"Spider bites" in bed, what are they really?

[Hisserdude]

Hi guys,

I've heard several people say they get small red welts in bed while they're sleeping, and they call them spider bites. However, I have always thought that was bull crap, because spiders only bite if they feel threatened. Sure those people could be rolling over spiders and causing them to bite, but on a regular basis? Seems like an ectoparastite to me, maybe bed bugs?

My question is, have you guys heard about this, or has anybody here had this happen to you? If so, does anyone really know the culprit, arachnid or otherwise? I hate seeing spiders always being balmed for stuff that has nothing to do with them.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Those are the culprits, with shows like that... it's easy to blame spiders because no one like those, and 90% of the people are nothing but brain dead, uneducated idiots.

Read the comment section if you want to have a good lol and destroy, in the meantime and for free, some of your brain cells without a couple of glasses of god damn old Scotch.

Reminds me of majority of Italian people: constitution is paper toilet, we are at the third -- non elected by the people -- government in a row, and they are hypnotized by the Electric BS maker (TV) like an hardcore ghetto crack head with a brand new 55 inches 4K Ultra HD LED TV

 

[Vanessa]

I have been bitten in bed once in my life because I rolled over on someone in the middle of the night. Their poor little flattened body was still in my bed. In my case it was a Cheiracanthium inclusum that I rolled over on. I have a worse than normal reaction to any insect bite, so I did end up having to go on an antibiotic a few days later.
However, I have lived with them in every home I have ever lived in. I don't ever take them outside, I just let them do their own thing and I don't bother them. They come in during the fall and are gone again in the spring. I have probably been in close contact with hundreds of them in my life and only ever been bitten once. They are not aggressive and I take dozens of photos of them when possible and never had a bad experience.
I rolled over and squashed the poor guy - I can't blame them for biting me.
Here are two that I photographed in my apartment last winter. The male had a missing leg, maybe he had already met up with the female?

 

[The Snark]

I've heard several people say they get small red welts in bed while they're sleeping

Small red welts. To clarify something here.
Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus aka Dust mites.
Preferred habitat: inside mattresses. Preferred food in domesticated habitats, dander. IE, your mattress provides a perfect storm scenario.
Red welts are the commonest sign these animals are present.

How common are they? Found in 95% of the homes in third world countries. They are quite happy to travel, going home with you from your vacation in your clothes.

How small? They can climb through the mattress cover, sheets and bedding with ease.

How to eradicate: starvation plus lots and lots and lots and lots of doing the laundry. In mattresses the only effective control is mite proof, very fine weave, mattress covers or sheets. (I suppose you could immerse the mattress in liquid nitrogen for a half hour to do the job.)

They are immune to all household insecticides. Don't even bother. In managing to kill a few adults you will turn your home into a toxic waste dump.

I bought a mattress here in Thailand that came loaded from the factory with mites. (The mattress has coconut fiber, another mite habitat.) Expensive mite proof sheets and 3 years later, no more little red bumps in the night. Leaving the mattress in the sun for six months had no effect.

 

[Formerphobe]

Dust mites, fleas, bed bugs, lice, etc..... Most people prefer to blame an eight legged villain than to think they have anything else living in their bed or house.

 

[Hisserdude]

Those are the culprits, with shows like that... it's easy to blame spiders because no one like those, and 90% of the people are nothing but brain dead, uneducated idiots.

Read the comment section if you want to have a good lol and destroy, in the meantime and for free, some of your brain cells without a couple of glasses of god damn old Scotch.

Reminds me of majority of Italian people: constitution is paper toilet, we are at the third -- non elected by the people -- government in a row, and they are hypnotized by the Electric BS maker (TV) like an hardcore ghetto crack head with a brand new 55 inches 4K Ultra HD LED TV

Yeah, people are idiots! They all spew forth lies about bugs because they don't know anything about them, and are afraid of them. If only people took the time to fill their brains with facts instead of bullcrap.

 

[Hisserdude]

I have been bitten in bed once in my life because I rolled over on someone in the middle of the night. Their poor little flattened body was still in my bed. In my case it was a Cheiracanthium inclusum that I rolled over on. I have a worse than normal reaction to any insect bite, so I did end up having to go on an antibiotic a few days later.
However, I have lived with them in every home I have ever lived in. I don't ever take them outside, I just let them do their own thing and I don't bother them. They come in during the fall and are gone again in the spring. I have probably been in close contact with hundreds of them in my life and only ever been bitten once. They are not aggressive and I take dozens of photos of them when possible and never had a bad experience.
I rolled over and squashed the poor guy - I can't blame them for biting me.
Here are two that I photographed in my apartment last winter. The male had a missing leg, maybe he had already met up with the female?

