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?
Hello Jeanette,
Take a look at the information on the Banana Spider.
I am so desperate for an answer. I just want to know what is biting me, and how to kill it! If you recognize my symptoms, please respond! I would be eternally grateful. I will go to a doctor on Monday, I hope.
I have some kind of bites a year ago that were diagnosed by my dermatologist with a resulting biopsy as “arachnoid bites”-(not specific as to type). I had picked on them, and had had a staph infection during the bites, and had open lesions all over my body .It was horrible! The Doctor was sure that they were “bird mites.” I used the Permethrin he prescribed to get them off my skin, the bites SEEMED to go away, and after calling the Bug Man all was well for a while.
Permethrin is a common synthetic chemical, widely used as an insecticide and acaricide and as an insect repellent. It belongs to the family of synthetic chemicals called pyrethroids and functions as a neurotoxin, affecting neuron membranes by prolonging sodium channel activation. Permethrin is extremely toxic to fish. Extreme care must be taken when using products containing permethrin near water courses. Permethrin is also highly toxic to cats.
Permethrin kills ticks on contact with treated clothing. According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, it “has low mammalian toxicity, is poorly absorbed through the skin and is rapidly inactivated by the body. Skin reactions have been uncommon.”
Well, woe is me because, and even though we are exterminating ourselves, because of budget, and I am getting fewer NEW bites, I am still itching from the ones I had already gotten-and that is a LOT-and they are not going away. They just stay.
Also, now I am not sure about the “bird mite diagnosis”, because I do not have the big lesions because I don’t have staph or huge sores.
Inflamed, yes. Lesions-no! Still, it’s just awful, if not only for the contention it causes in the household. I am seeing the tiny black specks everywhere again that no one in the house notices but me! They are as tiny as a pencil point mark, so I do mean tiny!
You can notice them in numbers, and in water, etc. My husband refuses to see them, and says he has not been bitten, but I know that he has. (I can see them) I think that he is away from the house all day, so he is not bitten as much; and he works as a mechanic, so he has lots of scratches to distract him. Also, he does not WANT to have been bitten or have my symptoms.
My symptoms are itching, especially at first. The bite that I feel usually looks like a red pin point, and I do believe I used to notice a target around them, but that was back when I had a Staph infection, around the same time I first got bitten. They also come in the form of papules. Why would they be in 2 such different forms or appearances? Is not a bite a bite?
So last time I thought they were blackheads or pimples and did all the wrong things. I tried HARD to pop them-always have in the past with success which is a bad idea! They grew and grew into horrible lesions. This time I know better than to cause infection.
Back to these bites, and what is coming off of me now, which is really weird! (I am looking as closely as I can). When you use the medicine Permethrin, I guess the bugs n bites are supposed to just disappear after you take a bath. Well, I guess I have a worse condition than that.
Some of the little buggers do not want to come out by themselves, so I have to help them alone with tweezers. I feel soooooo guilty “picking” on my skin! And the process takes incredible time in the bathroom. I have found out that if for some reason it bleeds, the blood makes MORE “bites” INSTANTLY…more pin pricks” where ever the blood touches. That is strange, isn’t it?
Many of the bites are at skin surface, and do not bleed at all, but I guess the ones that have been there longer are more dug in. And human error in helping get them out. I wish I didn’t have to! The size at this point ranges from tiny needle prick to scarlet colored blood blister looking things.
As to the papules, there are tons around my mouth, and then all over body. Other heavy patches that are just thicker/higher skin in a few places. I have to open the skin a bit for the Permethrin to work at all, and what is in there looks like eggs??? or something jellyish, and I am beginning to be sure that they are reproducing (yuk!) on my person ME.
The Permethrin just doesn’t have time to penetrate that deep.
I have been putting some of this stuff on some clear sticky tape, and then was told that if you take a sample to your doctor you are immediately suspect as crazy, but these are great samples, I think.
I get: red/dark looking spots, newer red looking ones with a clear coating around it and a hair on each end or is one a root? ( I don’t have a microscope)…and there are always broken hairs present., I don’t know if that is just always there. Sometimes there are clearish, mean looking ones/creaturish looking that are not ready for light?
