Help Identify Spiders and More
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?
I am havin a similar problem as vikki and spider. I woke up on my couch with three bites on my chest. I thought they were mos. Bites because those things love me. Then as I was sitting on my couch watching tv I noticed even more all over me. They itch every now and then not to bad though. didn’t think about spiders till I went to turn a lamp on today and found. A bunch of tiny tiny baby spiders. I followed the web all over my living room. After checking the size of my bites, I figure they could be the source.
I live in Azle,Tx, and I just recently was bitten by a spider I believe it was anyway. The reason why I think it was, is cause this morning when I got into my truck I saw a yellow spider with some black inside my truck, it was not to big and not to small. Well, I killed that spider and I thought surely that might have been it. But as I was driving I felt a very shard sting in my back, I had to pull over because it hurt so bad. Felt like a bee sting. And now it has a red dot in the middle of it and it is swollen a little around it. I did not see the spider, but I asked my husband is he though it was in fact a spider bite, and he said yes…So now i’m dreadfully scared about if it were poisonous or not. So if anyone could please help thanks. Again the one I had killed was yellow, with a little black, and not huge spider but not little bitty either.
Thanks
Bonnie
I live in North Idaho, and a week and a half ago, I was helping my brother and dad cut down trees and clear brush (and not wearing gloves- bad idea.) Later that evening, I had an white, itchy, hard bump on the side of my thumb. At first, I thought it was a mosquito bite, it itched worse, however. Within a few days, the center of the bump looked somewhat clear, but the itch was still there. Today, the itch has receded, but the bump is still there, red and sensitive, and the red area has gotten larger, but not by much (it’s now twice the size, but measures only about 3/16″.) Initially, I wasn’t too concerned, I get all kinds of bites up here in the woods, but, due to the lengthy healing time, I thought I’d see if anyone else has experienced such symptoms, and if so, do I need to worry about it developing into anything else, because I want to nip it in the bud. My bite is nothing like some of the other horror stories, and my heart goes out to them.
Yesterday, (May19th,2010) I woke up with what appeared to be a small round red spot on my left wrist. In the center there was a very tiny piece of flesh missing. The spot itched & was somewhat painful. Later in the day I developed two more spots on in the same area. The first area seemed to develop a dark brown-reddish scab. Then the other two areas did the same.
As the day progressed I noticed a single spot like the first one but without the flesh missing on my right forearm. Then 2 more spots appeared on the right forearm. Today they are “scabbing.” I looked through & washed all the bedding,& looked around the bed but no evidence of a spider or any insect.I also have a small spot like this on my right cheek. Has anyone ever seen or experienced a bite like this? Today they are not itchy or painful, but I am on a strong antihistamine for my allergies. Any help would be appreciated.
i was at a friends house playing some b-ball and i felt a tingle on my calf and know it is as big a the pop of a pickle jar and it itches and burns and it is hard it is like a rock and very painful
In March my wife received three spider bites on her forehead. She documented in with pictures and a diary. If easier, here is the link with diary and pictures. coniinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-spider-diary.html
What kind of spider could it be? We live in Long beach, CA.
Thanks, Richard
Only in my room does this itch: i have at least 8 welps on the back of my leg, they have a small little dot like a bite of something. They all itch like crazy! I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and there are more. It’s only on that one leg. I’m not sure if it’s a bite or what, help!
Hello,
I want to believe that the several swellings on my body are not from bed bugs, but spiders. This morning I woke up with a little itchiness on my pinky, but I did not care because it was just small bump. However, in late afternoon it got bigger and more painful, and I started feeling itchy on my other parts neck, butt, arm, and palm. I think those parts just developed or exposed later on.It is weird! I slept under futon and wearing long sleeves top and bottom which cover some parts of the swelling!
I saw there were two small spiders(big as nickles) living in my room but I didn’t think that there were harmless. On my pinky, there are three bits in a row and I cannot even strech it…
I just hope that there are not from bed bugs. They are evil, and it’s pain in a neck more than spiders!
