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!
Have pictures and a story you would like to share? We would happily review and display them if you upload them here.
Would you like to see our collection of spider bite photos?
I received some sort of bug bite on my toe a few weeks ago- it is about the size of a pinky finger nail, hard, and has a dark spot in the center. It is extremely itchy, and has not reduced in size. Does this sound familiar to anybody?
About 1 week ago my twin girls had what appears to be mosquito bites. Now, 2 weeks later, more bites are visible and all the bite marks have 2 little “fang like” spots. The skin is a little red, very little pus if any at all, not irritating my daughter, no fever, nothing is different with my girls, but the bite marks are obviously not from mosquitoes.
Their room and beds are clean, we clean them daily and wash sheets on a weekly basis or more (have been doing this for years, not just because of the bites).
Any suggestions as to what is biting them? We are using cortizone cream daily with no reactions.
Thanks,
Michael
Very interesting site.
I wanted to ask about an insect bite (I think) that I received almost two years ago. I believe it was early August…
I was living in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, at the time. I woke up and discovered a small bump, about the size of a mosquito bite, on my side, just above my waist. There was no itching, discolouration or discomfort associated with it. I prodded the bump with my fingers a little and squeezed it but then left it. I later noticed that the bump had grown in size to about 1.5 inches in diameter and was raised about 1/4 of an inch and had turned a deep purple colour. Later still there was a red circle that surrounded the bump to a diameter of about 4 inches. The redness around the bump and the swelling subsided after a few days but where the swelling was, there remained a deep purple bruise, the same size as the welt, for months (maybe six) afterward. There was never any itching or pain, that I can remember, associated with the bite. Some time after the bruise disappeared, I noticed the same initial little bump, in exactly the same place, but nothing came of it. I don’t think I prodded it the second time.
At the time I had discovered a few small (maybe 1/2 inch) light brown spiders in my bedroom. Twice I saw that they descended from the ceiling. They had an elongated abdomen rather that a round or bulbous one.
I would just like to know what it was that got me?
While taking a pile of old phone books to the trash last night my boyfriend felt he got bit. At first it was a diamond shaped reddish area about an inch by inch1/2. This morning it looked like a very small pimple that came to a head. After reading the horror story of staph infection I was wondering if there was any way it could be just a typical bug bite, and if so what bug bite looks like a pimple? We live in Arizona, where I think we have brown recluse but do not know what else. Please let me know!!
My daughter was bitten, I think, by a spider at a swim meet on Thursday while playing in some sand. The next morning (Friday) she said she had a bite and it was very small and just red. This picture was taken Friday afternoon at 3pm. By bedtime the circumference was about an inch and a half and by the next day, it was red and swollen with a 2 inch circumference and a blister in the center with a black spot. we have just been watching it as she had another meet on Saturday. Today, you can still see the 2 inch border but it is very faint with a 1/2 inch diameter red, hot, and firm bump with a black center and clearly some pus under that. Any ideas on what bit her?
On 7/25/09 around 5pm I had a throbbing/sharp pain starting from under my right arm going all the way down to my right hand. I looked under my arm and noticed a round red bite mark. The throbbing lasted about 3 hours and was followed by a slight headache. The next day I forgot what my debit card pin number was, which I had been using for the last 4 months and both knees almost gave out on me when I was shopping. More red blister looking bumps keep appearing around the initial bite mark.
I have no idea what bit me. Also tonight I killed a spider that looked similar to a hobo spider or a desert recluse in my apartment. It charged at me three times before I was finally able to kill it (all that was left were pieces of the spider).
I live in Hemet, CA.
Thank you,
Jen Wolfe
May 15th 2009 I was bitten during the night by a yellow sack spider. It felt like the sting of a hornet, pain shot from the tip of my little finger to the elbow. I identified the spider in the light before I squashed it. Luckily I had Rescue Remedy spray close at hand and used that about every 15 minutes until the pain subsided. After that I applied it about every hour when it began to hurt. After that it was 4-5 times daily. I never developed an open crater, although it was tender for more than a month. I feel really fortunate after seeing all the damage that can be done. I just wanted to tell people this worked for me, and it will probablyl work for them too. Yellow Sack Spiders are nocturnal. Many suspected bites are due to them. Their venom is both cytotoxic and neurotoxic.
