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?
hey i was walking in the woods outside my house today talking on the phone w/ a friend, and then i went on to my driveway and i felt a stinging sensation in my left shoulder. i looked down and there was this huge spider on me biting me, of course after screaming and acting like a retard for about 5 seconds i tried to shake it off, which didn’t work.
then i hit it with my cell phone about four times (and dropping my cell phone, don’t worry im getting a blackberry on the 8th) it finally fell off. I don’t know what kind it was but it had long legs, a dark medium sized body, and it stung when it was stuck on me. it has been about 20minutes since the bite and my arm is itchy, numb, very heavy, tingly, and my left hand is very cold now. it is hard for me to type this and i don’t no what to do. if it helps i live in the northeast region of the us and a (near ny). Please help!!!
help i have a bad spider bite its making me sick! throwing up, fever, aching, and tiredness what should i do? what spider could have bitten me?
i live in brick new jersey.
the bite is red, a little puffy, 2 visible puncture marks, REALLY itchy.
help??
it’s about the size of a quarter
I got about 20+ bites on my back and about about 6 under my arm. It looks like I am breaking out, but they itch and burn something fierce. The ones under my arm look the same as on my back, but my arm is now really sore and it hurts to move it. I put an ice pack on it, but my throat started to swell. I think I am allergic. My apartment manager was also bit and has the same bites. She thinks it is spiders. Anyone know what type of spider it could be?
About 3 days ago I woke up with a red bump on the inside of my thigh, I didn’t think anything of it but later that day it had a big white bump on it. I popped it and nothing really happened. Over the next 2 days the redness spread and now it is around 1 1/2 inches in diameter. When I press on it, it hurts extremely bad and is really hard. I removed the scab and pinched to pop it and a bunch of green pus came out. Is this a spider bite? Should I go and see a doctor?
Ok so about two weeks ago I started getting these bites and they look like mosquito bites (the way they swell) except that they have a dot in the middle and then the bite will turn into a bruise like spot it doesn’t itch it’s just there.
<<3LauraFelice
So, I live in South California (SD) and yesterday morning I woke up and a spot on my back was extremely itchy. I looked in the mirror and all I saw was a lot of red due to my scratching. After it faded, I looked back in the mirror, and I have a mark about the size of a quarter on my back. It’s red, hard, and slightly swollen. I really don’t know if it’s a spider bite. But it itches like nobody’s business. Any ideas? Recently we’ve had a lot of ants in the house but I’m not sure if it’s an ant bite or a spider bite. Ant ideas?
I recently celebrated my birthday at a Resort. First night I was there,was the night I got bit. I woke up in the middle of the night,sick to my stomach and had a severe headache. I got up and took some Aspirin. The next morning I noticed there were 4 little pus pockets in a horseshoe shape on my forehead.During the course of the day, my forehead then turned into a huge whelp! My husband told me it looked like a zit, and told me I’d be fine. We traveled around the state visiting family and I noticed my head was not getting any better. In fact, my eyebrow was now puffy and sore to touch, and my lymph node near my left ear was now swollen up. We returned home on Thursday. And Friday morning I went to the Doctor where I was given a Large dose of Antibiotics in a shot form. And a prescription for 2000 mgs of Antibiotics to take 2 times a day. And was told to go to ER if swelling didn’t go away. Well I’m heading to the ER. My bite has fever and swelling and pain.
I have been getting bit by something thought i was a mosquito now i know they aren’t there are 5 to 10 bites all in a row and welted up they burn and itch at the same time last night i was trying to sleep and started scratching and then went into the bath room and looked in the mirror they go biggest welts on the right shoulder blade to smallest on the left side of my neck just below the hair line i’m freaked out seeing as this also happen on the back of my right arm from shoulder to elbow not 2 days before please help
hi i got a bit and it itches a lot its on my foot and has turned my whole foot is red help? it is just red but looks like a mosquito bite.
thanks.
i have 2 spider bites… one on my right foot and one on my left forearm. the one on my forearm hurts really bad and it looks all bubbly and red. the one on my foot just hurts when something touches it and it is only pink.
South Carolina- I noticed on my left forearm that i was getting this red area. it started to get a large bump on to so of course i tried to pop it. (what anyone would do) The bump and area started to get bigger and bigger. Its now the 4th day and now my muscles are hurting, its VERY VERY tender to the touch. The area is a little larger than a can top (soda can). Very swollen, and red. There is a pus filled area on top and i noticed that if i push on the swollen area around the pus bump, comes out more pus and blood. I know this sounds gross and gruesome but I’ve got to know what the hell bit me. Never saw the spider, didn’t even know it was a spider…I’ve tried the tea bag trick…doesn’t work in this case. Wondering what to do. I feel that my muscles in my arm are deteriorating slower but surely!