Certain places on my body such as my neck, especially, have been red for a YEAR now. Could they have been embedded all of that time? Reproducing on me and biting ME???
I know we have tiny spiders in the house, but I don’t know what kind they are and have no idea how to identify them or are they bird mites? Chiggers is what looked like this when we were little, but not the rest of it.
Anyone- help! Is this even possible?
Caroline
My son was bitten today by a “Banana Spider”. It a large spider with long legs and is black and yellow. Is this a poisonious spider? Please help. He says it doesn’t hurt, but it is red where he was bitten (on his finger). Thanks for your help.
how common are Fiddle back bites here in Southern California?
Shannon, I just read your question about what appears to be a reocurrant spider bite. I am not a doctor, and pretty much know nothing about spider bites, but I was just doing some research online for my own bite, and saw an article the says wounds from a brown recluse spider bite can often reoccur, often at the same time each year. This sounds very similar to what you are describing.
I read that Brown Recluse bite wounds can return even after it the bite may seem to have healed. It is believed that this happens in area that are bruised, scratched or damaged in some way; such flare-ups can be caused by venom that still remains underneath the skin.
Sounds like you need to get to a doctor. Again. Maybe try a new doctor (?)
Good luck!
I have four bites on my leg. I am a cancer patient (multiple myeloma) and get chemo once each week, which includes antinausea, cortisone, and saline, and Velcade. I am assuming that the cortisone has kept the bites from itching. They are red and round, rather small.
I had a very bad headache, temp up four degrees, very bad ache in my neck and shoulders, really felt bad all over. Did not notice the bites until last night. I had someone come look at them and with a light and magnifying glass, the answer was looks like a spider bite. Today, while cleaning the bathroom, I noticed the spider.
It had long greenish like legs (like a grandaddy long legs), but the body was different. I slept very little last night. I put Neosporin on them and they look better today. Took Ex Strength Tylenol and temp is about normal today.
Thanks for any help.
I live in Shelton, WA and have just recently began gardening as a stress reliever. Last night around 7pm I was weeding my garden when I noticed what looked like a fresh bite of some kind on my forearm. It could be mosquito, spider or I don’t know what. There was a tiny bit of blood at the site and I just wiped it away.
A little while later I looked and it was slightly swollen with a redness about the size of a penny. Later on about midnight I glanced at it and saw a bit of a red line about an inch long going up my arm. I dismissed this as a possible scratch or something. This morning I have awaken to the same redness but about 4 inches long and in a squiggly fasion appearing to be along a vein maybe? It does not itch or irritate me and the line is faint, but it is there.
Does anyone have any idea what this could be?
I have a bite on my arm and I think it’s a spider bite, but I’m not sure which spider. There’s a small red bump, kind of looks like a mosquito bite, and then it’s surrounded by a circle of red and looks a bit like a target. I got it at my barn, but i have no idea what spider caused it, and if it even is a spider bite. Please help!!!
Shannon,
Go See a New Doctor.
inregards to my comment #121
i did go to the doctor and because the bite was on my foot and the skin was broken by the spider bite it let the bacteria in to the bite site ia also because it was on my foor it hyrt to wear shoes i went barefoot around my house and i picked up a fungal infection and now i am fighting a STAFF INFECTION so go to the doctor if you are bitten by a spider and keep it very very clean
jennifer
Go To the Doc right away streaks are bad
I live in Northwest of Oregon. My bite first appeared about 3 years ago, on the back of my left leg behind the knee. It took about 5 days to develop It had the dark center and slightly swollen, I went to the doctor was told to put hydrocortisone cream on it. It stayed around for around 3 months.
Every year since then around the summer time it returns in the same place behind the left knee. This year it is concerning me more, I went to the doctor who told me to get more hydrocortisone cream which seemed to make it worse. It became very puffy with a larger darker center. I stopped applying the cream, then it started to scab in the center. In the past 3 days there has become a small sore about the size of a pencil eraser top in the center. The bite itself is about the size of a quarter. I also woke up sick last night, have had a slight fever, chills, and headaches. I’m hoping I’m just a little sick, and is just coincidence.