This is the last of 14 bites I got all in one night in MA. I live in CA, so I’m not familiar with MA spiders n bugs. But it was rainy and humid on July 3, and I did see mosquitoes and fireflies. All the other bites have healed up nicely, except one that still has a scab.
This bite looked and acted exactly like all the others. First it was a bump that itched. A welt developed, with redness all around, some bites having a red welt up to 3″ in diameter, and that eventually subsided. Then a scab formed and I must have scratched it off. There was new skin under the scab, but it hadn’t finished healing. It looked like a small scarred area for awhile. Then this began.
A nodule under the skin (I guess it was always there), began turning red as it pressed toward the surface of the skin. It looks like a blood blister now. It still itches, and there is redness all around.
It’s almost a month after the bite occurred. What bit me? Mosquito bites heal faster than this, don’t they?
I was bitten Sat. in the afternoon while ridding my dirt bike in the woods. I was ridding along and it felt like some one was putting out a cigarette on my stomach. I didnt see what bit me but there was a small red circle with swelling at the bite. With a red kidney shaped circle around the bite that was about 2 inches in diameter. The swelling has gone down and now there is a pus looking pocket with a red circle around it. There is no pain now 2 days later. The thing that has me worried is that where the swelling was it looks slightly bruised, but doesnt hurt to the touch or any thing like that…Does anyone know what might have bit me or should I be worried…
Thanks for the comments
I have been bitten from what possibly maybe a large spider. It looks like a daddy long legs. but it was brown body and black spots around it and had long legs. please advise on type of spider. The spider bite is swollen and red it was like that for two days. and i scratched it stupidly thinking it was a mosquito bite, i scratched it open and pus/venom came out. its been red on the area now for a day since i scratched it open. my e-mail is b3lsifer@ gmail.com
My nine year old has been bitten by something on her lower right leg close to her ankle. I seen the pictures on your web and do not see anything like hers. It is swollen, not around the bite but like her ankle and the area around the bite. I guess you can say her leg is swollen. It is red and itches. That is her only symptom. She does not have fever, nor is it painful or stopping her from doing what nine year old’s do, play. There are 3 bite marks? and the redness than the color of the skin is white and a circle than the redness comes in again after that. Being she is not having any symptoms, should I take her to the Dr. or could it be mosquito bites that have been itched to much?
I have two spider bites, they are both on my forearm they both small and have a red surrounding with white pus in the middle. We fear its the brown spider but we don’t live in those parts of America its southern America and Mexico please help…
i woke up yesterday, and i have 2 fang marks with little black dots in the center of the marks and i don’t know if its a spider bite or if its just allergies. please reply to razenle@y ahoo.com. Thank you.
My 4 year old daughter has what seems to be a spider bite on her left ankle. At first it was just really swollen and she said it hurt really bad. But a few hours later it looked like a blister (or spider bite) developed on the back of her ankle. I dont know what kind of bite this is. what should i do?! Shes been to the dr but to be honest he was pretty useless. Her ankle is REALLY swollen, warm to the touch, and painful.
Hi I live in Georgia. A couple of days ago I was camping with my dad for 1 day, after we came back I noticed a swelled up area on my far left side of my stomach and a couple days later it is about the size of a penny with a green tiny middle with black inside the green and surrounding the green is all red like under meat or something. Then my skin around the swelled circle has began to peel off! It’s gotton worse and I’ve told my family and my grandma’s a nurse, and she doesn’t even know what it is! I looked on all kinds of websites under spider bite pics, spiders, and insects, insect bites, and boils and everything! PLEASE HELP I MIGHT BE IN DANGER!
i have a white bite( it is only white on the tippy top) and we think it is from a spider and right under my bum and it is swelling a bit… and red all around
i recently woke up and noticed a blood drip on my face (left side) and proceeded to wipe it off. i noticed two very tiny holes and a rectangular redness iminating from from the punctures of about 1/16″.
i’ve since developed a very a sore jaw on my left side and vertigo only on my left side. could these bites have caused my recent maladies?
hello. i was wondering if u could please inform my on the type of spiders that bite that would live in upstate New York. my 2 1/2 yr old was bitten by something yesterday, at first it appeared to me a mosquito but today it got red, swollen and hard with a white center. although i’m bringing her to the doctor first thing in the morning, i was wondering if there is a certain type i should be on the look out for. any info. would be great. thank you.