Thanks!
I live in Lowell, Massachusetts and I got bit by something the other night. I’m not really sure by what, but I’m convinced by a spider. I fell asleep downstairs on the couch and I woke up in the middle of the night and I looked at my wrist. I had a long, red rash thing on it and it was stinging. I thought I burnt myself somehow, because that’s what it felt like. I didn’t think anything of it so I went back to sleep. When I woke up it was smaller but it still stung. It was getting smaller as the day went on, but it was all red and had a white circular bump in the middle. It’s the day after and it was subsided to a dime size red circle, but it still hurts a lot.
I would just like to know what it was that bit me. I’m extremely curious.
Please and thank you to anyone that helps me.
I have a picture also. It was first about 4x that size, I took this about half way through the day. Notice how it’s a bit whiter at the center.
I live in Tennessee and was cleaning out my parent’s shed today and was bit by a spider in my finger, I could not find the spider but I know for a fact that it is a spider bite. Problem is I dont know what kind and how severe it is. when I first got the bite I soon felt a tingling sensation and then it wnet slightly numb. It has been at least five hours since the bite and the skin is slightly raised. It is also red and the center of the bite (about the size of a pinhead) is blood red. I also still have the tingling sensation and slight numbness. Any help is appreciated.
My girlfriend and I were canoeing in a creek in Alabama. The creek had a moderate current and many trees. We later noticed a bite on the back of her right arm which she did not feel. There are two red dots (both bites quite obviously broke the skin) and hours later, slight swelling and bruising. The area around the bite is not red yet.
Any ideas? Please help and email me @ mrm704@ jaguar1.usouthal.edu
My nephew was bite by something not sure if it’s a spider bite or not. He has a little red dot on the bridge of his nose (left side) and now is eye is swollen. Just want to know what to know if it’s a spider bite or not. Thanks
Hi, I live in Georgia and new to the area, so don’t know all the area insects yet. Never realized when I was bitten, just took off my socks one afternoon and noticed a hard swollen reddened area on my calf and thought just an itchy-somewhat-sore bite, it’ll go away. The first day swelling covered an area slightly larger than a 50-cent piece. The reddened area is irregularly shaped like a giant comma. Day 2 the swelling went down but the area was a darker red then before and the shape more defined. Day 3 the swelling is almost completely gone, but the reddened area has turned very dark red. Almost purple, but not quite yet. The center of the “bite” is slightly harder than surrounding skin. From day 2 on, the center has a yellowish translucent look, like you’re seeing under the surface of the skin. It doesn’t seem to hurt, mostly itches when comes into contact with anything. Haven’t tried squeezing it or anything (ew gross!). Put calamine lotion on it on Day 2 and took a Benadryl which helped with the itching, I guess. I don’t want to wait too long to go see a doctor but also don’t want to waste time if it’ll go away on its own. Any have ideas or suggestions?
Thanks!
Okay. I visited Roanoke Island here in North Carolina, and got a small bite. I thought that it might be a mosquito bite because at fist it was asymetrical, but today (one day later) it is now a symetrical hard bump about the same size as a ping pong ball (in circumference not in swelling size). There are two clear fang marks on the top of the bite, very very small and not directly in the middle of the swelling area.
Is there anyone whoknows what kind of spider bite it might be?It isn’t painful, only slightly itchy and doesnt have pus or anything comming from it as of yet.
Thanks!
they are white crab spiders
oh and those spiders are white tailed spiders Teri
I got bit by some kind of bug, i think it may be a white tail spider.. im not sure though. it itched at first then i itched it until blood came out, then to stop it from bleeding i sucked the blood, and then it started to swell a little while later and a pus bubble filled with something and hurt, it felt like it was burning when i touched it, so i popped the bubble hoping i could fix it, and then a red circle formed around it a little while later, so i popped it again, and it just refilled with pus. i dont know what to do. any help appreciated!! and if you can identify it ill try to help you!
