ST. LOUIS – As temperatures drop, expect to see frequent appearances of this seasonal creature.
According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the brown ‘recluse’ spider dwells in our area often – particularly in quiet spaces such as woodlands, attics, and basement areas.
Being packed away in towels and various garments commonly result in a human bite. Humans don’t notice that they were bitten until hours later, when the bite starts to swell. The skin at the bite may blister days later, which will form a deep open wound that slowly heals and is susceptible to infection.
Bites from brown recluses are almost never fatal, but can be disfiguring.
Also nicknamed the “violin spider,” the grayish, yellow, and brown crawler is identified by a violin-shaped patch on its broad. The legs of the spider are longer than the body, and the females are larger than the males.
For more information about the spider, click here.