# Danger in the woodpile.



## Burning Questions (Dec 6, 2011)

This morning I went out to bring in some wood from the woodpile.  As I was rebuilding the fire, a spider climbed up over the log I had just placed in the fireplace.   On closer inspection, it was a Brown Recluse.   I had brought the wood inside in a large plastic tote, and inside it were 5 more live ones and a bunch of dead ones.  Fortunately they were all extremely sluggish and slow moving due to the cold.

Having been bitten by one several years ago, it is NOT an experience I want to repeat.


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## Backwoods Savage (Dec 6, 2011)

In the fireplace is a wonderful place to keep them!   Welcome to the forum.


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## nsfd95 (Dec 7, 2011)

I had one climbimg up my leg yesterday when we were putting up snow fence in a freshly cut corn field. Made me jump then he jumped.


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## Gasifier (Dec 7, 2011)

A guy I know got bit by one of those once. Did a nasty job on him. He actually looked it up after a Nurse Practitioner told him it was just a spider bite and he would be okay. Needless to say, he went somewhere else the next time.


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## 48rob (Dec 7, 2011)

I have a dime sized hole in my leg from a bite 40 years ago.

I agree with Dennis; The stove/fireplace is a great place for them!  

Rob


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## WellSeasoned (Dec 7, 2011)

Well you can keep them bloody things around your neck of the woods. I'm not scared of nuthin, but you get a spider around me, and I'd jump in the damn stove.  :-/


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## Pat53 (Dec 7, 2011)

Backwoods said:
			
		

> Well you can keep them bloody things around your neck of the woods. I'm not scared of nuthin, but you get a spider around me, and I'd jump in the damn stove.  :-/



LOL, yes indeed, no offense, but keep'em down south. We got some monster sized spider up here that I believe are some kind of wolf spider. Saw one on my wood pile a few years ago. Including the legs, it was probably almost 6" in diameter ! Spiders don't generally bother me, but that one did. That thing was creepy, and when I went to smack it it disappeared in a flash. I ususally see 2-3 a year and kill every damn one of them if I can. They can cause a painful bite, but nothing to worry about unless your allergic to the venom. 

Supposedly there are brown recluse spiders in Michigan, but I've never heard of any in the U.P. ?


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## rdust (Dec 7, 2011)

Backwoods said:
			
		

> I'm not scared of nuthin, but you get a spider around me, and I'd jump in the damn stove.  :-/



I think being scared of spiders is something!  :lol:

My wife spent a good part of her life in Kentucky and they were pretty normal to deal with.  Her mom had one bite her(was treated promptly) and she knows many folks "from the hills" that had major issues from their bites.  A couple Christmases ago her brother caught one in his barn on a hay bail he was reaching for, it was cold and slow so he "caught" it for us.  My wife was very "excited" when he "surprised" her with it in a jar with no lid!  :lol:  "It's cold and she's moving slow you don't need a lid!"


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## WellSeasoned (Dec 7, 2011)

Oh, we got spiders up here, no recluses, but those big wolf spiders like the previous post, get close to the 5" radius. Probably a couple get into the house, in the middle of the night in the bathroom. When you go to kill them, you have to stratagize.  :roll:


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## Burning Questions (Dec 7, 2011)

I actually generally like spiders.  Strange I know, especially for a woman, but I think happily of all the mosquitoes and biting flies they eat.  Recluses are another matter though.  Three years ago I was cleaning out a pile of siding out in the shed.  I left the job to go get the mail and and I felt a burn on my right shoulder blade.  I reached up and swatted it through my shirt, but it was too late.  Despite prompt medical treatment I also ended up with a dime sized dead area.  At the worst I had redness and swelling in area extending from my right ear down to my waist. Sick and draggy for a couple of weeks too.  They are nothing to mess with, I smash them on sight.


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## Pat53 (Dec 7, 2011)

Backwoods said:
			
		

> Oh, we got spiders up here, no recluses, but those big wolf spiders like the previous post, get close to the 5" radius. Probably a couple get into the house, in the middle of the night in the bathroom. When you go to kill them, you have to stratagize.  :roll:



Yikes, if those things are getting into your house you got some serious weatherproofing to do. My wife would have a heart attack if she found one of those in the house.....and so would I probably ! 

When I kill one it actually "crunches" like they have bones ! They are big enough to take small mammals, frogs and even small birds I guess !


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## Ozzie33 (Dec 7, 2011)

we have the Hobo spiders out here.  they are aggresive - they actually come at you.  i keep the wood away from the house and bring it around once a week or so.  always wear gloves and clean the wood before bringing it around.  they make a crunch sound when smacked too, but the chickens love to eat them!


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## weatherguy (Dec 7, 2011)

How do you treat a bite from a brown recluse? I guess we all have our share of pests, we have a tick problem up here this year but no brown recluses.