I’m posting in response to #94 and #21. I have this same similar thing. For a few months now, I can have anywhere from 4 to 6 bites at a time…. counted over 20 one day. They are little red bumps, like mosquito bites, but have white heads in the middle of them. If you mash them, it hurts like h*ll. I have checked my bed many times and just to find nothing. My husband hasn’t gotten any. I’ve also gotten them out of town. I also have the creepy crawly thing/feeling all the time as well….. hot shower helps that feeling to go away…. but the actual bites hang around for a couple of days. Really would like some answers as to what this is….. I do know that it must not be poisonous because I’m still alive. Can anyone give some insight? Thanks.
i am really scared i was at the motocross race and i felt something scratching on my neck i thought it was just my shirt tag so i went up to move it and i felt it moving so i through it down before looking at it
it started swelling really quick and i thought it was just wasp sting i woke up and the bite was brown and you could see two bite marks and it is starting to scab does anyone no what i should do i am really scared
someone really tell me if it was venomous or not ad what i should do i am really scared PLEASE answer me
Hi – I was bitten yesterday mid morning. I was picking lavender leaves off my lavender bush. I didn’t have a clue that something got me. Until 10 to 15 minutes later. My left inside of my thumb started to itch. I didn’t even see a mark, but it was swollen. The swelling continued down my thumb into my hand, but it went down towards my wrist. Last night when I went to bed I marked with a marker where the redness and swelling was at. This morning when I woke up, it seemed to have gone down. Now early afternoon all my knuckles with the exception of the little finger are swollen and 3″ into my arm are now swollen. My wrist is only like 1/2 larger than the other wrist, but my swollen areas are really HOT to the touch and it’s still itching. I’ve seen little white spiders on these lavender leaves before after I picked them and set them out to dry, could it be one of these and they are tiny white humpback spiders :) That’s the only way I can describe them. Any clue? BTW thanks for having this website – everyone is like GO TO THE HOSPITAL and I’m like, if it was poisonous, I would have been dead hours ago :)
Thanks
Teri
Hi, i live in Africa , Namibia…on Saturday the 8th August i was bitten by something, i believe it was a spider but i could not see anything… it was like a burning sensation..like someone pressed a burning coal on my leg and pressed it into my skin for about 10mintues, i was in pain. It went away after that, the next morning i saw a lot of red spots on my leg, but on was hard and painful and swollen the other just looked like mosquito bite.
I went to the doc, but he can’t really say what it is..he gave me a lotion, but around the part where it’s swollen and hard it’s becoming like alight yellow..and sometimes on the specific area my leg becomes numb and irritated.
please if anyone know what ti can be, and if it’s dangerous please let me know.
thanks
on monday night i was in colorado and was bit by a spider [i think]. yesterday it was a large swollen bump the size of a cherry. today the bump is twice its sixe and it is now swollen all the way around my foot. its very red and itchy. feels like a rock is stuck under the skin [not even a possibility] and it hurts to walk on it. i also have pains in my fingers and left foot [i was bit on the right foot]. plz help and thnkz if you answer this.
i got bitten by what i think is a spider. it was a big white bulbous. i popped it end it seems fine now (as im posting). i was tubing down a river 2 days ago and i dont know if i got bit then or today. i didnt feel the bite but noticed it when i changing. i live in florida. any idea?
My father was cleaning the bottom of our wood steps and he felt a sting and automatically put some ice on it. We thought it was a wasp or bee bite and he payed no attention to it and went back to cleaning. He then saw a really small black hairy spider that was about 1 cm. and he thinks that probably bit him. He killed it before i got to see it sop i don’t know what it looks like.About 30 minutes later his whole finger swhole up a lot. You can barely see the bite so we don’t know what will happen. If anyone knows what kind of bite it is please email me at fany_pl14 @htomail.com. Thank You in advanced
I’m Angel from eastern Pa,and i went with my bf hiking at lake gene I got bite by a spider.And I don’t know the type it was. At first it looked like a mosquito bite but it didn’t itch i used a mild soap and washed my face. the next day it seem it was filled with pus the size of a large preminate marker dot. I was watching movies till 6:30am into the next day and my lip on my right side was swollen to the same length of my pinky finger and purple. I automantically took benadryl and iced it. the bottom lip near the bite that is swollen i have no feeling; it’s a numbing sensation. My whole right side of my face is swollen not too much but enough for it to feel my teeth almost biting down on my cheek. Now i’m highly allergic to spider bites. But nothing like this has ever happened to me. Normally i take benadryl and it goes away and no swelling. Can you tell me what type of spider it was. thank you, Angel
I have a feeling I have a spider bite on my leg, it’s been here for about a week and just today I got the pain. Its on my knee and a pretty big bump, it’s hot, and it REALLY hurts when i touch it or when it brushes up against anything. I didnt think it was a bite because I also have posion ivy on the same knee along with a scrape, so I thought it was just part of that. clearly its not, last night it was throbbing and felt like it had a mind of its own. I’m afraid of this because I do NOT know if its a spider bite for sure and I don’t know what sort of spider it was.