I am really fond of this genus, and I have a pet one right now. They really aren't all that aggressive, but rolling over one in bed would certainly cause it to bite. Sorry you got bit, apparently their venom is pretty nasty, though not potent enough to kill you or anything.

 

[Hisserdude]

Small red welts. To clarify something here.
Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus aka Dust mites.
Preferred habitat: inside mattresses. Preferred food in domesticated habitats, dander. IE, your mattress provides a perfect storm scenario.
Red welts are the commonest sign these animals are present.

How common are they? Found in 95% of the homes in third world countries. They are quite happy to travel, going home with you from your vacation in your clothes.

How small? They can climb through the mattress cover, sheets and bedding with ease.

How to eradicate: starvation plus lots and lots and lots and lots of doing the laundry. In mattresses the only effective control is mite proof, very fine weave, mattress covers or sheets. (I suppose you could immerse the mattress in liquid nitrogen for a half hour to do the job.)

They are immune to all household insecticides. Don't even bother. In managing to kill a few adults you will turn your home into a toxic waste dump.

I bought a mattress here in Thailand that came loaded from the factory with mites. (The mattress has coconut fiber, another mite habitat.) Expensive mite proof sheets and 3 years later, no more little red bumps in the night. Leaving the mattress in the sun for six months had no effect.

Yes, thanks for the culprit ID! Now I'll be saying that to anyone who gets small red welts in bed!

 

[Hisserdude]

Dust mites, fleas, bed bugs, lice, etc..... Most people prefer to blame an eight legged villain than to think they have anything else living in their bed or house.

Yeah, unfortunately that is the frame of mind for most people. Anytime someone gets bit by something or gets an infection, they seem to jump right away to the conclusion that it is a spider bite.

 

[Tenevanica]

I got MRSA after I didn't clean one of those mysterious wounds that show up at night. They don't happen often to me, (and I doubt they're from spiders) but I will occasionally wake up with little marks and red bumps. Anyway, I woke up with one of these and it became infected. I went to the hospital for treatment and the doctor was SURE that I was bitten by a black widow! "It looks just like a widow bite, and you're showing common side effects of the bite." Yeah, I was also showing common side effects of a serious skin infection! I had to REQUEST they ran a gram stain on some of the puss that was coming out of this wound. Sure enough I had MRSA (for the third time in my life -_-) and I was given antibiotics for it like usual. The doctor was so convinced it was a spider bite all he originally suggested was bed rest. I have no medical experience, and even I knew enough that it wasn't just some spider bite! Imagine if I didn't know better and the infection spread to my blood. I could have died! Even the most intelligent humans aren't nearly as smart as the average entomologist

 

[Hisserdude]

I got MRSA after I didn't clean one of those mysterious wounds that show up at night. They don't happen often to me, (and I doubt they're from spiders) but I will occasionally wake up with little marks and red bumps. Anyway, I woke up with one of these and it became infected. I went to the hospital for treatment and the doctor was SURE that I was bitten by a black widow! "It looks just like a widow bite, and you're showing common side effects of the bite." Yeah, I was also showing common side effects of a serious skin infection! I had to REQUEST they ran a gram stain on some of the puss that was coming out of this wound. Sure enough I had MRSA (for the third time in my life -_-) and I was given antibiotics for it like usual. The doctor was so convinced it was a spider bite all he originally suggested was bed rest. I have no medical experience, and even I knew enough that it wasn't just some spider bite! Imagine if I didn't know better and the infection spread to my blood. I could have died! Even the most intelligent humans aren't nearly as smart as the average entomologist

You need a better doctor lol! Jeez, these guys need to know what they're doing, good thing you insisted they check the pus! I agree, they should all take a course in entomology and educate themselves, I'm sure their IQs would grow considerably!

 

[Chris LXXIX]

You need a better doctor lol!

Ah ah reminds me of my Doc, a lovely old school Italian man (with World War I style moustache, of course) in his 60, genius when it comes to heart disease (lovely, he asked me once in a very kind way: do you still own Spiders?) lol... i went two years ago to him because i had a severe, painful, Resident Evil Style (the movie) purple colored Staphylococcus aureus infection: his comeback was: "Oh, an infection, you say? Tsk, the infection is already working inside your shoulder, son." <-- was a K-wire inside my right clavicle went crazy after a serious motorbike incident i had when i was a teen, never removed, "exploded" at 35 lol

Reason i'm alive is: i choosed a private clinic instead of my city hospital for surgery lol.