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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About a week and a half ago I woke up with a big swollen, red area right between my eyes. I thought it was just a masquito bite or something. After a couple days it only seemed to be getting worse and worse. It started to get a red line that traveled down and then over to make kind of a backwards L shape. Then the red line turned into what seemed like a black scab. After a few days the scab fell off leaving a big empty hole as shown in the picture below:
And below is a close up of the bite area:
It didn’t bleed or anything like a normal cut or scrap or something. It has started now to fill up with a yellow looking scab, I think it is the dried up medicine I have been putting on it. It is very deep and very wierd, all the doctors I have been too think it’s a spider bite, but of course there is no way to be sure because I didn’t see it.
Also, there are no clear bite marks, but something is definatly eating away my flesh. I have been on antibiotic which has helped with the swelling and pain. The doctor I saw yesterday said he was going to find a surgeon for me to see within the next couple days.
If anyone has ever seen anything like this and knows what it might be, that would be very helpful. Thanks.
UPDATE: Aug, 12, 2007
I just wanted to give an update on the treatment I am getting for the bite I posted. The doctor has continued me on antibiotic pills and a topical antibiotic cream. He also scraped out the hole to make it bleed, he said the stimulation of blood flow would help it heal better. It is already looking much better, the hole is still just as big, but no yellow stuff or anything. Also all the redness and swelling is completly gone. Now I just have to wait and see how big of a scar it leaves, and then possibly see a plastic surgeon to help with that.
I am not a doctor, but my advice to everyone is to seek medical attention for any bites that have discoloration or a traveling line. Mine started with just a red swollen area then got the traveling red line. Good luck to everyone!
I have the same situation as Jesse, post #271, and now the swelling has started to “drop” down my arm, for lack of a better description. The bite is on my bicep, and I’m assuming that due to gravity, the toxins are drifting towards the ground.
Any help?
i was changing in front of the mirror and noticed a red bump size of a quater on my arm! it doesnt itch or anything.. thats why i didnt even notice it. the redness is spreading and its getting bigger. there’s no white dot in the middle though. and just 2 weeks ago i had the same thing on my thigh.. but with a white dot. so i picked it.. and now that it’s healed i’ve got a small scar =T i dont know if i should wait for it to heal or go see a doctor?
My friend hannah and I were playing on a new rug my dad just got. When we unrolled it 5 jumping spiders came out! The next day i had two little marks on my leg i didn’t think of it .
The next next day half of my leg was red and swollen so I went to the docters and they gave me some meds, told me to rest and if it became worse to come in ASAP. It didn’t but a few days later my grandma went to the docter (i went too) on my way home i pulled off the sab and it shot out green stuff. Was it a jumping spider bite?
Alright. I live in ohio.
I have a bite-not even sure if it was a spider or not, that I’d gotten a night ago. This morning at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, it looked like nothing more than a mosquito bite. Now its larger around-a bit larger than a quarter around, and a lot more swolen. It all looks normal, no pus, blackness, or blood, just a swelling, and a tiny little indent-ish thing where I suppose the bite was admitted.
Any input on the situation? I’d really appreciate it.
I was in Walmart the other day and I felt a pinch on my leg and it got really itchy. I didn’t actually see what it was that got me though.
The bite has a dark center and slight swelling around it. The dark center is surrounded by a dark red circle. At first it seemed like just a circle but yesterday when I woke up one of the sides sort of shot out and now it kind of looks like it has a tail. It has stayed like that since and hasn’t gotten worse. I do not have any of the other symptoms like blurred vision or joint aches or anything like that. It simply itches and looks bad.
Can anyone tell me what this is and what I can do about it?
Okay, well, I noticed a small sore spot on the side of my middle toe July 29th. It was sore, and sort of hardened but not red or anything. And I’ll say this, I don’t get headaches, none of my family does, but soon after discovering the spot I’ve been having crazy-painful headaches!
