Spider bites are usually harmless. Many bites attributed to spiders turn out to have been inflicted by other bugs. Skin infections also have been mistaken for spider bites.
Only a few types of spiders have fangs long enough to penetrate human skin and venom strong enough to hurt humans. In the United States, these include the black widow spider and the brown recluse spider.
Spider bites can cause redness, pain and swelling, or you may not notice them at all. Black widow spider bites can also cause severe abdominal pain or cramping. Brown recluse spider bites can cause a sting or sharp pain, like a bee sting. With severe bites, surrounding skin may die within a few hours. Both types of spiders generally live in undisturbed areas, such as attics or sheds. They don't bite unless threatened.
Typically, a spider bite looks like any other bug bite — a red, inflamed, sometimes itchy or painful bump on your skin — and may even go unnoticed. Harmless spider bites usually don't produce any other symptoms.
Black widow spider bites
Signs and symptoms of a black widow spider bite may include:
- Pain and swelling. You may have pain and swelling around the bite, which can spread into your belly, back or chest.
- Cramping. You may have severe stomach cramps, which are sometimes mistaken for appendicitis or a ruptured appendix.
- Sweating. You may experience chills, nausea or sweating.
Brown recluse spider bites
The pain associated with a brown recluse spider bite typically increases during the first eight hours after the bite. You may also have fever, chills and body aches. The bite usually heals on its own in about a week. Sometimes the skin at the center of the bite turns dark blue or purple, and then forms an open sore (ulcer) that gets bigger as the skin around it dies. The ulcer usually stops growing within 10 days after the bite, but full healing can take months.
Severe spider bite symptoms occur as a result of the venom that the spider injects. How severe the symptoms are depends on the type of spider, the amount of venom injected and how sensitive your body is to the venom.
Risk factors for spider bites are living in areas where spiders live and disturbing spiders' natural habitats. Black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders like warm climates and dark, dry places.
Risk factors
Black widow spiders can be found throughout the U.S., except Alaska and the far north. They prefer to live in:
- Sheds
- Garages
- Unused pots and gardening equipment
- Woodpiles
- Closets and cupboards during cold weather
Brown recluse habitat
Brown recluse spiders are found most commonly in the southern Midwest and in limited areas of the South. Recluses are so named because they like to hide away in undisturbed areas. They mostly prefer to live indoors, in places such as:
- The clutter of basements or attics
- Behind bookshelves and dressers
- In rarely used cupboards
Outside, they seek out dark, quiet spots, such as under rocks or in tree stumps.
Very rarely, a bite from a black widow spider or brown recluse spider may be deadly, particularly in children.
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