# POLL: Yellow sac spider bites and opinions (Cheiracanthium spp.)



## Avic_Litee (Jan 30, 2007)

I need some info/opinions about Cheiracanthium for my website. This is the only spider in my life that I've disliked and I am trying hard to get over that. It's unfair and highly unlike me. I constantly read info about bites from this genus, and I am wondering whether any of this info should go on my website. My website is intended to be informative, but also to promote positive feelings for spiders. Spider Bob said he's been bit tons of times and never reacted as the articles imply. See the following sites:

Obviously I wouldn't like to a page called a spider a "pest":
http://www.pestcontrolmag.com/pestco...l.jsp?id=42129 

http://entomology.uark.edu/museum/sacspider.html

http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/74/6/1043

http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/yellosac.html


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## Avic_Litee (Jan 30, 2007)

*oh yeah and...*

Please don't vote here if you've already voted on ATS.


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## Venom (Jan 30, 2007)

I was bitten, but suffered only mild, temporary stinging and a slight bump. ( the specimen was very small, and was not held against my skin: it was a free-handling accident in which it bit me spontaneously, and obviously did not inject much venom. )

My sister was bitten, and you can read her bite report here: 

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=68817


I was present to observe the symptoms and her general condition. The bite report is accurate: she was on crutches for quite some time.

I can provide other, almost identical bite reports if you would like. Bottom line on Cheiracanthium is they are nasty! --nasty nasty nasty!!  :evil:


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## cacoseraph (Jan 30, 2007)

well, i have a few spots that might be a slightly cytotoxic bite site, but i never saw the culprit and would not want to venture a guess of venom versus a ton of other more abundant and likely sources of cytotoxism.

i do free handle all the cheira i encounter though 





zoom


i will try to goad some bites next time i come across one of these fellas


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## spydrhunter1 (Jan 30, 2007)

It's funny ...I must remove a half dozen of these things from the lab monthly and never had one offer to bite. P.S. don't tell the lab directors, I don't kill the spiders but release them outside.


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## Venom (Jan 30, 2007)

> i do free handle all the cheira i encounter though


Your point?  You handle everything!!!


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## loxoscelesfear (Feb 1, 2007)

*yellows and recluses*

we have both yellow sac and brown recluse where i work.   of all the spiders to have around the job , it has to be two with nasty bites.   yet, i dont kill them  i like spiders  they get tossed out the door


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## Widowman10 (Feb 1, 2007)

i hear their venom is kinda nasty (recluse like symptoms) but they are not very aggressive or fast. handling-friendly (unless of course you squish it, then it will definitely bite!)


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## cacoseraph (Feb 1, 2007)

Widowman10 said:


> i hear their venom is kinda nasty (recluse like symptoms) but they are not very aggressive or fast. handling-friendly (unless of course you squish it, then it will definitely bite!)


the spider in that pic is named Seven Yellow Lightning Bolts because it was so freakin quick 

i would agree that they are very retreating, though


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## buthus (Feb 1, 2007)

cacoseraph said:


> the spider in that pic is named Seven Yellow Lightning Bolts because it was so freakin quick
> 
> i would agree that they are very retreating, though


I've kept a few of these.  Cacoseraph is correct ...when they choose to move fast...they can really fly.


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## Venom (Feb 1, 2007)

A couple quotes from Darwin Vest's ( arachnologist ) website, hobospider.org:

"Yellow sac spiders are among the least known clinically significant spiders, but they are indeed capable of causing a painful bite with development of a necrotic lesion (not as severe as the brown recluse or hobo), and can sometimes produce systemic effects as well."

And especially:

 "They are very prone to bite defensively (more so than any other significantly venomous U.S. spider)"


They aren't just fast, they're MEAN suckers!!


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## cacoseraph (Feb 2, 2007)

well, of course i only have limited experience... but my local species (C. mildei, i think...) is just as retreating as all the other spiders i have played with. more so, if anything... those things can SCOOT!


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## orcrist (Feb 4, 2007)

A friend of mine recieved a painful but inconsequential bite from one of these when we were young.

I haven't even seen one in about a year.


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## Coastalsavvy (Sep 26, 2008)

*yellow sac spiders*

The home I grew up in became infested with them about 7 yrs ago--they loved to hang out in the kitchen (Im sure they came in through the back door)  This was before I knew anything about them and their toxicity, but we'd catch and release a few a day in the summertime.  Anyway, I've never been bitten as far as I know,but if I have, there were no real reactions.  I have had several on me (trying to catch them) and they dont seem to be as aggressive and defensive as they are made out to be.  Like any other spiders, I think they'd just like to get away from the big bad humans.:} 

Good luck on getting over your dislike of them!


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## YellowSacVictim (May 25, 2013)

Wow... i've been bitten over 20 times in the last few months by yellow sacs - luckily so far i've experienced only minor dermonecrosis, yet one bite is on my leg and it doesn't hurt but the vein has turned a darker color and seeing that your sister was on crutches??? is VERY unsettling. because i'm aware these bites can escalate into staph infections..... can you please tell me what happened? thank you


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## Tarantula155 (May 25, 2013)

I am sorry but their bites are a bit over exaggerated in my opinion. Either that, or I do not have very sensitive skin.

Here is my female yellow sac spider  she mated very recently with one of my males. So I'm hoping she is gravid 

[video=youtube;xmNSdr0POvE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmNSdr0POvE[/video]

For the ones that can't see the video^ click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmNSdr0POvE


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## Smokehound714 (May 25, 2013)

Crutches.. lol 

 I wouldn't cite anything from Hobospider.org.  very inaccurate information there...  -_-

  Any spider bite can become a necrotic sore if you dont wash the bite, and scratch at it like a tweeker in withdrawal..