Either way, about a week later it develops into a blister, or thats what it looks like. I rip it off, and now I’m treating it like a blister; peroxcide, and bandaids. Am I going to get worse? HELP. I freak over small things like this…
My story isn’t as gruesome as many of yours are. I’ve been getting bitten by something every night for three or four days. (Just me, not my husband.) Today I vacuumed up a bunch of webs, and two egg sacks in my nightstand. The bites I have look like overzealous mosquito bites, but with a whitish center and a killer itch. To ease the itching I sliced garlic and band-aided
them to the bite sites. It seems to be helping a bit.
What is it with this night-biting behavior in spiders? On Wikipedia it says that spiders do not prey on humans, but will bite defensively or agressively. I’ve read enough comments about waking up with bites that this doesn’t seem to be true all the time.
I’m reluctant to use an insect fogger in my home, but if my kids start showing up with bites, I will.
I was camping at Rocky Mountain House, Alberta and I was walking up from a creek about 1:30am when I felt something bite me. As I continued to walk the bites continued down my leg (resulting in 4 bites). I tried to brush whatever was in my pant off but I could not feel anything besides the pain from my bites.
When I looked at my bite (maybe a minute after) the bite itself was purple with a white ring around them. The next day there was no purple but just red and it had spread from a dime sized bite into about a CD size within 18 hours. I went to the doctors and they had no answer for me but gave my antibiotic cream and prescription anti-histamines.
The next day my leg was so swollen that my skin was stretching and the site was hard and felt like plastic/rubber, the bite spread around my legs and took up about 1/3-1/2 of my leg. I was put on steroids to fight the bite. The swelling subsided and now 10 days after the incident the bite is still a bit itchy and there are little circles with holes and scabs where the bites were.
I live in the Pine Barrens of southwestern NJ. Yesterday I banged out the old yard shoes I keep outside next to the front door before putting them on to mow my lawn. A small black spider scurried out of my left shoe and disappeared amongst my mulch. I slapped the shoes together a few times more, then put them on, and went about my way.
A few minutes later, I noticed an uncomfortable twinge in the little toe of my left foot. When I pulled the shoe off, I saw a vibrant green stain on my sock over that toe. I immediately pulled my sock off to inspect my foot. No bite marks were apparent and there was no discoloration.
Upon closer inspection, I discovered what appeared to be an egg sac inside my shoe. It was about the size of the first knuckle on my thumb. The exterior was whispy white and the interior appeared to be the same green color that stained my sock. Looks like I smushed it against my toe while putting on the shoe and walking around. I did not see any other spiders and completed my chores without incident.
Now it’s the next day and my little toe is itchy, somewhat sore, a little discolored with a ruddy color and slightly swollen. I still don’t see a bite mark or any punctures.
Is this merely a topical irritation/reaction or something that may require medical attention? Can crushing an egg sac release venom or some other type of toxicity? How long should one wait before seeking medical assistance?
To Jillian (#201)
I think you have fleas! I just went through this last summer as my cats got fleas and of course brought them in the house. My ankles were bit up so bad and it itched like crazy. If you need advice getting rid of them, let me know. We had a heck of time trying a million different things, spending alot of money and searching the net but finally found a solution.
To John (257),
I don’t know if you have gotten your bite checked out because you posted on the 3rd and I’m just reading it on the 6th. But you need to. I don’t want to scare you but my friend was bit (doc says by a brown recluse but no spider was found so we don’t know for sure) and the same thing happened to him with the hole. The doctor said it was because the kind of bite he got was a flesh eating bite and it continues to eat away your flesh long after the bite. Please get it checked out.
About 2wks ago, I woke up and noticed a bite on the front of my right leg. My husband and I think it might have been a spider bite but not sure what kind. The only reacation that I have had is that it itches really bad, very red and is a little swore around it. When you push on the bite area, it is kinda hard. It started off the size of maybe a quarter and got very red now it is about the size of a dime. In the middle of the redness it had like two puncture bites. It looked like it was pusing so I had to mess with that, it has done that twice now, of course I had to popped it. Now it still looks like a red dime.
Can anyone help me out, not sure what it is and would like to find.
