# Anyone bitten by a BLACK WIDOW.....? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2001, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302 "2001-10-09T10:36:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tapioca\_tundra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@tapioca\_tundra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapioca_tundra)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/1 "2001-10-09T10:36:28Z")
Anticay found a BLACK WIDOW at 3am, not 2 feet from Anticay’s bed. This BLACK WIDOW was the LARGEST BLACK WIDOW that I’ve ever seen. I was only half awake and determined that the best course of action would be to squirt it with some kitchen cleaner (that happened to be not 2 feet from the spider). After being sprayed, the spider crawled into a hole. Anyone ever bitten by a BLACK WIDOW? I’ve heard it feels like a ton of bricks is on your chest. I live right next to a HOSPITAL~~~!! I don’t have anything against this spider personally. Another time, another place we might hit it off and go to a ball game, but I’m not thrilled to share my bedroom with a BLACK WIDOW that doesn’t contribute financially. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/2 "2001-10-09T10:44:19Z")
Nope, but I’ve been bitten by a BROWN RECLUSE. It only stung a little, but I woke up with a sore about 3 inches across that took over 9 months to heal. I definitely don’t want to be bitten by a BROWN RECLUSE again. ---
**Author:** ![tapioca\_tundra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@tapioca\_tundra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapioca_tundra)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/3 "2001-10-09T10:49:24Z")
Mee sister was bitten by a BROWN RECLUSE. She had to have a deep chunk of her leg cut out. If I was a spider I’d be a BROWN RECLUSE! ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/4 "2001-10-09T15:37:17Z")
Why am I finding this thread so strangely disorienting? And why is it in IMHO? Anyway, I live in a house full of Black Widows. Shake out your shoes, don’t reach in places you can’t see, and keep things clean and tidy. Oh, and massive applications of deadly chemicals are helpful as well. stoid ---
**Author:** ![TheOtherOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@TheOtherOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOtherOne)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/5 "2001-10-09T15:57:17Z")
My uncle was bit by a black widow…er…BLACK WIDOW a few thanksgivings ago. He got sick for a little while, but there were no lasting long term effects. I’m sure it hurts like hell though, so you might want to try to move the little bastard outside, preferably after a long stomping 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/6 "2001-10-09T15:58:30Z")
My dad was bitten by a black widow spider. It caused a nasty wound about the size of a nickle or quarter that took weeks to heal. He would control the spiders by going around the neighbourhood with a flashlight, poison spray and a fly swatter after he got off the “mid watch” (He had a rotating shift) and kill any black widow spiders he found. I guess one found him. I had a BWS on my hand once. I was getting ready to go diving and was hosing out my wetsuit bootie. The bloody thing crawled right onto my wrist. She met with an unfortunate accident shortly thereafter. The best way to get rid of BWSs is to hunt them down and kill them. Then patrol at least once a week for new webs. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/7 "2001-10-09T16:56:55Z")
Yup. When I was a college student. I had just gotten into bed and was laying there half asleep when I felt something crawling on my thigh. I brushed it off and it bit me. Naturally I jumped out of bed and looked to see what it was and found a big black spider with its legs curled up. I spread its legs out with a pencil or something and sure enough, there was the little red hourglass. Anyway, I had a very tender bump about the size of a goose egg on my thigh for about 6 weeks, but I don’t recall any other ill effects. Mind you, this was about 30 years ago, but I think I’d remember being sick, if only for the story-telling aspect of it. Nowadays, I tend to be proactive in my relationships with spiders, since I’ve noticed that they seem to consider me a free lunch. My advice would be to hunt it down and kill it. ---
**Author:** ![They\_Call\_Me\_Sneeze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@They\_Call\_Me\_Sneeze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/They_Call_Me_Sneeze)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/8 "2001-10-09T17:07:17Z")
GEEZ, people!! Dont you know it’s BAD LUCK to kill a SPIDER!! No wonder you are getting bitten so much. Brush them gently outside and they wont try and eat you. Sneeze, who will probably find a whole pound of spiders in her sheets tonite ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/9 "2001-10-09T17:42:47Z")
> [@](#): > > GEEZ, people!! Dont you know it’s BAD LUCK to kill a SPIDER!! No wonder you are getting bitten so much. Brush them gently outside and they wont try and eat you. I almost always catch spiders and release them outside. But I cannot abide black widow spiders, nor brown recluse (“fiddleback”) if I see any of _those_ nasty beggars. (Fortunately, I haven’t.) Some spiders just need killing. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/10 "2001-10-09T19:35:26Z")
My dad was bitten by a black widow just above his eyebrow (had his head up under some facia boards on a house) and it really swelled up, to about the size of a golf ball. He looked downright depraved, and this was about ten days before my wedding! Luckily the swelling went down before we took all those pictures! IIRC, it hurt (not that he admitted it), but no real damage done. I would be worried only if a child was bitten. Brown recluse? Whole 'nuther ballgame. Remember _Desperation_? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/11 "2001-10-09T20:55:51Z")
