While I don't disagree that there are no brown recluse spiders, the arachnologist kind of lost some credibility when referring to spiders as "poisonous" in this context. It is more accurate to say "venomous", since you could probably eat a black widow or brown recluse with no ill effects.
/end etymology rant
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While I don't disagree that there are no brown recluse spiders, the arachnologist kind of lost some credibility when referring to spiders as "poisonous" in this context. It is more accurate to say "venomous", since you could probably eat a black widow or brown recluse with no ill effects.
/end etymology rant
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I am very serious. All spiders are venomous. A Recluse bite may cause necrosis. Notice I bolded may because it generally does not. Not that you should screw around with a Recluse as even if the bite does not cause necrosis it will throb and itch like crazy. I am not sure where in my post you read that you would want to get bit by one, lol. I am a pretty big spider fanatic, used to breed tarantula's back in the 90's and ship them all over Canada. At one time I probably had 300 tarantula's in the apartment I had. Nowadays I have 4. A Recluse is not aggressive though, most people get bit by them because they don't see the spider and they lean against it or squeeze it unintentionally. Might be easy to do in a house with 6000 though.
I like you quite a bit less after learning this about you. How dare you actually help them to multiply?! Spider sympathizer! Burn him too!
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They're here. That map is just for the United States and although it seems to still have relevance (making it appear as the though Brown Recluses aren't found in the northern states and therefore there'd be none in Canada), they actually are up here.
They're found in the Okanogan, and likely make their way to Alberta that way. And although they aren't common, they're here.
Damned Kelowna. We really need to launch that place into the sun.
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I am very serious. All spiders are venomous. A Recluse bite may cause necrosis. Notice I bolded may because it generally does not. Not that you should screw around with a Recluse as even if the bite does not cause necrosis it will throb and itch like crazy. I am not sure where in my post you read that you would want to get bit by one, lol. I am a pretty big spider fanatic, used to breed tarantula's back in the 90's and ship them all over Canada. At one time I probably had 300 tarantula's in the apartment I had. Nowadays I have 4. A Recluse is not aggressive though, most people get bit by them because they don't see the spider and they lean against it or squeeze it unintentionally. Might be easy to do in a house with 6000 though.
I have have only had one first hand experience with a brown recluse. A soldier that had been bitten 3 times in the leg. He had huge ulcers, so bad that the doctors at Fort Ord took pictures (it wasn't there first time seeing bites). They produce nasty nasty bites. I can't speak to how agressive they are, but wonder why it bit him three times. I asked how he got bit but he said he didn't remember and that his legs had bothered him for a while, but he hadn't bothered to look or had time to change his pants.
In short, kill it with fire.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
Good question. I've been finding guys like these too around my condo in Chap. Definitely bigger and more 'spidery looking' than the usual critters that you find in Calgary. I don't have too big a problem with spiders but these just have the body shape that makes you immediately wanna step back.
Barn Funnel spider or Giant House spider? Not sure, I jumped on this link:
http://www.spiders.us/species/filter/alberta/ <- Don't click if you hate spiders ofc, but is more catalog shots than scary nature shots. Also, don't click if you don't want to know where spiders are commonly found.
The spider in FlamesAllTheWay pics are darker than the ones in the above link. I'm leaning more towards the female barn funnel due to the shape... but I am not sure.
I recall seeing some of these (not sure if same) by any type of rotting/wet wood, but never the size of a loonie/toonie. Maybe the size of a nickel at most?
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I got bit by something just over the US border in the Okanagan area a few years back. Doc said she figured it was a brown recluse, but said there's no way to know for sure unless you capture the beastie. Whatever it was, it was tiny. It stung like a bad ant-bite. The wound ulcerated (looked like I put out a cigarette on my leg), and as it was healing, I got what looked like a henna tattoo of a daisy on my leg - the petals being around the bite, and the "stem" trailing down toward my ankle. The same doc told me that's not unusual in venomous bites.
It wasn't really as bad as it sounds. It sure looked like a portal to hell, but it didn't really hurt much.
Barn Funnel spider or Giant House spider? Not sure, I jumped on this link:
http://www.spiders.us/species/filter/alberta/ <- Don't click if you hate spiders ofc, but is more catalog shots than scary nature shots. Also, don't click if you don't want to know where spiders are commonly found.
The spider in FlamesAllTheWay pics are darker than the ones in the above link. I'm leaning more towards the female barn funnel due to the shape... but I am not sure.
I recall seeing some of these (not sure if same) by any type of rotting/wet wood, but never the size of a loonie/toonie. Maybe the size of a nickel at most?
Yes they do look similar in shape. The lighting makes the one in my photo look darker but I think it was still darker in colour than the barn spiders in those photos. A definite possibility though.
I had also thought maybe a Hobo spider? There have been a few photos I've come across for a few different species that I thought were a match. Then I see other ones that are supposedly the same species and they look completely different.
The one in my picture was also the biggest one I've seen by far. There were a few more under the old shed and I've also seen some in the garage that were smaller but perhaps they're a different species entirely. Been awhile since I've seen one but I notice the fresh webs fairly often.
Side note - The more I peruse this thread the less I am inclined to leave my hockey gear wide out in the open to dry in the garage . My only hope is the smell will keep them all at bay..
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. My only hope is the smell will keep them all at bay..
