Spider House?

[momandwifeoftype1s]

Would you let your child play at a friend's house who has a known problem with venemous spiders (black widows and brown recluse spiders)? Do you think I'm being paranoid about not going over there? The mother is a nurse, and has a poultice to apply to a brown recluse bite if needed. However, she just got through telling me how she has all these traps all over her house and catches tons of live spiders.

Her 6-year-old son was bitten in his nether-region already and her daughter rolled over in her sleep on top of a brown recluse (no bite). I really like this woman, and my boys enjoy playing with her kids - we have a lot in common. But - the spiders are giving me the heebie jeebies. I've had them over to my house and she's already talked about reciprocating. Should I just keep inviting them over here instead?

[Bsbllmom]

I would just keep inviting them over. I am not a big fan of any spider or bugs.

[madde]

I don't think I would allow my daughter to play where there were known dangerous spiders living. And I don't think your in the wrong by not letting your child play at their house.

[Mama2H]

I would have a problem if it was a bad infestation. I am wondering, doesn't every house have a few spiders? Don't get me wrong, I have never found a poisonous spider in my home but I have killed my fair share of the buggers.

[twodoor2]

There are spiders in every house, and most are not venemous and will leave you alone. I think the brown recluse is a more aggressive spider though (black widows not so much), so I would be a bit concerned. They need an exterminator!! We have one that comes out three times a year.

[etringali]

I don't think I'd let my kids go play at a house with brown recluse & black widow spiders. Time for her to call the Orkin man cos doesn't sound like the traps are doing it. *shudder* hate spiders. Bleck!

[StillMamamia]

How can I say this subtly??? :rolleyes:

NO I would not let my kid go. I would gently explain my fears to the lady, emphasizing that you're already stressed out as is, and that letting your kid go where he could be bitten is more than you (and your kid) need right now. Hopefully she'll understand.

And she needs to call someone to get rid of those yucky, bleck, ewwww, :eek: creatures.

[Lee]

My best friend was bitten by a brown recluse and is now missing half her thigh - so, uhm...NO!

[coni]

Would you let your child play at a friend's house who has a known problem with venemous spiders (black widows and brown recluse spiders)?

Uh, no.:p

We live in brown recluse territory as well, and I have personally known people who have been bitten. The bites can become like ulcers or open sores that do not heal for weeks. One person I know got a severe infection in a bite on his calf; his leg became swollen and painful, and he couldn't walk. He recovered after some strong antibiotics, but it was very scary because it progressed rather quickly.

Even though the experts say a bite is fairly rare, I'd be cautious, even without D to compound it.

Here's some basic info I thought was good -
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef631.asp

The black widow wouldn't worry me as much, actually.

[Illinifan]

No.

No.

No.

[Gaia]

No Way!!!! Its putting your children at risk. Im surprised w/ her being a nurse that she would be so blase about it. Recluse spiders can cause irreparable damage to your body. I dont know much about black widows except they are poisionous.. She needs to get that taken care of ASAP. Couldnt she be considered neglectful for knowingly having this problem? Let the kids play at your house but I wouldnt let your go over there. And I would tell her straight out the reason why. She may get pissed, but she should also care enough about her kids to take of it immediately!

[hold48398]

Absolutely not. No way, Jose!! No. No. No. Did I say NO yet??:rolleyes:

[Kirsten]

Brown recluse spiders are some of the most poisonous in the world. She should get professional help with them. I would not be comfortable.

Kirsten

[momandwifeoftype1s]

Ok, that's what I was looking for - confirmation that I'm not the only one who thinks a house full of spiders is not safe for my kids. I feel bad not letting my kids play at her house because of the spiders. Does the Orkin spray really get rid of brown recluse spiders? I heard that it is not effective, but I don't really know for sure. I'll just keep inviting the kids over to my house and tell Mom the truth if she asks. This is the first person who has offered to learn diabetic care for a play date for Connor, so I'm disappointed to have to say "no". Darn!

[momandwifeoftype1s]

Oooh. I forgot to add my own brown recluse spider experience. You'll just love this one...

When we first moved to the South last year, we temporarily lived in a corporate apartment. Connor is really into spiders and bugs, so I thought I was being a really great mom to catch a bunch of critters in his new bug barn. We were very interested in all the new varieties of bugs and spiders that we had never seen before. Well, apparently our apartment (which was *quite nasty in every way & really expensive) had an infestation of brown recluse spiders and I was catching them in the bug barn for my kids :eek:. I had no idea what they were until a new friend filled me in. We continued to find them in the bottom of our kids' plastic toy bins (the spiders' favorite spots) and other lovely places. I would dream about them at night, and we were afraid to be in the apartment. Needless to say, we moved out of there in a hurry - with my parents temporarily until we finally sold our house. I don't know which was worse, the spider apartment or living with my parents. ;)

*Nasty = they actually spray painted right over the hairs on the bathroom baseboards to give the apartment that new, fresh look. Not!

[MamaC]

OK. No go Spider House. My skin is crawling. Black Widows are big chickens and will hide sooner than attack you. Brown Recluse OTOH are agressive, wicked, 8-legged nightmares. Teacher here had a BR bite on her arm, the tissue necrotized in a BIG way...massive antibiotics, missed lots of work, and she now has a permanent divot on her forearm.

Even under totally non-D circumstances, I would not let Tom go there. He has a spider bite on his arm right now that is bruised, swollen, hard, and was initially hot to the touch. He thought he'd gotten the bruise from a skateboard mishap (of course he never remembers the actual event) until I pointed out the bite(s).