Until a couple of years ago, I thought they were really deadly. Then I read that of every 200,000 people bitten, 50 die. There are worse odds… I’ve never been bitten by one, fortunately, but I’ve encounted both black widows on vacation and its cousin, the northern widow(similar venom, just a heartier breed. joy) at home. With luck I’ve avoid their bites, since frequent wolf spider bites are bad enough even without deadly venom. ---
**Author:** ![tapioca\_tundra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@tapioca\_tundra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapioca_tundra)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/12 "2001-10-09T21:08:29Z")
WOLF SPIDERS they also have a necrotic compound in their venom from what I understand. ---
**Author:** ![Studi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Studi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Studi)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/13 "2001-10-09T22:25:57Z")
Maybe we’re supposed to answer in Haiku form. Studi ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/14 "2001-10-09T22:49:56Z")
Haiku? no. More like the poetry of William Carlos Williams, who I hate. Anyway. Nope, never been bitten by a widow, but I’ve seen them in the house. Spiders and I are at war. Open hostilities on both sides. Their last assault consisted of one infantryman sliding down a long line right in front of my face as I sat on my couch watching TV. Shortly thereafter, he felt the “Clap Of Death”. And don’t even get me started about the sneaky one that was squatting on the “hidden” side of the toilet paper roll… ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2001, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/15 "2001-10-09T23:42:37Z")
My father was bitten by a Sydney Funnel Web spider in the days before they’d developed an antidote. Slightly different odds than for the black widow, ie. you get bitten (in those days) and you die. My dad was lucky though; this one was under some clothes in a wash tub (they can survive underwater for days), and the water had made it a bit dopey so it didn’t bite deeply. My dad made a tourniquet for his upper arm, and sliced the bite area with a razor blade, and sucked the venom out. Silly old bugger wanted to be tough and didn’t go to a doctor, but he was ok. On the other hand, if it had been a direct bite by an alert spider, it would have been goodnight nurse. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/16 "2001-10-10T10:35:48Z")
An uncle of mine was bitten by a black widow a couple of years ago. He’s OK now, but had to spend some time in hospital. Though it wouldn’t have been quite so bad if he’d sought immediate medical attention - but he’s a golfer, you see, and was bitten somewhere around the fifteenth hole, so _obviously_ he _had_ to finish the round first… Golfers. Strange people. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/17 "2001-10-10T11:41:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*My father was bitten by a Sydney Funnel Web spider in the days before they’d developed an antidote. Slightly different odds than for the black widow, ie. you get bitten (in those days) and you die. My dad was lucky though; this one was under some clothes in a wash tub (they can survive underwater for days), and the water had made it a bit dopey so it didn’t bite deeply. My dad made a tourniquet for his upper arm, and sliced the bite area with a razor blade, and sucked the venom out. Silly old bugger wanted to be tough and didn’t go to a doctor, but he was ok. On the other hand, if it had been a direct bite by an alert spider, it would have been goodnight nurse. \*\* You’re exaggerating a bit. Though it wasn’t uncommon for Atrax Robustus bites to lead to death, most people survived, even before the antidote. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/18 "2001-10-10T13:29:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > > \*\*My father was bitten by a Sydney Funnel Web spider in the days before they’d developed an antidote. Slightly different odds than for the black widow, ie. you get bitten (in those days) and you die. My dad was lucky though; this one was under some clothes in a wash tub (they can survive underwater for days), and the water had made it a bit dopey so it didn’t bite deeply. My dad made a tourniquet for his upper arm, and sliced the bite area with a razor blade, and sucked the venom out. Silly old bugger wanted to be tough and didn’t go to a doctor, but he was ok. On the other hand, if it had been a direct bite by an alert spider, it would have been goodnight nurse. \*\* > > You’re exaggerating a bit. Though it wasn’t uncommon for Atrax Robustus bites to lead to death, most people survived, even before the antidote. \*\* Hoping you were right, and fearing I may have been a victim of childhood scaremongering by my mother (I grew up at funnel web central), I did a spot of Googlin’. Turns out we’re both right. The venom of the Sydney Funnel Web is one of the world’s most toxic, and if you get a full dose, the recommended treatment is to sit back and smoke a cigarette, because that’s all the time you’ll have. However, it does seem that a full dose is a rarity, and most people therefore survived. Some didn’t even develop symptoms. I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/19 "2001-10-10T19:18:16Z")
Sorry to hijack, but this brings up a question I’ve had for awhile. Why does Australia seem to have so many horrifically poisonous animals? Considering its size, it seems like an awful lot of the most poisonous things in the world live there. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302/20 "2001-10-10T19:43:50Z")
If a BLACK WIDOW or a BROWN RECLUSE ever got near me, I’d just pulverise it with one of my DORRANCE #5X STAINLESS STEEL HOOKS. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-bitten-by-a-black-widow/86302.md?page=2)