Hey I have what I suspect is a spider bite but I’m not sure. I went camping last night and found this today while doing sit-ups. I live in Colorado Springs. Any ideas??
Robert
(Pictures emailed)
hi I thought i had a spider bite or a staph infection. So i told my daddy i
felt a bump on a place i don’t care 2 mention.Anyway,my daddy told me he had 2 pop it,i started crying a little.So i layed on my stomach on the couch.My daddy tried 2 pop it and pus started coming out and we had 2 pute a needle in it,it hurt really bad
hi,
i thought i got bite. see what happend was my scabe was hanging off. so my mom pulled it off. but all this pus just came out. my mom called my doctor. i thought she was calling an abalnce. we made an appontment. when i got to the doctors office they put me on anabotixe. it wasnt a spinder bite though. we acttuly found that it was wort. i had other ones to. so im getting them treated. the one on my back made a scare and now its all over.
HI, I got bit by a spider or staph infection when i was only 5! I’m only 9 now ! Anyway, i told my daddy i felt a bump on a place i care 2 mention,so one day my dad said he had 2 pop it . I layed on the couch on my stomach, my dad said i had to scream in a pillow and a lot of pus came out and he stuck a needle it hurt!
I found out I had cellulitis – still don’t know why I got it in 7 places within a week, but probably not from spider bites. If you get a quickly expanding bump and it’s red and sore and swollen, don’t wait go to the doctor!
its a red swollen area on my forearm,about one inch in size..with a white pus area in the middle.
On Tuesday afternoon my co-worker and I sat outside under the tree. I didn’t feel the spider bitting me. On Wednesday morning I felt the bump and I felt I guess it was the stinger. So I squeeze it at first I thought it was a pimple not good at all. It was the size of a needle point. On Thursday I notice that the bump got a little bigger the size of a pimple that is ready to be popped. Friday morning I still had the bump, what was interesting was the top of the bite was black. So I went downstairs to see my ER doctor. He looked at it and said it needs to be drain. So I freak out and said I will go to my private physician and let him do it. So I went to my MD and he seen the bite and he gave and antibotic and pain reliever and he sent me home.I did have some minor pain especially were I got bite. In the Buttock yes the butt. On Saturday the bite looked like a cigarette burn it was red and swollen around the area it did feel warm. So I continue to do what I was doing. Sunday I felt the pain more special when I would try to walk. Sunday night I went back to Urgent and the new physician that seem me says ” that he would have to drain it ,it was now the size of a half dollar coin. He injection lidocaine and he gave me morphin. I felt that this procedure was worse then a c-section. He pack my wound with dressing and I had to return on Monday to replace the dressing that alone was painful. I still have to have my dressing changed at less 2 times a week. By my experience if you think a bug bite you clean your hand before touching it and if you feel that the bite is itchy do not scracth. See your doctor. All bugs are dirting and don’t wait long the longer you wait to see the doctor the more they drain the wound . I was off work for 1 week. This is was I text to my friends
” I got a spider bite which cause me to have outpatient surgery. The bite became an abcess and cellulitis. I will be off work for 1 week. Just to let you know I got bite in the Butt. I guess that’s what I call a major ass bite” a picture of a little spider crying was attached to it.
I got bit by something a couple nights ago on the lower part of my right arm near my wrist. A small whelp appeared and it began to sting and itch a little. The stinging went throughout the lower part of my right arm where I got bit. The small whelp isn’t there anymore, just a red circular spot and the pain is still occurring. The pain fades in and out (duration of minutes). Can someone please tell me what I got bit by.
i also feel really dizzy and got headahces
well i was bit by a spider,or thought it was,it was dark at the time,it felt like being stung by a hornet, and when i picked it up, it felt really poky.
it left a little crater, and it healed up,now it’s swollen and red, and i feel really sick. anyways to treat it?
I’ve got something going on – starts like mosquito bites, after a few
days swelling and deep inflammation – locked my jaw up for a week with swollen glands and immobilized my Achilles tendon and knees from bites nearby. Hot red swelling, spreading to 4-5 inches and then after a week starting to ease off and go away with no apparent harm done.
