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Spider bites more uncommon than thought


Saru

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Far from being the stuff of nightmares, spiders are actually more afraid of you than you are of them.

Most so-called "spider bites" are not actually spider bites, according to researchers and several recent studies. Instead, "spider bites" are more likely to be bites or stings from other arthropods such as fleas, skin reactions to chemicals or infections, said Chris Buddle, an arachnologist at McGill University in Montreal.

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A Spiders 'bark' is definitely worse than its bite.

Most of the time...

Edited by Junior Chubb
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Far from being the stuff of nightmares, spiders are actually more afraid of you than you are of them.

That's very consoling :D It still won't stop me running a mile from one though....

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It's not the fear of the bite, it's the creepy crawling feeling of a spider skittering across your skin that freaks people out.. *shivers*

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I've only been bitten twice. Once by a red back, which only made me sick for a day, and another which i don't know what it was. That one sucked, my hand was so swollen i had to cut a ring off.

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It's not the fear of the bite, it's the creepy crawling feeling of a spider skittering across your skin that freaks people out.. *shivers*

thank you for putting that image in my mind!

*looks around... and smiles as i see NO spiders*

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thank you for putting that image in my mind!

*looks around... and smiles as i see NO spiders*

You could do with one to eat that little bug in your signature. :whistle:

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thank you for putting that image in my mind!

*looks around... and smiles as i see NO spiders*

Oh, but it's the ones you can't see... :P

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Oh, but it's the ones you can't see... :P

i have cats... they will protect me.. yes yes yes they will!

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Some of you are lucky that you can even run from a spider! I just freeze out of complete terror. ;/

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I think cats and spiders are in cohorts, evil little things they are, lol.I nameed my kitten 'Kaos', it may not be spelt the same as chaos, but damn does it destroy everything it goes near.

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Some of you are lucky that you can even run from a spider! I just freeze out of complete terror. ;/

Head to Australia then, you'll be fine *ahem* :P

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Head to Australia then, you'll be fine *ahem* :P

Funnily enough I have thought about moving to Australia, and that's the one thing stopping me. I'm that sad haha. :P

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Who was it that said:

" We have nothing to fear, but fear itself....... and spiders. "

:yes:

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almost 12 yrs ago I got this kitten, barely 2 1/2 weeks old, I had to feed him by bottle, use warm cloth on bottom so he could go.. course I had no idea he was a he, his face looked girly to me, so I named him sophia.. learned later when he developed balls that he was a she, anyways..

as he grew, when he was roundabout 6 wks old, if it moved, he chased it. If it crawled, he chased it then tortured it and ate it.

I let him be, it is the way of a cat, right? Besides we had two dogs too, a rotty-husky mix and a lab husky mix, they actually would go running outside and catch things and bring em home.. possums were worse, but eventually the dogs stopped

Again, I digress.

We had a wet wet winter and spring, and spiders hatched, our tub would always have a few. Sophia had issues with the tub, he could jump as well as any cat, but the tub even when dry is not something he could dig claws into, so he usually avoided the tub. Especially since once he jumped and missed the side and my daughter had just drawn a bubble bath... he smelled very very floral for a while.

I woke up one moring, and you know how it is, you wake.. you must pee.. so off to the bathroom, Sophia popped out of the tun, and did that full mouth mewling thing, I ignored it being half asleep.. the sink was right by the toilet, so he leaped on it and looked me in the eye, he loves head bopping, he would look at whoever is sitting on the toilet, and we are expected to butt his forhead with ours.. he still loves htat.

I turned to him and leaned in, he did that full mouth mewly thing, i looked at his mouth.. it was closed... but on eithr side of his 'mouth' was these legs, and they were moving...

I just sat there screaming, he looked at me like i was insane.. my roommate ran in thinking osmething was wrong, sophia looked at her, she looked at him.. saw the legs and ran out of the room... he just mewled again, jumped down and ran off mewling to the dogs...

lord only knows what he was saying to the dogs about our reacting to his prisoner.

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Good to know. I can't believe only 12 species are actually dangerous.

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Funnily enough I have thought about moving to Australia, and that's the one thing stopping me. I'm that sad haha. :P

soon enough that wont be an issue all of our spiders seem to be migrating to other countries I believe I read somewhere of red backs finding their way to the UK.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060988/Australia-redback-spiders-Britain-Creepy-crawlies-invading-homes-abroad.html

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Spiders are about the only animal on earth that I just really don't like. I love snakes, and most all reptiles. I love things most people freak out over. Spiders, well, I understand their place in the environment, I know they play a vital role in insect control, therefore if they pose no immediate threat to me I leave them alone. I also have educated myself over the years as to which ones are dangerous and which aren't. The majority aren't. Now the article is a little misleading. Yes, it is true that in North America only a few species pose an immediate danger to humans. Although humans is a broad term. That means anyone from infant to however old you live to be. A lot of spiders that don't affect adult humans can be dangerous to the young, and the elderly. In my state we have a newcomer to the dangerous spider group. It is a widow spider, but not a black widow. It is a brown widow. They were blown up this way after hurricane Katrina in 2005. Now they are everywhere. So that makes three species that are potentially dangerous to humans. Also, some species of spiders, while not life threatening to adult humans in good health, can cause a nasty bite that is irritating as hell, and risks infection if not properly treated. Take the large species of wolf spiders we have down here. They are not deadly, but let me tell you from personal experience that their bite sucks. I was bitten twice in my sleep by one several years ago. I know this because I caught the freakin thing on my chest biting me as I woke up. It bit me on my left bicep, and at the very top of my breastbone. Why, I don't know, but my bicep was swollen up and turned blue at the site of the bite. Not to mention the horrible itching and soreness. Same for the second bite.

Now, had this been a small child, or even an infant, it could have been a lot worse. Of course these incidents are few and far between, and as bad as I dislike spiders, I have a large brown widow that lives beside my porch lite as we speak. I also have a black widow that lives right below it inside the edge of my shutters. They have been there for over a year and have yet to "attack" anyone. I just like watching them.

Mike

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"Buddle said he has observed spiders "moving their fangs back and forth against his skin,"

Oooh, yeah. That's the job I want... :w00t::w00t::w00t:

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Although only a handful of spiders have enough venom toxicity to harm a human, that is not the only problem with a spider bite (Peter Parker not withstanding). Spider bites frequently come with some nasty bacteria attached and these can cause serious infections. Some bites can slowly eat away the flesh from the bite area and the entire area must be removed surgically to stop the process.

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Good to know. I can't believe only 12 species are actually dangerous.

To me they're all dangerous.. since they wreak havoc with my blood pressure. :P

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I've only been bitten twice. Once by a red back, which only made me sick for a day, and another which i don't know what it was. That one sucked, my hand was so swollen i had to cut a ring off.

Parasite?

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Nah i actually visually saw them on the site of the bite. The one where i had to cut the ring off came out from under a poster next to my light switch as i tried to turn the light on, some black type, not sure the species, and the red back was when i was in bed.

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