I was cleaning out the back porch when I received these ones at some point. I live in the central valley in California. We have all types of spiders down here. I mostly see black widows, wolf spiders & daddy-long-legs. But, there are many many more. (Especially a white diamond back furry one? Which I was told was a wolf spider). We have so many I wouldn’t even know where to begin on guessing what type.
The bite is painful to the touch, my finger is a bit numb at the bite site. It’s a raised bump, red all around except in the middle where there is a pimple like whitish/clear head.
As I’m writing this I am noticing there is at least 3-4 more bites on that part of my finger. (pinky). That part is definitely more swollen then the other finger.
The heads are more clear than anything except the largest one has a more white/yellowish tint.
I don’t seem to have many other symptoms, it just happens I’m also a bit sick at this point with a cery sore throat so I wouldn’t be able to tell if any vomiting were from the bites or just being sick =/ (No vomiting so far though).
I don’t have time to sit & read through the other entries so sorry if a similar bite has been posted!
i got this bite about may-5th 2010 it is now may 11th 2010 and its sort of looks like its trying to go away but unsure.went to ER n they have no idea what bit me.they gave me an antibiotic for it called bacterium don’t seem like its working.my leg is very sore and red around and below the bite. the bite area and the below area are very warm n hard to the touch.it does have pus the sometimes oozes on its own but most times i have to force it out.
i live in California. i just got bit by a spider on my belly. it is red and very painful. i did not see the spider but felt the bite and there was a mark right away. i had seen some little black spiders in my bathroom but didn’t think much of them. the bite area if very painful. no swelling yet and not itchy. when or if should i decide that i need medical attention? thanks
I have a question, I was bit when I was younger by something, it left 4 black dots on my leg. I can still see the scar. Does anyone know what I was bit by?
Thanks!
Some suggestions for infected cuts, wounds and insect or spider bites: This is an almost miraculous old family remedy. It seems hokey but it works. Place a piece of bacon fat or sliced cheese over the bite or infected area and cover it with a band aid or bandage. Be sure it can breathe. If possible leave it in place for at least 24 hours. Just as the fat or cheese would dry up if you left it out on a plate, it will dry up under the bandage. As it does it will DRAW the infected matter up out of the wound, bite, etc.
(When you remove it you’ll be able to see the pus etc. on it if you want to look.) The wound or bite will be somewhat open. You can put some neosporin on it if you like, but either way, re-bandage it with a new clean dressing. It will almost always heal right away without further problems. If you’re dealing with a minor irritation, like a mosquito bite, try preparation H. It also DRAWS and usually takes the tiny amount of poison and the itch right away.
One night when i was a sleep. A spider came from somewhere and bite me on my chine. When my mom took me to the doctor to have it looked at it was really bad swollen and tender so tender even a gentle breeze hurt. So the doctor had to cut it so she could drain it. The liquid that came out was clear.
In response to post #26…I woke up Wednesday morning about 8am to find a very light discoloration on my hand, between my index finger & thum, on the muscle area, not webbed area on top of my hand. About an hour later I noticed two purple puncture marks maybe an 1/8 of an inch apart and progressively throughout the day the area around the puncture marks bruised to about quarter sized in diameter. There was no pain during the day or night, only spiratic, very minor itching. It has now been 16 hours, and I’m feeling a minor ache at the bite site & up to my elbow.
There is only a bruise & puncture marks – no welt, redness, puss, open sore, etc. ONLY quarter sized bruise & two purple puncture marks about an 1/8 of an inch apart. I have not seen any spiders recently & it must have happened while I was sleeping. I am going to Urgent Care, but I was just wondering if you found anything out about your bite, and/or if you were ever able to identify the supposed spider. Thanks! Stacey – Jackson, Michigan
Last night, something bit me. I was sure it was a mosquito bite, until today; After killing a brown widow spider, I noticed, where the mosquito-like welt had been, it was just a red dot. I also started to itch, The spider which I thought I had killed had somehow bounced off of my bed and into my shirt, I did not notice this for a few ours until I took a shower.. Now I’m itching ALL over, on my forehead, and my upper arms, on both sides. My face itches as well as my neck, and my shoulders. I have NO IDEA what is going on, and if this is in fact, a spider that is causing this, please help me.