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## bogydave (Dec 7, 2011)

Brown recluse :bug:
We have several types here, some say they've seen Brown recluse here but no definite proven reports.
Hopefully it stays that way.
No snakes either, that is even better


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## WellSeasoned (Dec 7, 2011)

Thx dave....i needed that image. :-/


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## Constrictor (Dec 7, 2011)

Ive seen brown recluse spiders, and black widows inside my house. i leave em alone and they never bother me.


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## bluedogz (Dec 7, 2011)

weatherguy said:
			
		

> How do you treat a bite from a brown recluse? I guess we all have our share of pests, we have a tick problem up here this year but no brown recluses.



Hospital.  The bite turns necrotic real quick and starts killing tissue.


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## ironpony (Dec 7, 2011)

we see them on occasion
mostly dead
the cats like to "play" with them
I just let them be
like was mentioned 
they kill bugs


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## Cascade Failure (Dec 7, 2011)

Backwoods said:
			
		

> Oh, we got spiders up here, no recluses, but those big wolf spiders like the previous post, get close to the 5" radius. Probably a couple get into the house, in the middle of the night in the bathroom. When you go to kill them, you have to stratagize.  :roll:



I was a teenage when one surprised me in my father's workshop. Had a hammer in my hand when I moved something and revealed him. Gut reaction took over and next thing you know there's a hole in the drywall with these two long legs sticking out from it. Normally I would have fixed it right then but for some reason I decided to show my father. He took one look and said something to the effect of, "Hammer, good choice. Get rid of the legs and I'll patch the hole." Come to find out he had done pretty much the same thing a few weeks earlier.

Ya'll can keep your necrotizing, flesh eating, zombie spiders, thank you.


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## mbcijim (Dec 7, 2011)

Backwoods said:
			
		

> Oh, we got spiders up here, no recluses, but those big wolf spiders like the previous post, get close to the 5" radius. Probably a couple get into the house, in the middle of the night in the bathroom. When you go to kill them, you have to stratagize.  :roll:



Not sure where you're at in Eastern Pa, I am near Pottsville.  I had a good friend get bitten over the summer by a brown recluse.  So yes, they are here.


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## WellSeasoned (Dec 7, 2011)

Thats great. Thanks for lettin' me know. :blank:


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## Waulie (Dec 7, 2011)

Brown recluse can be found in cold climate states, but only if they are brought in during the summer which does happen.  They cannot survive the winters.  Occasionally, you might have a breeding population survive in an abandoned basement that is warm enough for them.

So, it is possible to find a brown recluse in Michigan, Alaska, etc., but it is very, very rare.


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## Burning Questions (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm originally from MI.  I honestly thought our winters here in MO would be too cold for them as well.  Last winter we had a couple of nights that dipped to -10.   I had hopes it might kill them off.  Apparently not. :-S


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## firefighterjake (Dec 7, 2011)

About the worse thing I find in my woodpile are splinters.


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## weatherguy (Dec 7, 2011)

bluedogz said:
			
		

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Almost like when I ask my wife what shes watching and she says a movie  ;-P 

What treatment does the hospital administer?


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## bpirger (Dec 7, 2011)

All this brown recluse talk had me concerned....I captured a few spiders in the house that seemed possible candidates and looked at them under the microscope.  8 eyes...not 6.  The recluse has 6...not sure how else to be sure,

The idea of a little bugger causing an open wound that last for years....that really sucks.  I've been told they are in this area.


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## coltfever (Dec 7, 2011)

The best way to know is that it will have a fiddle like marking on its back. Very fast and quick spider. We have them around here and the best way to catch them in the house are the pest glue boards made by Tomcat which you can find a lowes or home depot. I am careful at the woodpile and wear gloves. Never been bitten but seen afew. Spray slow the population down.


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## Danno77 (Dec 7, 2011)

weatherguy said:
			
		

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thought the same thing when I read that, lol.

(to be fair, just last night wife asked me what I was doing..I said "reading the internet" and then she glared and motioned for more info, so I said "looking at a chainsaw forum" and she got all huffy about how that sure wasn't telling her much. "ok, I'm looking at these pictures of how this guy reduced the skirt on the piston and then ported the intake and exhaust on the saw." and then I started talking about the muffler mode he made and she cut me off... "Ok, fine, I didn't need that much info," she said)


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## mywaynow (Dec 7, 2011)

Spiders dictate my firewood activity.  No wood pile action until the temps go down.


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## bluedogz (Dec 7, 2011)

Danno77 said:
			
		

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Well, I could have said, "Don't *&^%! with it" but I was trying to be polite.  But fine, if that's how y'all want it...


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## weatherguy (Dec 8, 2011)

bluedogz said:
			
		

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Is there some sort of anti venom or other substance that inhibits the poison?


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## bluedogz (Dec 8, 2011)

According to Wikipedia, yes, but not effective unless administered shortly after the often-painless bite.


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