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Spider bites and how to make the spiders die die die!
Crashtard
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
In the past 2 weeks my wife has been bitten by some kind of spider multiple times. She wakes up with bites on her arm with an infected area about the size of a half dollar, and usually the second day it gets bigger gradually. We've lived in this apartment for about a year and a half, and this is the first time this has happened. We've cleaned any cob-webs out of the place with a vacuum, and we have looked all over trying to find them with no success. We can't use any kind of insect bomb because of our lease, and the exterminator said that there's not much they can do because spiders have multiple lungs or some such. How can we make these things go away, or at least make her less tasty to them? We live in Alexandria, Va if that helps.
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look for bed bugs.
somebody came to me once and said they had spider bites, so I took a look and what he really had was some angry ass hives all over his shoulder and torso
How many bumps are you seeing? Is there any indication of a puncture or infection?
e: Also bedbugs like to bite around the ankles, and the bites are typically arranged in a row, as if the bug had eaten, left, come back, eaten a half inch to the left, and repeated. "Breakfast lunch and dinner" as they say.
They are highly likely not spider bites, so focusing on killing spider's won't help the problem. If anything, you're probably killing the only predator of what is making those bites (if they are even bites). You should focus on attacking other possible sources.
Each spot has one large bump, with bite marks and an infected area between the size of a quarter and a half dollar. She took a hot shower one night and the infected area grew to be double to triple the size and was hot. This was when I took her to the emergency clinic. She's been given a steroid and anti-biotic to take.
We did that already. Also changed sheets, pillow cases, etc.
Not sure. We can't seem to find any at day or night. I looked around with a flashlight at about 2 am last night and couldn't find anything.
This is the other weird thing. There aren't any bugs that we're aware of in our apartment. I'm not really sure why they would want to come in.
In the event that you have bedbugs, they are much harder to get rid of than "change the sheets". You'll basically have to sterilize your entire living space, including replacement of the mattress.
Bugs are small. They could be in your walls, your trim, beneath your carpet, inside of your furniture, etc.
It could be any number of things like the others are suggesting. Since you do see bite marks I would assume it is a pest and she is probably having a small allergic reaction to whatever it is.
It just would not make sense that she is being bitten consistently and you are not. You should definately investigate the situation.
- cold compress. Lowers the swelling and eases the itching.
- Zyrtec (generic versions work just as well - 10mg cetirizine hydrochloride tablets). Does the same as above but works all day.
All doctors are different, but I've had 2 identify flea bites, so don't just dismiss them.
edit: i read that wrong. take their advice with a grain of salt >_> try seeing a diff one!
Steps to try (will get rid of other things as well):
1) Clean up any clutter
2) Clean your blankets and sheets in hot water. Throw pillows in the dryer.
3) Vaccuum thoroughly and often (like every other day).
4) If you can get access to a steam cleaner use it on EVERY fabric surface. Don't need shampoo, just hot water. Do this every 2 days as well (right after vaccuuming). Make sure to be thorough and concentrate on places bugs could squeeze (including along the wall and baseboards.
Definitely doesn't make any sense here either. At this point we've gone to moving the bed to a different location in the room, as well as searching the room in the middle of the night with no results. So far I haven't found anything yet, so I'm kinda lost at this point. I guess at this point we'll try to get a steam cleaner and spray everything down with that too.
@Sipex: are you saying we should steam clean the wall too, or just the fabrics?
Also, do you have any dogs or cats?
You could be being bitten and just not notice. She's obviously having an allergic reaction. When my bf's place got fleas, I would get bites and he would get nothing. He might have been being bitten, but there was no reaction =/
Are you suggesting he...kills his wife?
It's highly unlikely that a spider is biting her, I presume the spider myths dispelled website which covers the improbability of spiders biting humans while they sleep and how regularly doctors blame spider with absolutely no evidence has alrady been posted. I'm with 'she's allergic to something in your environment which you aren't alergic to but are also being exposed to'.
let us know how it goes
you're not allergic, but you're probably still getting bit
I'd say it's bedbugs
edit: is the bandaid where the bite is? your doctor doesn't seem to know his animal bites
Hah, no. That's where they decided to draw blood to make sure the infection wasn't spreading about, or make sure it hadn't entered the blood stream, or something along those lines.
Yeah, there are definitely tiny puncture wounds there.
Are you suggesting that we put the mattress in a bag and "leave" it in the bag from now on, or should I be doing something to the mattress while it's in there?