I forgot to tell you that it is very painful, day and night on and on for 2 weeks. :(
There are 2 triangle shaped holes side by side and the flesh underneath becomes squishy, then the piece of skin between the 2 triangles comes off, then it hurts like crazy and bleeds, then the whole thing sloughs off over and over. Two weeks later it is still a lump, and bleeds and sloughs. This is on my face and is a matching one on my the side of my wrist. I felt something on my face while driving and I remember wiping my face with my hand/wrist. Helllppp !!!
Hello
My name is Taylor and I need help trying to identify a bite. I know it was a spider because I had two little dots on my arm right where two of my veins were. I need help trying to identify it. The bit got really red and swollen at first and after a few minutes passed, it gradually started to turn green. It looked really gross. It hurt to touch it. I went to the hospital but they said that they didn’t know what spider bit me. So I came home and next thing you know, the bite was really green! I really was grossed out by that so I washed it (which hurt) and put an ice pack over it.After a while I take the ice pack off of it and once I stand up, my whole body gets so weak that I almost fall over once I take my first step! My body was just too weak to do anything. After a few minutes I tried to walk agin. I stood up and every thing was so blurry I couldn’t see a thing! I just need help trying to figure out what type of spider bit me. If anyone knows what type of spider causes these symptoms that would make me a very happy women:)
I got bit by a spider I think. I never noticed the bites in the center of this bruise I got. My mom thought that I just ran my knee into a table or something but there is like this bulge under the bruise and the skin is getting flaky where the two black dots are. I took a bath to see if it would help and the dots disappeared and then reappeared later on. I’ve had the bite for two days now. It just keeps hurting. It doesn’t itch but the bruise is about a nickles size and I’m getting kinda wigged out. Know what kinda spider this could be?
I noticed a black spot on my foot that kind of looked like a blood blister a couple days ago. Today it started itching and got red around the site. Not sure what it is!
Hello i got something on my foot and it had a dot like a bite in the center which swelled up then when the knot disseminated it seemed to have spread blackness to the top of my foot which is somewhat numb and some toes are whiter than usual from bad circulation for some reason. i went to the ER but they dunno what it is and said for it to just go away, i am attaching a picture.
I live in far Northern California near Shasta Lake. I was working with a wood pile and felt what was like a sharp sting between my pinky and middle finger. I noticed what looked like a big spider, but it was shadowed, so couldn’t get the color, run deeper into the leaf pile. Not positive that was what bit me. Our area is known to have black widows and scorpions in the wood piles. There was sharp pain shooting up my hand for about 10 minutes. Almost like a bee sting.
My pinky swelled a little bit and felt numb for about a few hours and then the swelling went down. Over night, the visible swelling is completely gone and there are no colors or visible bites, but the muscle/joint in that area is painful. Also, I feel very tired and slightly nauseated today. This very well could be because I worked VERY hard over the weekend and could just be beat from that, but I thought I would mention it. Does anybody have an idea of what could of bit me or if I have reason to worry?
Also, I was going to add this to the original message, but since it’s nearly 1:00 in the morning I forgot. I live in Las Vegas, NV (where the Brown Recluse is said to be occasionally present, but not as present as in other southernmost areas) and I was, fortunately, not bitten. At least I don’t seem to be bitten. I’m not experiencing any symptoms so far, and I didn’t feel anything.
I probably would if I was bitten by a spider.
My parents’ symptoms (and I’m guessing the relative’s too?) seemed to have died down by some amount in a matter of hours, and, for some additional info the spider was about two-thirds of a cm. (centimeter) large and had a tiny head. Then again, all spiders do.
Earlier today at about 9/10:00 most of the family that resides in/visits the house, consisting of my parents, and a relative seem to be experiencing various symptoms; wheezing, shortness of breath, an occasional headache and leg cramps. These are symptoms of a poisonous spider bite. However I only saw one spider, which was light gray (I think it’s an albino) and had average legs covered with tiny hairs, and an abdomen with a tip on its back as if it would have sported a tiny stinger (which it didn’t) when it was on my mom’s shirt. I tried to get it off but failed. I know there were multiple spiders, or else there only would have been one victim. All of the spiders (2, if I remember correctly) were caught and killed, fortunately, meaning no major infestations.