About 5 days ago I noticed I had a bite on the side of my stomach. It looked like a mosquito bite but it had a blister. It has been extremely itchy since I was bit and I’ve constinuously scratched it. It hasn’t gotten any worse and is now scabbed over but still really itchy. But the main reason for my inquiry is that the next morning when shampooing my hair I noticed a sore spot just above my hair line. There is a small red bump. It is very sore to touch but not itchy. My neck is stiff right underneath and now my back is very sore under my shoulder blade, directly underneath the sore. Could this be a bite of some sort? Should I get it checked out?
lets see i got bit two days ago and the bite is still here. its not that serious idont think. it itches alot and its about little smaller than a dime in size. the inflamatory response is still in effect so im just wondering if it was serious.
For those of you getting red bumps every few days, take a look at our page on Bed Bugs. This is a common problem and there is good information on how to detect and stop them from feeding on you.
I was bitten yesterday by an unknown spider. It left a large mosquito-bite looking thing on my neck, surrounded by several smaller ones. The area is red and slightly swollen. Just below the bite, there’s a hard lump, and it’s painful to the touch. I can feel pain in the muscles in my neck and in my jaw. I suspect that it’s not to poisonous a spider, but quite annoying.
by the way, I live in Western Canada, in the southern interior of British Columbia. It’s quite desert-like here, and we do have black widows and brown recluse spiders. I’ve seen several black widows myself. Very cool actually, as long as you keep your fingers away from them.
Hi I was bite a few days ago looked like a bug bite at first but the next day started to bruise all around it .looks like # 241 but about the size of a fifty cent piece, my boss has the exact same bite. Could this be a spider bite? I have 4 yr old twins and am worried please help!
Susie
I woke up about a week ago with a red bump on the left side of my abdomen. It looked like an ant bite at first, but after about 2 days,it began to swell and turn black and blue on the top. It busted after about 6 days and a lot of pus mixed with blood came out, and then it started bleeding badly. Now, it bleeds several times a day and a hole is forming. It is a fairly large hole. I do not know that it is a spider bite, but I am curious. I do not feel sick or have any other symptoms. It is painful and it itches. Can anyone help me?
I was in NC and I woke up to 3 small bumps on my abdomen, thought spider bites. I put neo-sporin on them but they then got very red and irritated. I went to local clinic today and the dr. said in all probability is was SHINGLES and not a spider bite at all.
Treatment is a viral antibiotic for 7 days. So everyone that has more then one spot like many of you are describing, get it checked out and then read up on shingles. Please don’t try to diagnose yourself even the local pharmacist thought they were spider bites.
Hi,
I got bit from a spider on my left side about 12 hours ago and I’m hoping nothing will go wrong, but its a black line with a white head just over it, it started all red around it when I got bit (to about the size of a soft ball, then swelled up, but now it’s just the actual bite mark that’s left with a little red around it.
I feel a little queasy and a little drain, and the bite make is sensitive to the touch.
I had pain in the right side of face and neck. 2 days later I developed a rash and very sharp pain in face and neck. I believe a spider of some kind bite me, what was it? Its very painful and and sensetive to the touch and itchy. Lypnodes are swollen in my neck. My joints hurt.
Two days ago as I was walking into my house I think I got a spider or some kind of insect bite. on my right foot. I must have took a bad allergic reaction to it cause I started getting itchy around my neck and it was harder to breath…I then took an antihistamine…but I’m 15 weeks pregnant and seeing we have no clue what kind of spider bit me or for that matter an insect we went to ER.
Half way there I checked my arms and they were covered with red rash type spots and blotches. We got to the ER, I went to the bathroom and discovered my whole stomache and crotch area covered with this rash. We ended up going home instead of seeing a doctor cause the rash went down after 30 minutes or so and in the morning it was completely gone. BUT I still have a big fat swelling foot and the bite mark is now visible it looks like a small white head pimple! Anyone have any ideas what bit me? Should I have gotten medical attention? Thanks!
I was pulling some weeds outside the door of our Lania when I felt something bite my side it was painful. I immediately sprayed my side with water from the garden hose, within one hour my stomach started to swell and become very itchy. I washed with antibacterial soap and use betadine and then peroxide the area, it seemed to help a little, I also took benedryl. I then noticed the swelling spreading I keep putting peroxide and witch hazel on the site, it seem to reduce the swelling but it moves to another area of my stomach.