They are excruciatingly painful especially as the underlying muscle
and tendons seem to be involved. Feels numb/bruised when touched.
Surrounding tissue has some swelling and edema. As it wanes the skin
feels more sore. There is no opening or blister at the bite site,
just spreading redness. The center is darker red or purplish, the a
lighter red then normal color but still pain and swelling, then edema
but no pain as you go outward.
I have no fever, no malaise, no headache, thinking is clear except
what can be expected from lack of sleep (see below). But I am taking
10 – 15 grams of vitamin C a day, and using DMSO to soak in iodine,
castor oil, and baking soda. Heat seems to help and cold makes it
much worse. I did the 9 volt battery thing on the one on my heel and
it isn’t getting as bad as the others did. Elevating my legs and
lymph massage/skin brushing also help some.
Locations – 1 behind ear or on cheek, 1 on achilles tendon, 1 on heel
of same foot, 2 on shins, 1 on side of knee and 1 on knee, all within
a week of each other. I can’t sleep for crawly feelings – I have to
turn on the light and check every time!
Any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
—
Blessings,
Renate Haeckler
“Something” bit me three times, one of the “Bites” has swollen to the size of my hand, other than itching,there are no other symptoms, should I be concerned?
on Thursday I’ve got a bite but i don’t know what it is and i told my parents and the pain started to spread on my thumb. it has a scab it is like when you just fell off a bike but its not the pain spreads after 4 days. I don’t know what 2 do so please let me know. thanks
Bites are easily handled with an antibiotic and some ointment. The moment you know of one you should see a walk in doctor. It’s fairly easy. And take your medication till its gone. I noticed my bite 2 days before I got help and it’s already going away. :)
yesterday early evening my hand started itching and noticed a red streak running from the hand to the elbow, soon it began to swell and I applied anti-itch salve without relief, this morning I hunted for the creature and found a black widow which I suspect bit me, I now have a bad swollen hand and I’m heading for medical treatment. I collected the spider and it is a black widow. This took place in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Hello – My daughter has 2 bites, red circles with white centers, almost look like pimples. One is on her face and the other on her arm. She was originally bit about 10 days ago. The bites went away about 80% and then reappeared in the exact same locations. Not sure if we should be concerned and what we should use to treat these bites.
i got a spider bite last week and ignored thinking it was a misqiuto then when i googled it and looked at the pic i got freaked out nd went to the er…the gave me some meds…but im a month pregnant nd with the antibiotics morning sickness isnt fun…im not sure if its healin or infected it only hurts wen my so trys to climb on me and touch it…what should i do
I’ve got a question about a bite I got in late May.
I woke up in the morning feeling and looking fine. I was having company for lunch, and by midday, there was a large, red, raised area near my right eye. It felt bruised and sore, but did not itch.
Over the next few days, the spot continued to swell, it ached, and was quite red. At its worst, my eye looked swollen. It also developed twinges of sharp pain in the area, but it wasn’t continuous. I also had some brief headaches during that time. Along about day 5, I could see tooth marks in the center of the area.
Then, it began to heal. It’s been about two months since I was bitten )by whatever!), and there’s a red scar at the site. It looks a little like bite marks as well.
Any idea what it was? I live right near San Francisco.
Thanks.
I got this pimple looking thing this morning and in 12 hours its gone from whitehead looking thing to this bump with a slightly raised red ircle around it I live in South Carolina and i have no clue as to what might have bit me but the circle keeps getting bigger and im getting worried does anyone know what this might be? it hurts and if i squeeze it clear liquid comes out, but its a perfect round red circle that keeps expanding about the size of a bottle cap right now…please let me know i really don’t have money for a doctor unless its absolutely necessary
thank you very much
i believe i was bit last night. i noticed a pain on the bottom of my foot and then saw the little white dot, no idea what i was dealing with. i of course tried to drain it, nothing happened though. was at a friends house about an hour later and he said it was definitely a spider bite. being on the bottom of my foot, ive spent a lot of time sitting since then. went out for breakfast and walked around a store for about half an hour to an hour. it is painful to walk on. there is a blister around the white spot and i now am noticing what looks like red lines traveling up to the side opf my foot and it is very swollen there. it sometimes itches a little. i live in houston, no idea what kind of spiders are around here. i work for a doctor but do not know whether i should wait until the morning to get it looked at. any suggestions or advice is apprectiated. thanks!