..Right?
We haven’t had time to take a picture, because the camera was in another room and I wasn’t expecting the incident.
Could anyone tell me if the bite is truly dangerous? My birthday happens to be very near and it would be a shame if three of my family members died or were in dire condition on that day.
I was bitten by something at night and woke up with this 4 days ago on my left hip. It is getting worse. First day it was just red with a black dot in the middle, I picked out the dot thinking it was a stinger or something and it came out this little black itty bitty almost like a string. The bump just continued to grow each day and the black dot just stayed in the middle by the time it was the size of a quarter (day 2) and hurt like hell i went to a quick medical clinic, Dr said it was some infected bug bite, didnt look at it, didnt touch it…
gave me a antibiotic and told me to use hot compress and squeeze to drain it if came to a head. So I did, and I picked the black scab out (against her advice) and inside was green (almost like mucus) and I squeezed a yellowish-green pus out…a lot of it too. Well today (day 4) it is still bigger than a quarter and its starting to spread almost in like a line towards my groin area…the spreading line isn’t too visible but i can definitely feel it. I am gong to send a few pics to include if anyone can help figure out what this is…My husband is sooo extremely worried because we have a 2yr old daughter…and he is afraid it might bite her.
Natalya- sounds like a form of tetanus. I’m surprised that your doc’s didn’t look into that right away. My grandma developed tetanus from a spider bite and nearly died. That”s how it starts. Also, Amy in Ontario, sounds like he has an allergic reaction to fire ants. I have the same problem- one summer I spent nearly a month on keflex before they realized the shed where I worked at camp had fire ants.
I was hanging out on my friends outdoor balcony smoking a cigarette with him, I had shorts on and I go home and go to bed. I wake rubbing my legs against each other so I start scratching them and I see there’s a swell on both of my legs. I can see the bite marks on one but I can’t see any on the other. The one with no bite marks seems more painful and a lot more swollen though, can anyone help me out? Should I panic?
About two and a half weeks ago I noticed what I thought was a pimple on my forehead. It was very sore, hard and stick out a ways, but it was on my forehead so I didn’t really think anything of it. Aside form being on my forehead it never really had anything else to suggest it was a pimple. Wanting it to go away, a few days ago I put neosporin and a band aid on it.
Now the swelling/bump has gone down but the skin all around it is dry and flaky. The aree all around it is a bright red, about the size of a dime. Does this sound like it could be a bite of some kind?
I live in Georgia. Yesterday I was standing in the grass when i felt a sharp pain in my foot i looked down and nothing was there about twenty minutes later i realize it is itchy, bruised with a white ring in the middle and its very sore and sensitive to the touch, and with a little swelling. I’m wondering what it could have been. should i wait it out and see what happens or got to the doctor?
I just got a bite from a spider and i don’t know what it is. i live in San Francisco, California. i got the bitten by a spider when i put it in my hand trying to kill it. Somehow the spider sting me and it died. It hurt a lot but now there’s no pain. the spider was black and kinda red-ish at the bottom. I think is just a plain spider bite but i can be wrong. oh and i don’t have a infection or anything is was just red when it bite me then poof is gone
I was playing with my son today in the upstairs area of my boyfriends house and all the sudden my boy started screaming and hitting his ear. I immediately took him to the bathroom where there is better lighting to see what the problem was. I saw this weird blueish spot on his ear. Thinking it was just a random speck of something I took it off. I don’t know if that has any relevance to this but just putting it out there just in case. I can see four lil marks on his ear that either like tiny dark holes or like lil stinger looking things coming out of it. I’m not exactly sure. I personally think it looks like something sticking out of it but without my glasses handy my eyesight could be wrong.
My boy is about to be five years old and his ear swelled up to more than the thickness of my pointer finger. Other than the swelling there’s no other symptoms. He’s very active as always, has no loss of apatite, and no sweating, fatigue, or fever. My bf and his parents think it’s nothing big and that we shouldn’t take him to the hospital or nothing. But of course me being his mother if I had a car we’d already be up there the minute I saw swelling. lol Any idea what this could be and am I just worrying way too much?
