Contributed by Nessa McDaniel
Institutional Service Assistant (ISA)
Residential Facilities

ISA Nessa McDaniel was cleaning spider webs in early fall outside Maple Hill West with a broom.

She found what looked like a bunch of tiny spiders in a web moving around and got a ladder and insect spray.

On closer examination, the web looked like hundreds of tiny spiders moving around. As Nessa began to spray, a black spider came out from behind three or four sacs of eggs. She continued to spray but the black spider was not phased at all – it just kept hiding behind the sacs and then would appear again.

Albert Furr, skilled trades worker, came along and told Nessa that it was a black widow protecting her eggs, one of which was hatched already.

In the interest of safety, they decided to kill the spider by knocking her down with the broom.

Symptoms of a Black Widow Spider Bite

Information from http://www.desertusa.com/insects/black-widow-spider.html

If you are bitten by a black widow spider, you may experience one or more of the symptoms listed below. Poison injected by the spider at the time of the bite causes the symptoms, not the bite itself.

Small children and the elderly are often more symptomatic and can have a more severe reaction to the venom of the black widow spider.

If you are not sure if you were bitten by a black widow spider, you should know that the following symptoms can be caused by or resemble other medical conditions.

  • Local pain, redness, burning and swelling at bite site (Some may have minimal pain from the bite itself)
  • Abdominal pain (pain can be similar to appendicitis) and localized or generalized muscle cramps (stomach, shoulders and back)
  • Headache
  • Rash and itching
  • Sweating
  • Eyelid swelling
  • Salivation, tearing of the eyes
  • Weakness, tremors or paralysis (especially in the legs)
  • Nausea and/or vomiting
  • Dizziness and/or fainting
  • Chest pain (similar to a heart attack)
  • Respiratory difficulties may follow
  • High blood pressure

First aid measures:

  • Wash the bite site with soap and water
  • Apply an ice pack wrapped in a cloth over the bite location
  • To help prevent an infection apply an antibiotic lotion or cream to the bite site
  • Elevate if the bite is on a limb (arm or leg) to prevent swelling
  • Seek immediate emergency care
  • Try to collect the spider specimen in a small jar or plastic bag for examination by a spider expert, even if you have crushed it.
  • Treatment in a medical facility may be necessary.

 

Black Widow Spider Found at Maple Hill West