Sunday, July 8, 2012

Black Widows and Spider Bites


So, unfortunately we have spiders...black widows.  Contrary to popular beliefs, black widow bites don't usually kill you, but they are venomous and can make you feel really nasty.

Here is a video of a black widow we caught eating another spider. He strikes and bites the spider, injecting venom to affect the nervous system, and simultaneously wraps him up. Eight legs moving faster than your eyes can see.







So, since this video a year ago, we have seen more and more black widows.  Then, after playing with Pearl for a few hours in the backyard, we noticed this on Andrew's leg:  





We DO NOT believe this is a bite from a black widow since he had no symptoms other than the skin lesion from the bites. We watched it and it never got any bigger and started looking a little better the next day. 
Most spider bites DO NOT require a trip to the hospital! 
Check out more info about spider bites at the website for the Mayo Clinic 



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