It has never been this bad before, I am also having troubles finding anything about bites that return like this. Any ideas? Should I go back to the doctor?
I can be reache
I was watching TV when felt throbing pain and noticed a spider bite. Now there is a red strike on my leg and ends on top of my shen.
I woke up this morning with a burning sensation on my stomach , whe i looked it was a bite, you can see the fang marks, it’s red and some redness. Itstings a lot, and i’m feeling increasingly tired since this morning.
I dont know if it is a spider or not, you can reach me at gothicvampire6r5 at hotmail.com.
Thanks!
I was a spider bite about a week ago. It looks like a mosquito bite but has two bumps on it that make it seem like a spider bite. I cut myself about two days later and no blood came out, just yellowish pus.
Is it okay or should I go see a doctor about the bite?
I think i have a spider bite and it is about the size of a £2.00 coin. I think this is to big to be a mosquito bite, but i’m not sure.
It is constantly extremely itchy and the cream i’ve put on it hasn’t made it less itchy, only a little bit.
Help!!
I’m living in the Adirondacks. I have been living in a college dorm. I keep waking up with little red bumps all over my legs and stomach.
Are they spider bites? If so, what kind of spider are they..and what can I do to make them go away sooon!!!
yesterday i was doing yard work. after my shower, i noticed a puple-ish mark on my right forearm about the same diameter as a pencil eraser. this morning it is brown almost skin cancer appearance. any thoughts? i’m not sure it was a spider bite either
I live in right out side of Dallas Tx. and I think i was bitten by a spider and i dont know what kind i was wandering if anyone could help i woke up in the middle of the night with my left foot. It is itching so i scratched it just thinking it was athlets foot, then that morning I got up and it was still itching so i looked at it and there was a blister which had poped.
Now the bite is still itching really bad and my whole foot is swollen; I am going to go to the doctors tomorrow but if some one could tell me what kind of spider they think it might be that would help
Thank you,
Jennifer
I live in Virginia, I got this bruise awhile ago (about 2 weeks) and i noticed a ring aoround it. It’s about a few mm high, and i have been tired and coughing a lot since it appeared. I’m assuming I’ve been bitten by a spider. I’m sure its not ringworm because theres tiny little fang marks on the bruide. I would like to find out what it is and whether its serious or not. If you have any idea what it could be please e-mail me at map_smart11995 at yahoo.com. Thanks a bunch guys.
-Matt
Okay!
I have a spider bite in the worst place possible not my head, toes, limbs, tummy, no no, back, bottom, thighs nope I think you can guess exactly where it is.. I’m a woman btw. I’ve had this bite for 3 days. It’s been swollen since day one. It didn’t hurt till today when it began to hurt only in the spot where the spider directly bit me where it’s bite marks are.
It doesn’t itch too much at all only hurts where it bit me not arround it, it is swollen, hard under swollen mass, with no change in color. And the day after I had been bitten I saw a spider in my room and killed it. It wasn’t too big or too small, it was a common spider is what I think, it was also brown. Anyone have an idea what it was? Or if I should be worried? When the swelling will go down? If it helps I live in the midwest and it has been raining outside like crazy probably pushing these spiders into my home. I’ve been keeping the bite clean and following what I’ve read on sites about common bites. Please tell me what you think.
-Sherri
My son had a bite like that in his knee. It got really big and looked horrible. Our doctor told us to use some bentonite clay (we got it at the health food store) and apply it to the bite so it could draw out the poison/pus (that we couldn’t even tell was there). It only took one application and the next morning it was gone!
He has another bite on the arm and that one is taking longer to clear up, but it’s also from a different spider I think, since it looks a lot different than the first one.
Hope this helps.
Non-swelling Calcium bentonite (bentonite clay) is sold within the alternative health market for its purported cleansing properties, yet no scientific studies exist to support these claims. It is said that the microscopic structure of the bentonite draws impurities into it from the digestive system, which are then excreted along with the bentonite.
Pascalite is another commercial name for the calcium bentonite clay.