Yesterday my wife pointed out a mark on my arm that didn’t hurt, just looked odd. I cleaned it and put trip anti ointment on it, but today it looks a bit worse. Its defiantly a bite of some sort. There are two spots less than an inch apart that swelled up, leaked a clear liquid when I lanced it (safely and cleanly),is red all the way around it and there appears to be a small puncture spot right in the middle of the two spots. I hope someone can help. I live in Michigan in a wooded area so I know that there is a good chance that while gathering firewood is when I got my bite. Two pics are being sent to the addy above for reference.
hi there spider peeps:
Last week I noticed a very small pimple looking bite right in the middle of my neck a couple of inches below my ear. Didn’t itch or swell- just looked like a bad pimple that would not pop. I freaked out (because of bed bugs) and searched and found a small swollen bug- (Black the size of a pin head and just as round) behind the headboard of my bed and got rid of it. I cleaned furiously and hoped that was end of that. Did not see any other signs of any infestation except found two more dead bugs that looked similar, not as round, but very very tiny. They did not really look like the bed bugs I have seen pictures of- they did not have that flat diamond shaped body. They were on the same wall as the other one.
This morning (about a week later) I have a nearly identical bite, a little smaller, but in almost the same place. Again- it doesn’t hurt or itch or swell, and I don’t think it’s a bed bug, I’m just not sure if I should be concerned or try to exterminate or just figure that they will go away. The first bite is still there- so now it has the look of a double pronged bite. I’m thinking the round pinhead bugs may not even have anything to do with it. Please advise….
I live in Michigan and about 2-3 weeks ago I was bitten by what I figure is a spider, a Brown Recluse from what friends say, which I doubt. I was bitten about 6 times on various parts of my body. The worst bitten areas were on my right knee, left ankle, and the bottom of my left foot. The only visible bite areas left are on my left ankle and right knee. I am guessing that from walking around with the spider bite, it had opened the wound on my left ankle and now there is a nasty scab there.
About a week ago I had been down state walking a lot and the area directly around the scab turned purple while about an inch to an inch and a half around that was all red. On 4 or so of the bites I have absolutely no feeling on the skin where I was bitten. On a bite on my elbow I have no pain on the skin, but bone pain whenever i completely bend my elbow in or flex my bicep at all. I have been to an ER doctor and told him it was a Brown Recluse bite either the night of the bites or the day after and he put me on antibiotics that didn’t do much of anything. If anyone can offer me any advice/help it would be greatly appreciated.
I was at Walmart last Saturday. I moved a box to look at the description, I felt an itch on my knuckle and scratched it. Within seconds my knuckle was twice the size and turned red. I left right away and went home. I put ice on my knuckle and the redness spread out. the swelling spread as well. the following day I went to emergency and they figured it was a bug bite. The redness spread over my hand and was painful (like a bruise). The redness reminded me of a chemical burn. It’s been a week and I still have redness and pain. Oh- the Walmart is in Northern Ontario.
Hi, My name is Rose. About 3days ago I had what I thought was a zit on my face. I put rubbing alcohol on it and it seemed to irritate it more, then it pussed up and got red and hard around the sore.It is still a large sore about the size of a silver dollar,it scabs up then scab falls off,then pusses and scabs again….It is itchy and very sore.
hi,
i live in central Oregon. This last week i woke up and my right thumb was itching very bad so i put a band aid on it a band aid on it then about an hour after i put it on my thumb started burning very badly. It was swollen and bright red so i soaked it in cold water. the next day it was all scabby. and now i have blisters all over my thumb and when i squeeze them yellow clear liquid comes out. Got any suggestions?
Hello there,
I have an unidentified bug bite on my upper lip and I was wondering what I can use to treat this bite. Help!
