Just in the South? Not so. A few years back my
daughter was bitten by a Brown Recluse and she
runs a horse boarding farm just above the Illinois/
Wisconsin border!
It was a very bad infection that required massive
doses of antibiotics and left her ankle permanently
scarred and looking bad for well over a year. She
was lucky she finally went to the doctor. They had
to run tests on some of the drainage/tissue to
determine just what it was. But the lab report
came back Brown Recluse. It took months to get it
under control and the whole event was very painful.
How to avoid such a bite? Wear long pants and
keep them tight around your ankles with your
socks pulled up over the pants. DON'T go out
there with sandals and bare legs! And if you're
working with tall grass or hay bundles, wear gloves
and long sleeves that protect your upper arms as
well. That said, you can still get bit by just
leaning against an old tree stump, fence, or even
scraping your leg while crossing a rotting log.
It's just one of those things for which you have
to rely somewhat on your guardian angel!
I got bitten by one in CT in 1991 and still have a scar on my arm from it. I would not wish it on my worst enemy.
Yes - they're definitely in Illinois/Wisconsin area. My sister is a doctor, and used to live in Oak Brook. She treated a few bites every year, and always warned me about them. A few of the bites that she saw came from people who were bitten while sitting on portable toilets. The spider was under the seat, and didn't like being sat on.