Shew.

[SnakeManJohn]

Just letting you guys know that I almost walked right into a Brown Recluse Spider yesterday, not sure what the scientific name is but I know its a poisoness spider here in Tennessee. I do have pictures, which I will upload later, but for now, this is what it looks like. I wasn't sure whether to keep it or not. So I left it. Althought it's not that hard to find.

http://health.yahoo.com/media/healthwise/h9991028.jpg

Looks like it couldn't do much, but search "Brown Recluse spider" on google and look at the images. Some nasty bites there.

 

[Tegenaria]

Brown recluses can cause some nasty injuries.Ive seen themn on Animal Planet. Better left alone I'd think.

 

[SnakeManJohn]

Oh yea, I wouldn't have thought they were poisoness I read a pamplet about the Smokey Mountains. I was actually going to hold it, but it ran into its V-shaped web between the a twig and the tree and figured I'd probably bite me. Thank god I didn't.

 

[Taceas]

Are you sure it was a Brown Recluse? :?

I don't think they web much, and I doubt it would have been up at body level in a tree. Not saying its impossible, I just find it unlikely.

Most wild ones I've found have been in older moist brush piles or in firewood piles down on the ground. Even the ones in our home have been in dark closets or in the crawlspace.

And for the love of whatever deity you worship, the correct term is "venomous". It can inject a nasty venom into you. For it to be poisonous would imply that you have to ingest (eat) it to harm you.

 

[Tegenaria]

Are you sure it was a Brown Recluse? :?


For it to be poisonous would imply that you have to ingest (eat) it to harm you.

But many poisons can be injected and still be lethal. Whether you inject a lethal poison like strychnine or eat it youre still gonna suffer.

 

[David_F]

Are you sure it was a Brown Recluse? :?

Yeah, from the sounds of the web and habitat I'd bet on it being an Agelenopsis sp. rather than a brown recluse.

However, if it was a brown recluse, I'm glad to hear you didn't "walk into it". They are the most dangerous of all spiders you're likely to encounter. It's not enough for them to chase you down to bite you but they'll often times steal your wallet and bring their friends around often just so they can intimidate you, retell the story and laugh at you. This type of humiliation is likely to require years of therapy to overcome.