I just recently moved into a new home, and its aparent there are spiders everywhere. I see little ones, skinny ones, fat hairy spiders around the house. My three year old daughter is a target for them. She has woken up the past couple nights with bites on her. Just her too. Well, one of the bites is causing a little concern. Its placed on the inside part of her forearm. It is a single bite, like a large pin hole, surrounded by a dark almost bruised colored area. It doesnt seem to bother her too much, but isnt the most pleasant looking thing. If I could get some kind of info on where it came from that would be fantastic. THANK YOU!!!
I’m entry number 87. Is there a specific type of doctor one should go to for bites? General practice?
I live in Seattle, Washington. I didn’t feel the bite but itched the area and a small amount of skin came off. There was nothing notable about the area. The next day there was a raised red one inch circle. Within the circle I can see the two fang marks. For three weeks the itching was severe. The circle has scabbed as has the fang bite. I had no other symtoms so I haven’t gone to the doctor.
I’ve looked for pictures on the internet but found none like mine. I took a photo of it. Any ideas on what kind of spider may have bitten me? Thanks
The exterminator told my friend today that it sounded like I may have encountered the bite of a yellowsadc spider. Supposedly, the skin keeps flaking off and it stays red and scaly.
—
The yellow sac spider which is called Cheiracanthium inclusum and also Chiracanthium mildei, is more commonly known as the black footed spider.
The yellow sac spider is not of the family Clubionidae and so is not considered a true sac spider. It is a long-legged spider and is one of a handful of spiders in North America whose bites are dangerous enough to warrant medical attention ASAP.
This small pale yellow spider likes to hide in flat silk tubes during the day and at night, begins the hunt for prey. You’ll likely find the yellow spider living in homes and can usually be found on your walls!
hello,
i live in califorina, and i got bite by a spider. im not sure what kind of spider bite me. but im pretty sure that it bite me at night. becuase when i woke up int he morining i first sawll something that looked like a zit. then next morning i had a red ring around the little zit, and then i had (what looked like a welt) around the bite. then the next day and then it was really tender. i went to the docters and they gave me some antibiactis. the redness went away and then the welt that i thought was just muscle was actully pus . but know its all gone excpect the skin that is healing. and know my nextdoor neighbor has the same thing red around excpect it looks ten times worse. her leg is all awoolen and she has to go to the docters and they still dont know why the drugs isint wroking. i was just wondering if you could just tell us what kind of spider is biting everyone. we live in califorina, cameron park. please help us identify so we could help the docter know how to help little ciera.
It all started a couple of days ago and I saw a red bump on my leg and it looked like a little flea bite. But then it began to swell a day later and now its a big, purple bump on my leg with red spreading around it.
If you look very closely you can see two dots in the middle. What kind of spider do you think it is?
Just got bit on the side of my index finger while cleaning by a brown spider about the size of my palm from leg-tip to leg-tip. Pretty painful, I shrieked, and the damn thing ran away – my partner’s hunting it down right now. It’s itchy, and an itty-bitty raised white bump in the middle of a pink spot – should I be worried, or forget about it?
I think I got a bite yesterday, its on my inner thigh, about 3 or 4 inches from my knee. Its kinda like a bruise, but its red and bluish. it itches when I touch it, and its a little bit larger than quarter size. I dont feel sick or anything, its just a wierd feel when I touch it!
Hi – I have Lupus and Fibromyalgia and am susceptible to infection.
I have developed a red welt on the back of my thigh about the size of a dollar coin. It is a little tender on the surface, but not really anything else. There is a little hole there, so I think I was bitten. I am currently uninsured and because of my illnesses am very scared of this possible infection.
Continued from #107. My husband woke up for work to still have the same symptoms…red, swollen just not quite as bad. we pretty well forced our way into the doctor’s office by showing up and showing how bad the bite was getting (a lot cheaper than the er they wanted us to go to the day before). The doctor says you will not feel a brown recluse bite because it injects the venom and you may not have symptoms for even 24 hrs. (versus a black widow which you will feel immediately).