Monday through Wednesday we were canoeing in southeastern Missouri. Tuesday morning I noticed a red blotch on my upper leg and since I am prone to allergies assumed it would go away. The next day though it was still there and I noticed it had a small grape like cluster thing in the middle of it which struck me as odd. Its not really any particular shape and it itches pretty bad. My mom said its a spider bite but I’d like to know which kind and haven’t found anything useful so if someone could help I’d appreciate it!
i have a bite its red, swollen warm to the touch and has a brown head. it hurts alot when i touch it or sit down its starting to numb. what is it can you help me im only 14.
I was recently bit – it was three bites in a row while I slept sitting up on my couch. My reaction was fairly involved – extreme blistering, deep red area, swelling of my arm that progressed each day. I was fortunate – I took motrin, bendryl & used neosporin directly on bites (I opened blisters to be sure medicine hit bites). A doctor I saw after the worse was over said the three bites in a row were characteristic of the brown recluse – ? I live in urban city in new jersey – what could it be? I just got another bite and want to know what I’m dealing with.
I too have been bitte by something. Pretty svere symptoms but no necrosis, thank goodness. Right, Doctors only prescribe massive antibiotics and steroids. Nothing to reduce venom. Plantan (crushed or juiced) poultice works phenominally well. Change often until better…and Echinacea internally gets venom out. Native Americans used both for spider and snake bites with good results. Catch it early if possible. Platain has been known to save lives when used for venomous bites. Good luck!!!
Hi, I live in Tucson, AZ. Last night I was visiting my dad’s house in the foothills, and as I was leaving to get in my car I felt something bite me. I didn’t really say or do anything at the time. I figured it was a flying insect, because I only felt the bite (it felt like a small rodent bit me or something), but nothing moving on my foot or scampering off.
Today when I woke up I noticed there were two little marks (top of my foot) like fang bites where I had felt the bite, but it was not itchy or swollen. However, the bottom of my foot felt very weird, and has felt persistently throughout the day. It feels sort of numb and painful, uncomfortable to walk on, and I feel a little malaise in my whole body – in my joints especially they feel strange. There is no visible swelling or redness.
When I was a toddler I did have a nasty encounter with a spider I thought was a ladybug and therefore cupped in my hands and was bitten 30-40 times. I was taken to the hospital and was fine but they did say I would probably be allergic to spider bites for the rest of my life. So, does this seem more like a mild allergic response or venom?
my mom is freaking out. I live in florida and we had been outside around the grill at around 8 pm and the next morning i noticed a swollen bump filled with pus on my knee. I told my mom it was a pimpil , but she wont listen. it hurts when i touch it, but no serious swelling or redness.
I’ve been getting multiple spider bites since the begining of the year. They itch horribly and are leaking and amber colored fluid. If I scratch them the scab brakes and they turn white. Most of them have faded but I recently got 2 new ones. One is not round. But it’s shaped like a lowercase q and about the size of he old snapple bottle caps (the ones that are made of aluminum and have weird facts on them) the other is about the size of a 50 cent coin. Please help me. If you need pictures just ask me through e-mail
i live in pennsylvania and im pretty sure i got bit by a spider on the back of my leg.its red in the middle and is turning purple around the outside.it itches like crazy and its getting swollen.can somebody help me!
i live in southwest virginia not particularly a wooded area but, yesterday i was talking to the neighbor and i felt this horrible feeling in my upper calf on the inside of the leg… i swatted and it was latched on so well the first time didnt get it off… i dont believe it was a bee because instead of flying around me it had been crawling up my leg…a few minuets into the bite i got a raised skin (not like a typical bee sting) and it had spirals off of the circle-ish form… the redness and white went away shortly after… but the bite mark was left as a reaise white prick looking bump… i slept thinking its just a sting… but waking up this morning the swelling has spread to about 3-4 inches of raised red hard skin with the center of a brown dot… it is not itchy…. but painful hard area… if anyone has any advice please let me know!!!!! thank you
Hi I went camping the other day with a friend and I wore jeans the whole time we were camping, so I know for sure that it could not be a mosquito bite. The spider bite is red, itchy, and hot. At first I thought that it was a mosquito bite but as I said I was wearing jeans. I looked closely at the bite and I noticed small holes next to the bite, they are small but I have never seen anything like it before. If anyone has any information about what type of spider this may be I’d appreciate it a lot. Thanks.
hi,
i live in georgia, on the westside of atlanta. and about 2 weeks ago i got bit but it didnt hurt that bad. so i just thought it was a ant. well about 3 days later my boyfriend popped it, thinkin it was a pimple. it pused out and that was it, just a normal scab for a couple days. i did see the red line ya’ll talk about, but mine went away. now it is swollen about the size of a quarter, the area around the black scab is hard and red, green and looks like it has little “arms” spreading from the whole thing. it itches like crazy and nothing i put on it will make it quit or go away. any ideas??
