Suspicious Spider Bites on LI, NY...Black Flesh Symptoms

Newsday ^ | 6/29/02

[DaughterofEve]

"In what experts say is a rare if not near-impossible occurrence on Long Island, at least three people have been diagnosed with brown recluse spider bites this week." "The clustering of three or four cases in one week left many skeptical."

[LurkedLongEnough]

A friend of mine in northern NJ barely survived a spider bite; happened right after 9-11. Won't go into the details about that, but there could be something sinister about how this is suddenly popping up around the NYC area.

[ethical]

All right. That Hobo spider is looking an awful lot like what I have always called a "bathtub spider". We find them here in the northwest in our bathtubs looking for water I presumed. I hope that's a different breed than the Hobo because I have had a very casual approach concerning the "bathtub" spider.

[Chi-townChief]

I find the term "black flesh" racist.

[Goldi-Lox]

How close do they live to the Hildabeast? Any known prior contact with it?

[X-FID]

The affected area enlarges, becomes inflamed and the tissue is hard to the touch. Eventually the affected tissue is killed and peels away, leaving a sunken, ulcerating sore up to the size of a silver dollar.

Wow, imagine what it's prey turns into after a bite, probably a puddle of foamy juice, hope he has a straw.

[sport]

btt

[swheats]

In case of emergency.....Back in the '30s, they used tincture of creasole on these bites. A mix of alchohol (vodka, wisky,gin, or rubbing alchohol) and tar from fire places (even cigaretts or bongs (lol) would work).

I remember an old remedy like that but I don't remember if it worked well. During those days (I grew up in the 60's) common remedies that didn't cost much worked well enough to not have to make it to the doctors.

[swheats]

Pretty and mellow? No thank you. I don't like anything that crawls.

[ASP]

The 1st 4 cases of cutaneous anthrax in Anthrax Attacks were initially misdiagnosed as infected insect bites, 2 of those as Brown Recluse Spider bites. I'm very troubled by 3 newly diagnosed cases of BRS bites in Long Island, for heavens sake, where there are no Brown Recluse Spiders. I agree w/ DaughterofEve who hopes they are testing for anthrax.

[Soul Citizen]

environmental health/ bioterrorism bump

[Revelation 911]

As long as no one is hurt (and they aren't in my woods blasting stuff up) I don't care much and frankly no one else does either.

They are present in NY - and I suspect the damp spring has aided the populations - They are nasty bites - I have seen a coworker recieve two in 2 weeks time - Nasty welt, necrosis, pit, scar - Billy Graham suffered one when he came to Rochester a few years back - had him laid up in the hospital for several days.

[Jefferson Adams]

Another spider that can cause this kind of damage is the Hobo Spider. Brown Recluses were blamed for bites here in the Pacific Northwest for several years before somebody figured out that they weren't to blame after all. Hobo Spiders apparently entered the US in Seattle in the 60s, on a cargo ship. Originally from Europe, they've spread quickly into several states. I've had experience with those little buggers, although I haven't been bitten. They're FAST - they act like Special Forces spiders or something, rapelling down on a strand and then racing across the floor or whatever - and they're smart. Go HERE to find out more about them. I REALLY don't like those things.

[Jefferson Adams]

Just saw your post #47. Yep. Hobo Spiders.

[StockAyatollah]

Of course, once the polar ice-caps melt, flooding Long Island, the people there won't have to worry about this threat.

LOL. At least we will be rid of all the self-absorbed, liberal idiots from the Hamptons.

[Jefferson Adams]

They are webbers and their webs are irregular like the web of the Black Widow. This is a plus because they stay in their webs and are not wandering hunters like the Wolf Spider.

And THAT is the problem with the Hobos - they go EVERYWHERE. They are extremely active and mobile.

[Jefferson Adams]

There are apparently a lot of misconceptions about spiders. I've never heard of the Hobo Spider ex-Texan linked in #47.

I've had 3 of them in my bedroom in one day. Duct taped the door that went outside after that.

Visit the link I supplied above - it's to http://hobospider.org. Also, hobospider.com sells traps to catch them. They have become a serious pest in the Northwest.

[BillaryBeGone]

Come on!!!!! Those are pics of a particularly **nasty** reaction. I've lived in the South since 1977 and have seen more than several "bite sites" (years of working in an ER can do that). Never saw anything THAT bad!