Hi, I went to take a shower and when i looked down at my foot there was a small red dot on my big toe with a bruise like circle around it. It looks like a spider bite, but I’m not sure. The wound doesn’t hurt, itch, or feel numb or anything, but i don’t know what happened or what it is. I went to my dad who is a nurse and he told me it was a spider bite but didn’t say anything else. I don’t know what this is and If anyone could give me any kind of information it would be very appreciated. PS if it helps at all i live in Ohio.
The other night I was in my garage and I heard a noise. I raised up an old blanket on the floor and a spider about 2 foot long jumped and hissed at me and then ran towards a trash can. It kicked the can out of the way and hid behind a box. I immediately ran in and grabbed my shotgun, ran back out to the garage and shot the sucker with a deer slug. I hit it in that bag like thing on its back end. Green blood came out and it died about a minute later. It had on a white tee shirt that said “Corvette” so what kind of spider was this, a Corvette Spider?
I live in Florida and I was walking my dog this morning in a grassy area. My dog started barking because there was another dog getting close to us so I was trying to calm him down when I felt something pinch the top of my foot. At first, I thought that I had just walked through a dry branch and got cut by it so I kept walking but then it started to itch and burn right after. I started scratching my foot and I thought I might have something stuck inside of it because there was no blood or visible cut.
I came inside and asked my husband to check if he saw something and I had what appeared to be 2 small mosquito bites right next to each other and another small one under it. Kind of like a triangle. It’s been hours now and my foot didn’t swell, the marks are gone but my foot still feels like its burning inside. Does anyone know of what it could have been?
Okay I live in new orleans, and a few day ao i noticed a reb bump onemy arm,but didn’t think anything of it. until the next day when it was red, wheni squeezed it pus came out of it for a while. and the the following day there was a red circle around it and as the day went on the circle grew bigger. it itches almost all day and what use to be the red mark is now black. what bite me? and how cani treat it?
I got a bite behind my left ear, I noticed it when I was at work. My ear had been red and hot to the touch. It feels round and is just like stories 17 and 83.
Noticed a rash like spot on my upper thigh after showering. Prior to showering I was doing some household cleaning at one point I did kill a small spider light brown a bigger than an ant didn’t appear to have many legs as a spider, but it was dead it’s hard to remember. My mark looks like a rash rather than any bite marks I’ve seen earlier…red in color a bump, no pain, yet. This happened around 12 hours ago and the only change is that its beginning to have a minor itch, but nothing constant or painful it’s size is about the size of a circle made by putting your pointer finger and thumb together at the tip. My plan is to visit my primary care doctor tomorrow to check it out, but if anyone can identify it or exclude it from anything serious, please feel free! Thanx.
I was bitten by something (spider) Sunday afternoon when picking up limbs in my backyard. I didn’t feel the bite and didn’t notice anything was wrong until 2 hours later. Then I saw what looked like a pimple on my left hand middle finger. Then it swelled up and got purple and I couldn’t sleep so went to ER around 2 a.m. Doctor examined it and gave me 2 antibiotics and some lorcet for pain enough for ten days. I had a similar biter last October just below my elbow. It took almost 2 weeks for that to go away using antibiotics. I am going to send pictures and would like help identifying what bit me.
Thanks,
John
Last fall I was bitten below my elbow while I slept; while just three nights ago I was bitten on my left middle finger. Both bites became A Small mound;swollen and purple with a tiny hole in the middle. We live in North Alabama and have found both dead and alive tiny spiders that jump on occasion. I believe I was bitten while we slept. I sleep on side directly facing the wall and windows. So far I have been the only one bitten by something. There is a small wooded area next to us even though we are well inside the city limits. Does anyone know what keeps biting me in my sleep?
I’m from CA, I got bit today while working in the yard, it’s puffy and red with a black dot on top, I squeezed it and pus came out… What do you think bit me ?? should I go to the dr’s ???
I believe I was bitten by something. I work around cardboard boxes. and a coworker has been bitten before there. Do this marks look like a spider has bitten me??
Hiiiiiii…..
I saw your site very chromatically…. I am Anita from Iran and my English is not very good. I only want to sent you the picture of my spider that i found it in our garden last year. it is one of the my collection’s insects. I killed it and stuck it on a piece of glass….I will glad to your reply for me….
Thank You
Anita