eeep

[spacebabie]

Don't you hate it when your cleaning and as your picking stuff up or trying to grab a cleaning tool (such as a broom or a toilet brush) you nearly grab a spider?

Not anything lethally poisonus, just your average little reddish brown house spider.

Comments

[feralchicken.livejournal.com]

Ugg, they always pop up when you're least suspecting it... I once picked up the vacuum cleaner and there was a huge spider sitting underneath!!! :(

Dangerous Spider Alert!

[tlayna.livejournal.com]

Don't be so sure - that description could very well be that of a Brown Recluse spider (http://okaloosa.ifas.ufl.edu/Horticulture/brown_recluse_spider_challenge.htm), also known as the Fiddleback or Violin Spider.



These spiders are typically small, varying in color from a dark grey-brown to a reddish brown)- they have a distinct mark on their backs on the cephalothorax (the forward half of their body) that resembles a violin. Also, unlike most spiders with 8 eyes arranged in two rows of four, they have 6 eyes arranged in distinct pairs - One pair forward facing and one pair facing each side. They are nocturnal, and are active at night hunting for insect prey.

Though they are not lethal per se like the Black Widow or the Sydney Funnel Web spiders, they can inflict a very painful bite and their venom is extremely destructive to soft tissues. Brown Recluse bites usually leave hideous scars and wounds in their wake. If in doubt - smush it before it bites you!

Beware these spiders often take up shop in places and clothing that is seldom disturbed. Most people get bitten when they don an article of clothing containing a sleeping spider.