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## The Snark (May 26, 2013)

*Perspective*

Recently I've been reviewing my paramedic books and some of the med calls I've been on over the years and talk about overblown unreal, the commentaries about this spider and that spider being this or that hazard, in comparison to the common every day hazards people encounter...
IT'S FREAKING RIDICULOUS!

The yellow sac spider is in my house! THE HORROR. Okay, cool. Did you get at least 1 hour of serious exercise every day this year? No? Hrrm. Deduct a few months off your expected lifespan then. And to be generous, 30 seconds off for every Yellow Sac Spider bite.

The bottom line in a rough analogy is we are all living in houses filled with hand grenades and curious monkeys while gnashing our teeth in angst over the possibility of falling out a window while sneezing.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Ciphor (May 27, 2013)

YellowSacVictim said:


> i'm aware these bites can escalate into staph infections.....


Your ignorance on how dermal infections work is quite amazing. Nothing turns into a staph infection. Staph is the infection it starts out as.


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## Malhavoc's (May 28, 2013)

cacoseraph said:


> well, i have a few spots that might be a slightly cytotoxic bite site, but i never saw the culprit and would not want to venture a guess of venom versus a ton of other more abundant and likely sources of cytotoxism.
> 
> i do free handle all the cheira i encounter though
> 
> ...


Hey Man Its been awhile!

I actually have forced these to bite me to no effect, mostly from curiosity, They  heavily inhabit my current residence, they have actually become a favoured food of my Carpenter ant nest I've been rearing, which means getting bit.. a lot. As no self respecting spider wants to be thrown into a hungry ant nest.


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## The Snark (May 28, 2013)

Ciphor said:


> Your ignorance on how dermal infections work is quite amazing. Nothing turns into a staph infection. Staph is the infection it starts out as.


Not meaning to stomp holes in Ciphor's dingy but. Staph, as most other bacterial infectors, are opportunists. They will infect when the defense mechanisms are compromised. In the case of bites, the defense being the skin. The infection can set in at any time the bacteria finds an opening. In the case of staph, many staph infections come from household surfaces some time after the initial injury has taken place. 
This is the reason we use sterile dressings and protect wounds from the open air. When you have the slightest doubt of infection possibility, get scrubbing the wound good and hard with a povidone-iodine antiseptic like Betadyne<tm>


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## Ciphor (May 28, 2013)

The Snark said:


> Not meaning to stomp holes in Ciphor's dingy but. Staph, as most other bacterial infectors, are opportunists. They will infect when the defense mechanisms are compromised. In the case of bites, the defense being the skin. The infection can set in at any time the bacteria finds an opening. In the case of staph, many staph infections come from household surfaces some time after the initial injury has taken place.
> This is the reason we use sterile dressings and protect wounds from the open air. When you have the slightest doubt of infection possibility, get scrubbing the wound good and hard with a povidone-iodine antiseptic like Betadyne<tm>


I think we're saying the same thing just your explanation is better lol. Staph is an infection, doesn't matter if it's a spider bite, knife cut, nail stab, or surgery removing a leg. It is by nature what it is, staph. Nothing specific escalates into staph. His context was making it sound like staph is something that spider bites turn into. staph isn't something you worry about with a ulcer caused by a spider. Necrosis/gangrene is if its severe enough.


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## The Snark (May 28, 2013)

Ciphor said:


> I think we're saying the same thing just your explanation is better lol. Staph is an infection, doesn't matter if it's a spider bite, knife cut, nail stab, or surgery removing a leg. It is by nature what it is, staph. Nothing specific escalates into staph. His context was making it sound like staph is something that spider bites turn into. staph isn't something you worry about with a ulcer caused by a spider. Necrosis/gangrene is if its severe enough.


Right. Basically, if bitten dial up the web page that tells you about anaphylaxis and the watch fors, clean the wound thoroughly, ice indirectly to slow venom spread and reduce inflamation, and observe. The bite site concerns to watch for are are ulceration, pus, pitting edema and discoloration (blue, bright red (angry), or grey- white). If respirations become labored, heart beats become irregular, a red streak going towards the heart or pain in the lymph nodes develops, get your hiney to the ER STAT.


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## aSpiderificGirl (May 30, 2013)

I have TONS of Cheiracanthium inclusum all over my property, and they especially love to go into my car.  I always check for them before I get in, but last year I was in a hurry and bypassed the check.  I sat down and a few seconds later felt a bite on my thigh.  I got up and realized I had apparently sat partially on one and it bit me in self defense.  I collected it in a container and then drove to my sister's house.  It was stinging like crazy, so I when I got there I went to the bathroom to check where it bit me.  There was a red, nasty looking raised mark.  Eventually the stinging stopped and the mark never turned necrotic.  However, that red, raised mark remained on my thigh for a year and a half before it went away!  I ended up keeping the spider that bit me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVc4FO9yFS8


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## Tarantula155 (May 30, 2013)

aSpiderificGirl said:


> I have TONS of Cheiracanthium inclusum all over my property, and they especially love to go into my car.  I always check for them before I get in, but last year I was in a hurry and bypassed the check.  I sat down and a few seconds later felt a bite on my thigh.  I got up and realized I had apparently sat partially on one and it bit me in self defense.  I collected it in a container and then drove to my sister's house.  It was stinging like crazy, so I when I got there I went to the bathroom to check where it bit me.  There was a red, nasty looking raised mark.  Eventually the stinging stopped and the mark never turned necrotic.  However, that red, raised mark remained on my thigh for a year and a half before it went away!  I ended up keeping the spider that bit me:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVc4FO9yFS8


I've seen that video many times before. I have many yellow sac spider videos on youtube also.


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