brown recluses

[Scott & Lai 12]

Oooooh you guysss.... Just gather the little creatures up and make a nice stir-fry out of them. *giggles*

*runs away to avoid being slapped...teeehehhehe! Protein*

Protein = good

venom = bad

[Ban Hammer 12,871]

This has made me paranoid! I'll just buy some cats! They'll kill any intruders!

exactly what i was gonna suggest. cats are a great defense against spiders. look a new toy. bat bat bat bat bat

But surely, if a cat is bitten by a brown recluse (highly likely if they are tormenting it) they will die?

my cats got plenty of hair on his paws, i'd be surprised if anything could bite thru all of that. usually he smacks it and then waits a bit and smacks it again

[Ladylethal 12]

I hate spiders but I wasn't worried about poisonous ones until I read this thread. I've never heard of a brown recluse and I didn't like it at all!

And it's funny 'cus I have a farm in the Amazon back in Brazil with plenty of baddies for me to be worried about. I guess over there I'm just used to shaking my shoes before putting them on, and I always shake my towels, etc. Never thought of doing that in Rio de Janeiro though, and apparently I should have.

Oh well, from what my husband tells me Puerto Rico is pretty much free of poisonous threats. Apparently we don't have dangerous snakes or spiders. the only poisonous thing being the earwig, and I know for sure those aren't so poisonous as to kill a human, although it's said to hurt like hell.

[Ban Hammer 12,871]

Oh well, from what my husband tells me Puerto Rico is pretty much free of poisonous threats. Apparently we don't have dangerous snakes or spiders. the only poisonous thing being the earwig, and I know for sure those aren't so poisonous as to kill a human, although it's said to hurt like hell.

earwigs are poisonous? not according to wikipedia link

"There is no evidence that they transmit disease or otherwise harm humans or other animals, despite their nickname pincher bug."

[ceresa 3]

thanks for all your replies... i dont know whether to be calm or terrified

our house is only 2 months old, do you think that helps some? and how often do you all spray?

our covers touch the floor too... they won't be anymore though !!

my inlaws live out in the country, once my FIL called me in their bedroom to show me a brown recluse crawling in the bathroom sink, that things was huge !!!! and he was actually proud of it !!

[Sharon 1]

once my FIL called me in their bedroom to show me a brown recluse crawling in the bathroom sink, that things was huge !!!! and he was actually proud of it !!

Well you know that saying - "Everything's bigger in Texas!"

[Reba 2]

if it was huge, then it wasn't a brown recluse. They're not even an inch big, including legs.

It's NOT a Brown Recluse IF any of the following are true:

1) It's really BIG:

A spider's body is in two main parts. The size of the body, not including legs, of a recluse is smaller than a dime.

2) It's really HAIRY:

Brown recluses have only very fine hairs that are invisible to the naked eye.

3) It JUMPS:

Jumping spiders live up to their name, and some other spiders including wolf spiders occasionally jump, but recluses don't.

4) I found it in a WEB

Brown recluses don't spin a web to catch prey; they spin silk retreats and egg cases, but don't form a typical recognizable web.

5) It has DISTINCT MARKINGS VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE, such as stripes, diamonds, chevrons, spots, etc. that are easily seen.

Brown recluses have no markings on their legs or abdomen (the largest part of the spider's body). The "violin" is very small and located on the front half of the body. The violin is also indistinct in some, especially young spiders. They're really rather dull looking.

[Ban Hammer 12,871]

thanks for all your replies... i dont know whether to be calm or terrified

our house is only 2 months old, do you think that helps some? and how often do you all spray?

our covers touch the floor too... they won't be anymore though !!

my inlaws live out in the country, once my FIL called me in their bedroom to show me a brown recluse crawling in the bathroom sink, that things was huge !!!! and he was actually proud of it !!

i spray outside when it gets to about 60 degrees for the first time. i spray outside and then about once every 4-6 weeks after that, i continue that until about when it gets down to freezing and stays there for several days. since you're in texas i'd say just spray once a month from about end of feb to end of nov.

Edited February 20, 2007 by charlesandnessa

[Keigwyn 1]

Ok, so that about wraps it up on Brown Recluses, so who's going to start the thread on wood ticks???