After 2 days I now started taking Bactrim DS antibiotic and Benedryl, I have not seen a Doctor yet. I have this medication in the house because I had similar situation 6 months ago with what looked like hives. Now I have little bite marks that looks like mosquito bites but around the same area, when I pour peroxide on it it foams out, then I use witch hazel and neosporin because from scratching I don’t want to infect it more. Is there any thing else I should be doing?
i recently found out we have woodlouse spiders in our house i have only killed 2 babies and one big one since january recently me and my fiance have been getting bites,today i notices on my littly pinky toe i thought i had a blister but it is very hard to the touch and sensitive (probably because i scratched my toe on the carpet to relieve it) i am reading about these bites which is freaking me out. i dont feel sick i dont think can any body give me a suggestion.i am at work and probably cannot leave until 4.30 ????????
I was putting mortor in a pattern of rocks to make a patio and did not see a spider or any other bug. I felt my finger getting a stining feeling and immediately went inside to wash it. It was swolen and turning blue from what i thought was blood. I did not find a bite entry mark. It has stayed swolen and blue. I have had no other symptoms, did not feel sick or have any more pain after a few hours. twelve hours later I still have no symptoms, no pain, still the blue color.
Regarding comment #34
Is there any fever with MRSA? Or other symptoms than the appearance that makes one think it’s a bite?
I live in florida and have had SEVERAL “spider bites” in the past year, around 32. My Dr. says they are spider bites but is now unsure. I have seen a spider a few times, but most of the time I don’t. They all have the same symptoms. They start off a red bump, then it gets red a rash around it and the bump continues to get larger and then has a blister like look about it.
The bump is dark in the center with a thin layer of red then white like a blister. The outside of the bump is a large rash. Now I have one of my lower back and one on my upper thigh which i am very concerned about. It itches and hurts, when my clothes rub against it, it hurts. My veins also hurt. It feels liek a pinching in my veins.
I have had staff infections twice and my Dr. thinks it is related to that in some way. Any help with this at all is greatly appreciated. Thanks
– Ashlie
I think I got a spider bite, but I’m not sure. It started out looking like a mosquito bite, small, red, itchy. Next day the red area was the size of a quarter, hard, itchy and hot to the touch. Later that day the area swelled to the size of my palm, maybe 3-4 inches across, the middle was still red and the size of a half dollar, the rest of the swollen area was white.
Still hot to the touch. About 3 days after the bite the swelling started to go down. The swollen white area disappeared first. The swelling of the red area went down, but I now have a redish discoloration (scar?) from where the red area was. This is the second bite I’ve had like this. Both have left discoloration at the original red area. Anyone know if this was a spider bite??
I think i may have a spider bite on my inner forearm. im not really sure what spider bites look like, but mine has two matching dots (bites) side my side, maybe 3 mm apart from each other. Around the two dots its a bit puffy and a little white and around the white part its a bit red. Mind the two dots are pretty small and no bigger than the end of a sharpened number 2 pencil.
Someone please let me know if this is a spider bite, and what should i do?
My name’s Chris, I’m a resident of Florida, and I have a question. A couple of hours ago, there was a power outage. I was laying on the couch in the dark and streched my arm upwards. At that point, I felt some burning pain on my the right side of my back, right behind my arm pit.
Considering that I had no mirror that I could carry outside with me, I scratched at the site, thinking it was just some acne I had. However, the area felt a little painful and numb when I scratched at it (hardly felt any scratching sensation on it), and painful when I streched my hand in the same position.
Later, when the power came back, I checked to see what it was and I saw two small pimple-like bumps (no pus) like half an inch or less apart. Both were swelling and one was a little open (probably from me scratching it.). Within these two hours, the swelling had stopped, but the area remains the same, including the part that I feel pain when I strech my hand in that certain position.
Since there are two markings, I’m worried I may have a bite (I felt and saw nothing crawling on me at the time I first felt the pain). Could you you tell me if I was bitten by a spider or not?