I was camping the night before last up in Hemlock Valley just outside Mission BC and Tuesday morning I was standing by the fire when I felt a sharp pain behind my knee. I was given a plantain leaf to chew up and put on it which took the swelling down within 5 minutes and lasted until this morning (Wendsday). Now the bite is the size of a toonie around but fairly flat and has a white bump in the center. It hurts more than it itches so I haven’t been scratching it but it’s growing quite fast. I have mosquito bites right now also and they look nothing alike so I know it’s not that. Does anyone have any idea what it might be and what I can do to ease the pain? I’d appreciate some feedback, thanks for your time.
On my leg a have a bite that almost looks like a pimple with a red circle outline bout the size of a nickel. i don’t really know what it is but a would like your help as to what it could be…
Thanks,
sarah
My 18 mo. old son was bitten yesterday on his leg while he was playiong in the yard, by what I don’t know. You can see two little holes not even 1/4 of an inch apart and today there is an area about the size of a nickle that is red and swollen and bumpy. I’m taking him to the dr.s today but I would like to know what bit him so I could look out for it in the future. we live in Middle TN and I am new to the area so I’m not sure what type of spiders to look out for here.
Thanks
To all who have posted, I highly recommend that you either go to the doctor immediately or go to the hospital, especially you Chelsea & Amanda. The longer you wait, the more severe your symptoms will become. You’re endangering your life by prolonging medical attention. Please seek out medical attention.
I live in Georgia and about a month ago I got some type of bug/spider bite (no clue what it was because I woke up with it) on my breast–they were two small bites very close together. It was very red but didn’t hurt. My best friend joked it looked like a “third nipple” (ha…) but now it has turned purple and is not going away and this morning in the shower it bled a little bit and I’m just getting paranoid because I don’t know what it is or what I should do. It’s not itchy and it doesn’t hurt when I press on it. I am starting to worry that maybe something bad is going to happen.
Hi there! My name is Lisa. I live in Salem, Oregon. I woke up this morning with a spider bite on my face. I have had atleast 5 bites before that look very much like this one. It is round. It is about the size of a quarter. It has like a circle of 5 little bumps inside the red area. I found the bite this morning and I took a picture of it tonight after finding this cool spider spot!
It is puffy and itchy.
I have had about 5 other bites in the last 10 years that look just like this one. They seamed to get bigger over a few days and scab over. Not a good look.
I want to thank you for this wonderful site and your time.
Lisa
I awoke with a small irratation on my neck..maybe the size of a mosquito bite but over the course of the day the itchiness and size and redness of this area increased. The redness seems to be traveling up my neck near my vein in my neck, the area is becoming very hard like an old scar, I’ve got a low grade temp but other than that I feel fine. The itching is horrendous! I’ve used hydracortizone cream, benadryl cream, calamine lotion, topical lidocaine and nothing is helping and it keeps spreading up my neck..Maybe you can solve my mystery and I hope it’s not to late!
Thanks for your time,
Joanne
Would a spider bite cause someones entire body to ache? i am not sure whether i was bit, but i did sleep outside and the very next day my entire body ached. each individual joint is incredibly stiff and very painful. in the mornings i can barely walk because the bottom of my feet are swollen and incredibly sore. each knuckle on my hands hurt, my elbows, neck, back, knees, toes, and even hip hurts. spider bite is my only theory….is it even possible?
Hi, I was bite by a spider 2 days ago and I’m very worried about. I live in Maryland and have no knowledge about spiders. The day I got bit I was outside on our porch; at first I felt an extreme stinging pain in leg on the side of my knee. I put ice on it, when I looked at it; it did not look to bad there was just a little red bump surrounded by a small pink area. Now the bitten area is flat and is surrounded by about 8 inches of swollen, warm, pink skin. It is very itchy, and swollen. When I touch it the area is hard but warm. I did not see what bite me because I swatted at my leg when I felt the pain. When I go to walk I have to limp because it hurts to much to put my leg straight, and occasionally I feel a lot of pain where I was bite.
PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!
I noticed a little bump on my face during the day, i figured i was breaking out so i just washed my face and went to bed. But when i woke up there was a perfect circle around this little bump(which looks like some kind of bug bite.) The circle was purple and looked like a bruise and hurt if i touched it. Right now it faded from purple to just a brownish color. I have no idea what this ir or what to do about it.
hey I’m Helen
i didn’t feel a bite at first but it was really itchy and the next day it came up like a blister with pus inside of it, it was a yellowy color.
and at the moment it looks like it has several layers of skin that have been eaten away, but the weird thing is that its not sore to touch but t is very slowly increasing in size.
if anyone can tel me what type of bite it is then please contact me on
JesseGab10@ hotmail.com
thanks heaps
helen
My bites are just like chanel theere just two, itchy little bumps and they’re right next to each other. I thought at first that it was a mosquito bite but then there were two same-sized bumps right next to each other. It might be two mosquito bites, but I just wondered if it could be some kind of spider bite…anybody know if it is??
I have a Spider bite on my left ankle and it red and itchy it looks like a ant bite but bigger and there like a pinky length from another i have pics if needed
I work outside doing landscaping and I think i’ve been bit by something on the back of my knee. I can’t see any bite marks, but it hurts and is a large bump. The thing is, that it doesn’t itch or anything. I’m hoping it’ll just go away, but i’m in and out of sheds all day, so, I’m afraid it might be a brown recluse bite. can anyone help?
Not sure if it’s a spider. Several bite (5-6) over my body. The bites look like pus filled sacs with brown heads, sort of like a really huge pimple. Itching all over. Can feel slight swelling throughout the rest of the body.
I’m having the same exact problem as Chanel. I was out walking around with some friends and I ended up with a bunch of mosquito bites (even 2 on my face), but there’s one bite that concerns me because it was oozing a clear liquid that would harden into a bubble right after it came out. They’re two identicle little areas right next to each other. Yesterday I started feeling sick and started getting stomach cramps. Today I feel exhausted and my muscles ache and I also have notice that my throat is getting sore and my glands are swelling. I checked online and these are all common symptoms of spider bites. I’m not sure what to do because I don’t want to go to the doctor if its nothing, ya know? Someone help me out please.
I live in West Virginia, 2 days ago going on 3 I woke up and the top of my thigh felt like it was bruised, so I checked and found a little whelp kinda like a mosquito bite BUT there was a dot….
It was swollen and my skin reddened in a circle around it, about a 3 in diameter. that was a Sunday. didn’t go to the doctor. the next morning it felt even more sore and it was more swollen than the day before… I squeezed it and hardly any thing came out and I cleaned it. but it still looks the same.
I was bitten by some sort of spider on my left arm by my wrist 3 months ago. I did not see the spider. It was swollen, itchy with a hard lump. After more than 2 months of dealing with the itchyness and trying everything from putting cordisone cream on it to soaking it with vinegar, I put liquid skin on it. It is almost gone after using liquid skin for about 2 weeks. Has not itched since using this. This is not medical advice, but everything I read to make this go away did not work. Maybe someone else with the same problem might want to try this.
About two weeks ago I was bitten by a spider. Its body is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. It is blackish brown, with small hairs on its body. On its uper body there is a design like two hours glases one toward the hed the other toward the side legs. It had a egg sack about the size of a dime. It bit me on the right ankle it was like a bee sting. It hurt for about 30 min. then it stoped. The next day it was a little swollen , by that night my left uper arm felt like I had sunburn in the inside of the skin. Now my arm and both my legs below the knee fell like they are burning on the inside. I have a small spot where it bit me.
Last month I woke up in the middle of the night with my ear on fire, the next morning there was a bump. After a couple of days it popped and went away. Well a couple days ago the spot started hurting and then a blackish bump came up it was filled with pus, the bumps gone but my ear is still discolored. What is it?
Oh yeah. I gotta add something else… My sister had the exact thing on her hand. Two little itchy bumps that look like little mosquito bites. so idk.