The symptoms my husband is having are probably more to do with the bacterial infection. There is nothing they can do with the bite, but they can try to treat the infection with antibiotics. The doctor says within a few days it will begin to pus and should have a white head.
DO NOT pop it!
The white head is what they need to run tests to find out what kind of spider and what kind of infection to treat. My husband’s leg hurts really bad, “feels like it is on fire”, and the bite area is turning grayish-green I guess from the tissue dying.
3 days after the bite and it is starting to ooze so we will be going back to the doctor soon.
GO TO THE DOCTOR IF BITTEN AND LOOKS BLACK-YOU WILL NEED TO FIGHT THE BACTERIAL INFECTION!
It is hard to tell without seeing the spider bite (if it is such a bite), but seeing the dematologist can’t hurt. They would at least be able to rule out a few items. Regardless, your current doctor must be at a loss, so I would give it a shot but not leave without demanding that someone specializing in this area be recommended. Tell them you want a solution and be firm – after all, they work for you!
You would think with the techonology out there today, he could have taken a few pictures of the spider bite and emailed them to his associates!
I agree that more pictures of spider bites mostly at the begining stages would be helpful especially for those who have children. We need more PICTURES.
I was working in my yard five days ago. I did not feel anything bite me but I had a place on my leg that started itching and I scratched it a bit and forgot about it until that night and when I took my jeans off I had a blister about the size of a dime. I thought it would go away by the next day but instead it got bigger. I accidentely broke it and it drained but the next day the blister came back and now about the size of a quarter. I decided to go to the emergency room since I have a knee replacement very close to this bite or whatever. The only info I got there was Boy! something really nabbed you but she did give me a antibotic since I had the knee surgery. The place is not getting any better, the blister is coming back tonight and it is really red around it.
Anyone have any idea what this might be?
Thanks
Late yesterday after mowing my husband mentioned his face looked a little swollen. i didn’t think much of it. but he did seem to have a major sunburn on his face down to his stomach…but he was wearing a hat and of course clothes. this morning his face was sooo swollen and his body full of heat and still bright red.
We went to the pharmacy for benedryl for allergies. couple hours later he rubbed his outer thigh and it hurt. we realized that he had what seems to be a spider bite. it has been about 28 hours now…and 4 doses of benedryl later. his face has went down some and the redness is almost gone in his arms, but his face, neck, back, and stomach are still feverish and very red.
The bite spot is like a small cigarette burn with a hard circle surrounding it..but is looking better and not so hard now. no pus yet. his doctor couldn’t see him today, the er is way too expensive, and he’s a truck driver that has to leave out extremely early in the morning and won’t be home til friday. needless to say he can’t just take off work without the loads being late and missing a whole week of work.
If it was poisonous ( we live in sw area arkansas) wouldn’t he have more serious symtoms already?
I live in Minnesota and I was outside yesterday and I think I was bit by a spider…I can see two maybe three(??) puncture wounds, one looks worse than the others. It is also bigger than the other one, it looks like a little scab.
The bite is on my arm and it itches really bad! I have been trying not to itch it, but I did a few times yesterday and today. The area surrounding the “bite” is red and swollen and it kinda hurts when I touch around it. It also kinda tingles.
Other than that, not much is happening with it. I am just concerned that it could lead to something worse. I can’t go to the doctor because I have no insurance… So if anyone knows anything about spiders in Minnesota, or what the hell is could be, let me know.
You can email me if thats easier-tibbetts_05 at yahoo.com
THANK YOU!!
I am located in california and I woke up this morning to a pain on my jawline and found a red painful bump there. Its not white or I don’t think I can see fang marks but its really freaking me out. Someone help?!?!
I have recently moved to Maryland and was told that the area is rampant with the Black Widow and brown recluse spiders.
I have two older cats and am worried about their health and safety. Are pets affected in the same way as humans when dealing with these NASTY spiders?
Thanks….
I have been getting bitten overnight while sleeping for about 2 weeks, and don’t know what kind of creature has caused them, spider or bug. The bites, when new, have a raised yellow dome about 1mm in width, with a red wheel of about 4-5 mm surrounding them. It took 3 or 4 bites on my back and neck (one a night) before I realized something was happening, and four bites in one night down my hand and forearm before I took action, washing all of my bedding.