The whole thing was so misshapen I thought he'd broken it. It's now to that healing bruise yellow color for the most part, but it's been well over a week.

And some mother of a spider bit the so-and-so out of my leg while I was working the pool desk. Never felt the bite, but I have the lymphatic-fluid-oozing welts (2" long each) to prove it.

To me, letting the kids paly where there are know arachnic nasties isn't much different than letting them play around an unlocked gun cabinet.

So, next I'll tell you how I REALLY feel about spiders.

~~Becky~~

[Twinklet]

I think it's a bit strange they have such an infestation. Do they live out in the woods in an older home?

Brown recluse spiders don't come after anyone...after all, they're reclusive. They will defend their territory, though.

We used to live in Oklahoma and had a TON of poisionous spiders. Every single night in the summertime I'd go outside on the back patio and kill black widows and brown recluse spiders. Every single day before the kids went out in the back yard I'd have to inspect every single toy and do a search of the swingset. I don't miss that at all!

We have friends who have been bitten by brown recluse spiders and one almost died. The thing is, you don't even know about the bite until hours later. It gets progressively worse over time.

I wouldn't send my kids over there. I'd tell the lady why, too! She really needs to get an exterminator to eliminate the spiders' food sources. That is the only real way to get rid of them.

[momandwifeoftype1s]

[QUOTE=Twinklet;181546]I think it's a bit strange they have such an infestation. Do they live out in the woods in an older home? QUOTE]

Well, I haven't been to her house yet but I know generally where she lives. It is a wooded subdivision with older homes. Our apartment was old and in a woodsy area. I think the spiders in our apartment came from a hole in the ceiling above our washer/dryer combo. There was a 12" (at least) hole in the ceiling that never got repaired, despite my numerous calls to the manager. They did come out and spray, but I watched him squirt a little liquid here and there.

I've talked to several moms around here - and all of them nod in agreement about the brown recluses being an issue.

[Stacey Nagel]

Would you let your child play at a friend's house who has a known problem with venemous spiders (black widows and brown recluse spiders)? .
Should I just keep inviting them over here instead?


1. NO
2.YES

[twodoor2]

One picture is worth a thousand words.

http://www.cirrusimage.com/Arachnid/brown_recluse_spider.jpg

they need to GET AN EXTERMINATOR!!! I am fascinated by spiders, but I wouldn't want them crawling in my shoes and bed and clothes.

[Beach bum]

I agree, 1. No 2. Yes.

If she pushes, just tell her that your child has seen some spiders around a few times and is really afraid of them. Maybe this will get her to get an exterminator.

[Mama2H]

OMG Marsha!!!! I just jumped out of my chair. I am having nightmares tonight for sure. I have the worst arachnaphobia. I was actually proud of myself for even reading this post :o

[Twinklet]

They're called "fiddlebacks" in Oklahoma. See the "fiddle" on his head? That's how you can identify one.


Shudder!

[momandwifeoftype1s]

One picture is worth a thousand words.

http://www.cirrusimage.com/Arachnid/brown_recluse_spider.jpg

they need to GET AN EXTERMINATOR!!! I am fascinated by spiders, but I wouldn't want them crawling in my shoes and bed and clothes.

Marsha - Thank you for the nightmares/flashbacks with your huge, vivid picture. I got about 3 hours of sleep last night thinking about the spiders.

[BRANDYB]

Just invite the child over to your house. I hope spiders would not be in their belongings though...

[twodoor2]

They don't have pretty faces either. She looks kind of mad to me!! I think these pictures have really settled the decision - no going over to that house!! Let them come by you.

http://entomology.unl.edu/images/spiders/brown_recluse2.jpg

[coni]

Maybe they aren't really brown recluse spiders. "Brown recluses have a semi-circular arrangement of 6 eyes in 3 groups of 2 ... while most other spiders have 8 eyes." Maybe you should ask the mom to count the eyeballs before you decide...:D

[momandwifeoftype1s]

Maybe they aren't really brown recluse spiders. "Brown recluses have a semi-circular arrangement of 6 eyes in 3 groups of 2 ... while most other spiders have 8 eyes." Maybe you should ask the mom to count the eyeballs before you decide...:D

Hmmm...Marsha, bring that new microscope over!

[RosemaryCinNJ]

OMG! Let the other boy come to your house...Not worth a play date for a spider bite..especially poisonous ones!! I got the heebie jeebies now...Who can live in a house with deadly spiders are they the Adams Family or something??

[momandwifeoftype1s]

You would not believe the call we got from school this morning informing us that school was cancelled today due to an infestation of brown recluse spiders! These spiders are really creeping me out - still. My boys were thrilled to find out school was cancelled - 4 day weekend for us!

Funniest Reason to Cancel School Ever:
This is _______Communications Director for ________ County Schools calling on behalf of Principal _______. I'm calling to let you know that school is being cancelled at _________ Elementary today, August 29th because of irritants remaining in the building after the building was treated for spiders last night.

[JacksonsMom]

Amy I definately wouldn't be going to her house with my kids! I think you've got the right idea about just asking them over to your house!

[momandwifeoftype1s]

Stacy,

Did you see the last page about school being cancelled due to an infestation of brown recluse spiders? Nasty!

Amy

[JacksonsMom]

No, I didn't see that. EEW how scary. It needed to be closed.

Which school was it?