Here is one for the spiders- There is a small house spider in my kitchen that is being very helpful catching fruit flies around my herbs. It is harmless and I don’t need any insecticides.
FYI, since I am in the Northeast, anyone that has symptoms of a ring around their bite should get checked for Lyme disease from a tick bite!
Christina K #123 are you sure those aren’t bed bugs or chiggers? I hear that they can spread quickly in dorms.
I was bitten by a spider (not 100% sure, but seems like it) while running through a trail in a forest (outside of Chicago). The pain was very harsh, felt like somebody was digging fingernails in my ankle. The suspected spider came from leaves/brush area and lunged/jumped to lodge just above my sock.
Since then, my whole ankle has swollen up like a sprained ankle would after rolling it playing basketball.
After reading up on spider bites, I think it is a wolf spider. Would anybody have any knowledge about what type of spider would be in a forest in the midwest, and if I should do anything about it? (currently icing it and taking benadryl)
Thanks!
I live in norwich where i was gardening yesturday and when I woke up my knee had a lump on it. The lump was itchy, red and has a small circle inside the lump the color of my skin; I dont no if it is a spider bite but if it is, witch spider is it??
I was recently bitten in my sleep on my bicep. I do not think it is a spider bite, but my mom looked at it, and told me it was possibly a brown recluse bite. There is a small bruise forming, but it has a single puncture in the center, but right off to the side of the bruise is 2 tiny little dots, that look like a possible spider bite, but being off to the side of the bruise, I am very confused. I do have a pet tarantula, so I tend to get more than the average amount of house spiders in my bedroom.
btw, the bite/sting in that pic is almost 4 days old.
That red line is very bad and seems to be a telltale sign of a spiders venom traveling up the bloodstream. I would not wait one more minute and go see the doctor! It is not worth having him loose his arm.
Please let me know what it was as you now have me curious, but do not wait any longer!
My son has a bite. We’re not sure it’s of a spider but it’s quite possible as he was at a camp where there were many. The head of the bite is very swollen, but what is intriguing is there is a red line that follows up his arm as if the bite has taken a vein. What should we be thinking? A picture of the bite and the line is included below.
JW
Well I went to the doctor on Monday (7/23/07) and was put on antibotics then I returned on Wednesday, Still no better. I was then referred to a general surgen, who did operate on my breast ( in his office) he cut out the infected area dime size 2 inches deep. I have one more day of pills and then I return to the surgen on Monday.
Don’t mess around if you think its a SPIDER bite like I did! The doctor told me the tissue was black inside my breast from the bite and even now, as I type this message, I am in great pain (burning sinsation).
I’ll find out Monday if after all this, I still may need to go in hospital for large dose of IV antibotics.
On Friday July 20th I was bitten by something that I thought was a wasp; it swelled a little bit but by Monday it was the size of a ping pong ball and rock hard. A red line had travelled from the area of the bite half way up my forearm to my elbow and it was also excruciatingly painful; I could barely move my arm so I made my way to the hospital.
They froze the area, lanced the wound and tried to locate the stinger but were unable to find it. They tried to flush it but only a small amount of clear liquid oozed out. They gave me an intravenous with antibiotic, and some painkiller; the wound was dressed and I was given a prescription for oral pain killers and was told to come back the next morning for another ‘treatment’.
I returned the next morning for 6:00 am as requested where I received another dose of antibiotic and painkiller and had to return at noon and again at 6:00 pm – this process continued every day for the rest of the week. On Friday, the 27th, they removed the dressing and the bite had filled with a brown-like liquid. They lanced the wound once again and this time this horrendous looking fluid came rushing out; when no more liquid came they scraped out this huge white sac like bag that was approximately the size of half a cotton ball – it was totally disgusting and I can’t even begin to describe the pain.
I should mention that throughout this last week I have been totally exhausted, nauseous, with fever, and vomitting daily. It was at this point that the doctor suggested it was probably a spider bite and not a wasp. She also told me that I would probably scar. The good thing is that as soon as the fluid had been squeezed from the wound the red line practically disappeared – I am assuming that this was some type of poison or toxin from the bite.
