that egg looking thing.
So i know it was the bed sheets at the hotel i will never stay at a comfort inn anymore. in Arizona on east apache rd. Now i have a gauze pad covering the hole on my buttocks the size of a pea. well i hope this helps and thanks for listening to my spider or whatever bit it was.
Hi I’m from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and I have a bunch of spider bites that I can’t identify.
I work in food service and wear gloves at work. The gloves are stored hanging on a wall in the back so I just put them on and started preparing food. All of a sudden my hand was swelling and burning so I took off my gloves and washed my hands to realize a bunch of painful swollen bumps. I guess a spider got stuck inside my gloveagainst my hand and bit me. Now the next day I count 7 bumps with 2 pinpricks (little bite marks like a mosquito) on each bump down my pinkie fingerand 3 bumps with 2 pinpricks on my ring finger and one large one on the top of my hand. They are very itchy but very painful to touch. My whole arm itches but it focuses on my fingers most. My pinkie finger is swollen so much that it doesn’t bend and the skin is pale/glassy and stretched but the bumps are reddened. I’ve tried benadryl cream and benadryl pills since it is an antihystamine but I get little relief. I thought they might help since I’m allergic to mosquito and ant bites/stings but it isn’t helping with this.
Is this spider bites from a spider getting trapped in my glove or what could have bitten me? What type of spider would this be? The pinpricks (I guess like fang marks) are all in pairs of 2 at about 1/8 of an inch appart and there are 7 sets of these in a line about 2 inches long, a set of 3 all within 1/2 an inch and on by itself.
Please help I am so itchy in it hurts/burns enough that I can’t sleep!
Jamie,
I hope you went to a doctor. Those bites look like what my wife had and they turned into some very nasty boils that went through all three layers of her skin down to the muscle. We think they were caused by a spider bite that she did not even feel happen. She put on a night gown that had been hanging in the closet for a few months and within minutes her leg was on fire. the doctor thinks a spider was hiding in the night gown.
If they look like they are continuing to deepen get to a doctor and get treatment right away.
They can be as deadly as necrotizing fasciitis and will leave permanent scars. Having an open sore that goes through all three layers of your skin can also lead to actual necrotizing fasciitis because of the exposure of lower tissue. The sooner you get treatment the smaller the scarring will be and the less pain you will have to suffer.
My wife suffered terribly with burning lancinating pain down her leg for weeks.
All of you just need to go to the doctor. “I got bit by a spider yesterday and now it’s so swollen I cant even put weight on my leg. What should I do?”
DUR!!!! lol get to a doc before that bad dog falls off.
racine, that sounds like it could possibly be a brown recluse bite, if so, you need to seek immediate medical attention. I was just reading about them, and the longer you wait, the worse the tissue damage( if it is a recluse bite.) I’m not an expert, but I would have that checked and not wait. good luck!
I have the same bite as #2, if u have any info please let me know. My whole body is aching and i have a loss of appetite.
i have one spider bite under my left arm from a jumping spider.
Hi – geez…. I think i got bit by a spider carrying in firewood from the back yard. I stacked it up along my left arm, didn’t feel anything but the next morning i had a swollen area on the left side of the back of my neck and on my left cheek – I thought they were ingrown hairs but the are hot to the touch and very hard underneath the skin. They looked like they were getting a head so my wife tried to sqeeze the one on the back of my neck i couldn’t reach. Some pus came out but after reading all of the posts i think squeezing it want NOT the right thing to do. I took some Benadryl like the others did but wondered if I should go see a doctor? the one on my neck is very sore.. it’s been 3 days..Thoughts???? I’ll send a photo.
Thanks for any advice you can give.
Jamie