GENERAL INFORMATION

Body 7-12mm (1/4" - 1/2') long, front part light to medium brown with darker violin-shaped marking and 6 (not 8) eyes; abdomen light to dark grey-brown; legs relatively long.

WHERE IT LIVES

The Brown Recluse is native to the south-central U.S. (from New Mexico east to Alabama and from Iowa south to Texas and Louisiana), where it lives both outdoors (under rocks and ground litter) and indoors (particularly in rarely cleaned storage areas). It has been accidentally introduced into some other parts of the U. S. (including some cities in North Carolina), where it lives in storage areas in buildings in an irregular 3-dimensional web hidden under or inside boxes and other objects. The adult male wanders away from its web. People are typically bitten when cleaning a storage area, putting on clothing in which a spider is hiding, or pressing against a spider which has wandered into bedding.

WHAT TO DO IF BITTEN

Do not panic; a Brown Recluse bite is almost never fatal. Collect the spider (if possible) and go immediately to a hospital.

REACTION TO BITE

The reaction may consist only of a very local and temporary skin irritation. Sometimes, however, the reaction may be serious and include the following stages: The actual bite may not be felt but within 1 to several hours the bitten area becomes painful and swollen with blisters sometimes forming. Over a period of a few to several days the bite site becomes purple and then black as the cells die (necrosis). After several weeks the blackened area falls away, leaving a pit which slowly fills with scar tissue. On rare occasions the reaction is more severe, involving a large amount of tissue destruction and/or a serious life-threatening systemic reaction.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

Antivenin is not widely available. Treatment may include ice, anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics. Occasionally, plastic surgery may be required.

PREVENTION

Keep buildings and especially storage areas (closets, basements, attics, etc.) clean and orderly. Learn to recognize the Brown Recluse spider by its distinctive features so that an infestation can be recognized and removed.

OTHER SPECIES OF LOXOSCELES

Several other species of Loxosceles, all of which look much like the Brown Recluse, are found in North America, and all of these have venoms which may be toxic to humans. Most of these are found in the southwestern U. S. and Mexico.

INFORMATION LINKS

Brown Recluse Spider (Ohio State University Fact sheet)

This information was complied in 1994 from several sources by Dr. Frederick A. Coyle, Dept. of Biology, . Western Carolina University. The most informative reference on these spiders is: Gertsch, W. J. & F. Ennik. 1983. The spider genus Loxosceles in North America, Central America, and the West Indes (Araneae, Loxoscelidae). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 175(3)264-360.

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