The nurse took a sample of the fluid and the sac away before I had a chance to look at it more closely and besides – I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind at that point in time. I have included two pictures for everyone – the first one is the bite on Saturday morning, and the second is the open wound after the sac was removed.
What type of spider could bite someone and leave a sac behind?
I was bitten by a posionous spider over a week ago.The bite was painless, but I felt a dull pain in my ankle area within 30 minutes of the bite, I don’t have a lesion in the area, but there is redness and swelling. The pain in my ankle has gotten worse, even thought it has been 10 days since the bite. I also feel a general malaise, and increasing body aches. I was cleaning at the time of the bite,and saw a threatening looking spider, but thought I killed it, and flushed it down the toilet. So I’m not sure what kind of spider it was.
I was bit today 7/26/07, and not sure by what. It is kind of brown gray in the center and red around it. Has gotten a bit bigger. Is tender and the skin is swollen. It originally looked like a bruise with redness around it. The center feels kind of rough. Not sure anyone can help….
Sydney,
Those red streaks usually mean big trouble! You need to go see a doctor right now, don’t wait!
Please, I had a friend that waited and he almost list his limb, and many of the stories I have heard about concerning a spider bite with red line the person was hospitalized.
I don’t mean to scare you, but I pray that you go in now.
Please post back and let everyone here know what happened!
I was bitten by one or more spiders 5 days ago, see the pictures below:
The worst bite seems to be the one behind my neck which is puffy, yellow, red and hurts like crazy. T other bites are behind my ear and is just little red and slightly puffy. The one arm is the smallest of them all and is sort of puffy and does not hurt.
I have no idea what kind spider did this.
Hi, my name is sydney and i was wondering if anyone could tell by my description of my bites if they were from spiders?
One morning i woke up and saw 3 bites on my thigh near my right buttock one on my right hip and a third on my right arm just a little bit below my elbow, at first the bites began to swell like a bump on some ones head then they began to hurt when i laid on my right side or bumped them on something.
My mom looked at them and told me to put some cream on the bite in my hip and i did, then when i took a shower the next day it popped and a yellowish reddish pus came out and then it went a way; I still have a scar. Then i noticed a week or so later that the other bites were not going away so my mom said to put meat tenderizer on the one on my leg it then got huge like half the size of a golf ball and it began to be painful to walk.
I then noticed that it had a head on it and after a few days it popped as well and you would think that the one on my arm would do the same but then I felt pain going from my bite directly up my arm with red streaks and i could tell exactly where it would go next. My mom told me to put tenderizer on that bite too which i think made it worse because now i have more red streaks of pain which im afraid will go straight to my heart.
If anyone has any advice please let me now im going to the emergency room around 4 when my om gets off so if there is any advice given before then ill try that before anything and if not ill post what happened and put before and after pictures up.
Thanks Sydney
I have a red circle of bites on my neck. The bites aren’t large or anything, but they have what look like pusy heads. THey didn’t itch at all at first, they were just painful, but after keeping it clean and waiting for two and a half weeks, they starte healing and itching at the same time. I just want to know what bit me!
About a week and a half ago I got what i think is a spider bite, it started looking like a mosquito bite and then got bigger and swelled with a small pimple like head in the center. After about a week it started going down but it also got deep purple like a bruise, right now its pink and I thought it was going away but its super itchy and still swollen it feels like a bump. Should I go to the Dr. for this or should I just wait for it to go away??? Please respond, I’m getting nervous
thank you
I woke up with these two small marks next to each other that hurt. The next day they were huge and looked infected. I tried to get the infection out and have been treating it with hydrogen peroxide.
Everyone keeps telling me that they look like spider bites. I hate spiders so I spray my home monthly to keep them away, so this kind of surprises me if in fact they are spider bites.
Here is a picture of them a month later. Do they look familiar to anyone?
#12 For gods sake go to the doctor!
I was bitten by what I beleive to be a spider about a day ago. The bite is in the top of my hand close to my knuckle.
It’s about 1/2 inch in diamiter and isnow pretty bright red with a small blood red dot in the center. The center has gotten larger and the bite is more swollen since yesterday. It itches like craaaazy. Anyone know what this might be?