My cat is not scratching herself, so they’re not flea bites, but a couple of my friends think they’re spider bites. Any thoughts?
I was bitten about a week ago, at first it looked like a tick bite, and im used to those so i just ignored it, but a few days later i noticed it was swelling and it hurt a little, then i couldnt even walk, i had to use crutches to go to school, so i went to the emergency room yesterday, and they told me that the bites are from either a black widow or a brownhouse spider.
I have 2 bites, and i think another one is coming up under my arm, one is on the back of my knee, very swollen and i cant walk, the other is on my hip, which hurts when i put my jeans on, the one on my hip i can pop and squeeze pus out of but the other one is hard and swollen and hurts, nothing comes out of it.
The doctors gave me some pain killers and a bottle of antibiotic stuff, i just want these bites to heal bc i cant walk, swim, or anything and i love walking and swimming, by the way, i live in Arkansas, does anyone know any ways to treat it?
I live in the Pacific NW and was bit by a spider while pruning large bushes and cleaning the garage out. It was painless, on my forearm, with a small center hardened and white with appearance of 2 small puncture holes and started out with a light yellow darkening area around it, the total size of an egg. It then got darker, the opposite of a bruise..usually a bruise yellows after healing. I thought I bruised myself working out in the yard. A friend warned me to go to the doctor and I am glad I did. Doctor put me on heavy antiboitics and a shot in the hip. Said it looked just like a brown recluse spider bite and it would have enventually turned purple and then black due to the skin rotting. A another friend that worked as an pest exterminated said it was a HOBO spider bite (the cousin of the Brown Recluse), as they are aggressive and common in the area. I had no pain from the bite other then a strange sort of numbing sensation best I can describe. I hope this helps and go to the DOCTOR. Needless to say I did not work in the yard anymore that summer.
Hi there,
I live in a dry part of Colorado and about three days ago I found something that looks like a pimple on my leg. Its red all around it and my upper leg aches. When touched it feels like a painful bruise and it hasn’t gone away in three days. Its not serious symptoms but I am still a bit afraid. If anyone could help identify the bite, spider or not, that would be great.
I’m not sure if this is a spider bite or not. Small blister-like lesion in center (on my ankle) – extremely red around the area; scattered rash-like spots moving outwards of area. Very little itching – but very noticeable…..not sure if it is serious or not???
Spider bites rarley itch, they are painfull and swell.
Just a follow up on my bites turns out there were over thirteen on my right leg! Last night the pain in my leg was almost unbearable, but today they started weeping and they are starting to feel better. Still would like to know what bit me though!!
I have a spider bite on my knee. It is the shape of a circle and hard only on the outer area. It really itches and there are also bumps and redness. It gets a little bigger every day, but the center seems to be the only part that is healing. The skin in the center is peeling and is not red at all. One or two of the bumps seem to have fluid in them.
one of my peers was bit by a spider and doesnt know what kind it was let alone whether its poisonous. she has about 4-5 little bumps on her left shoulder and they are causing her back to become very sensitive to heat, and she has tenderness through her whole back. please send back any info that you may have. thank you
Got bit/stung in the garden trimming hedges, webs were present on the bush I was trimming, didn’t see a spider or wasp. This was Monday 5/28/07. Bite was sharp like a sting, nothing after. Developed hoarseness, sore throat, fatigue, cough next day, thought allergies nothing noticed at site, actually forgot about incident. Wednesday morning noted two round raised reddened, painful marks where I had been bitten/stung on Monday. Each mark approx. .25 cm side be side for a total of .5cm in length, width is .25cm. Still am hoarse, cough, sore throat and fatigue. Can you tell me what kind of bite and treatment if any needed? Thanks!
OK. I dont know if they are spider bites or not. But they started out small and now (3 days later) are the size of quarters. They ich ALOT but I havent had the “pus” look or anything.. Anyone know if its a spider bite or something else? SHould i go see a doctor?