I know it's spiders because the bites form tiny blisters above the puncture wounds. Bed Bugs usually are not raised bites. Also, I don't react to them. Spiders and mosquitos I do. However, we have not seen any spiders physically in this apartment. There were a few webs in the corners which have been vacuumed down. That is why we are lost.
What you are looking for is either an environmental allergen or some kind of arthropod that preys on larger mammals (like bed bugs, mosquitoes, etc.). Spiders don't gain anything by biting people and only bite defensively.
Yeah, I guess I'll quote it this time in case they didn't follow the link.
This is according to the curator of arachnids, at the Burke Museum for the University of Washington, who is also a professor and expert witness on Arachnids, and previous president of the Washington State Entomological Society.
If they're raised bites, it could be fleas
This could certainly be a possibility. I hadn't really considered it since both of our cats are indoor cats, and it's pretty much winter outside.
they don't need to be brought in by a pet, they'll just fucking appear
Allergic reaction really comes into it too. I mean, my wife and I live in rural (like, middle of nowhere) Africa, use a mosquito net, and every now and then I'll wake up with bites all over one side. We switch sides of the bed, I still get bitten... she just doesn't react. My reactions are pretty nasty though - swelling, pussing, and itching for a long long time. We've found it to be fleas and have killed most of them but they come back all the time.
PSN - sumowot
Tiny blisters above the puncture wounds? Reactions which get worse? Only happens while she's sleeping?
Sounds exactly like what my husband and I are going through with bed bugs. I get tiny blisters (hives) and noticeable red splotches from the bites (as well as itchiness) that get worse the day after, he doesn't get any splotches and barely even itches. Bed bugs are generally only active at night and will hide themselves (under pictures you have on the wall, in your books, under the crevices along the wall, etc.) when they aren't feeding. The infestation can be hard to detect because they're generally hard to spot. You might look for black spotting along your bed and the walls, that's where they've laid their eggs (it'll look kind of like mold).
If it's bed bugs (get an exterminator to confirm this), I'm so sorry. Get ready for a world of annoyance, bed bugs are really hard to get rid of. You need to vacuum (daily would be best) everything, wash everything with hot soapy water, try to isolate your bed (this means keeping the cats out of the bedroom), and invest in a good exterminator and some of this stuff (it's the only stuff we've found outside of what the exterminators use that works). Use the Pronto once a week between exterminator treatments (it'll take 2-3 treatments) and for a few weeks after the last treatment.
Edit: Bed bugs used to be somewhat rare outside of third world countries but have become more prominent lately because DDT (the only thing which consistently kills them all the time) is no longer used. They've been something of an epidemic in many areas of the US since the 1990's.
Face Twit Rav Gram
I almost garantee you are dealing with another pest like fleas of the such. It could be an allergic reaction to any number of things as well.
If it ends up being spiders and you find proof I would be interested in knowing. I would also offer a sincere apology.
Steam clean any fabric surfaces, not the walls themselves, you could try a hair dryer to get into crevices of non-fabric areas too.
Might want to check for fleas just in case (if it is fleas thank the gods, they are easier to remove), I'd recommend giving your cats a standard bath (water and pet shampoo) then checking all around their neck. Fleas tend to hold their ground when this happens so it'll be very easy to find them. As a safety precaution use some tea tree oil as well, biting bugs hate the stuff and it isn't harmful to people or cats.
If you can afford an exterminator I'd say go for it, it'll be much easier but it will cost a load and a half.
Here's a very detailed answer that includes some useful pesticides and techniques that the person used and had them work.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080927163658AAyi7no
Reactions to bites can change over time but I'll take her word on it.
Even if your cats are indoor cats and not the source of whatever is biting you they may still be helping to keep the pests around (two more food sources that don't shower and have lots of hair). Unless you have the odd cats that like baths you may find treating them with food-grade diatomaceous earth a lot easier. Just sprinkle some on your cats and rub it in. I would do this everyday for a while (while also vacuuming like crazy and washing everything in hot water) and see if it helps.
When we first got the bed bugs my reactions were very mild - barely noticeable. Over time (the last two months) they have gotten much worse, ending with the hives, big red marks, and strong itching that I've got now. Keep in mind the bed bugs (if it is indeed bed bugs - again, check with an exterminator) have been there longer than when they were first noticed. Until they're in their final stage of life they're practically invisible, and even as full-grown adults they're hard to spot if the only time you'd encounter them is at night while you're sleeping.
Face Twit Rav Gram