Funny pic/gif thread...

Back when I was a biology teacher, I had my students build terrariums in empty 3 liter bottles. Kids brought in all kinds of stuff. Been bit by a big ol' black widow. No allergic reaction, but the pain was intense. OTC meds didn't touch it, Norco didn't touch it. Finally had to go to the ER for a morphine shot just to get some sleep. Believe it or not, got hit by a 6" centipede that was as bad, if not worse.
I was breaking camp after a week of archery deer hunting in the Cascades. In the process I dropped a piece of firewood across the top of my foot and ankle. No big deal, I finished breaking camp and drove home, three hours. On the way my ankle began to throb, no big deal.

The next morning I was up before dawn and on an airplane headed to SLC for a seminar. On the flight my ankle started to throb again, no big deal. Within 30 minutes it began to swell. I removed my boot which made it feel much better. It was a fairly short flight but by the time we touched down my ankle was so swollen I couldn't get my boot back on. Big deal and getting bigger. Missed half a day of the seminar as I was visiting the doctor.

When I pulled my sock off my ankle was very swollen and right on top where the ankle joins the foot was a three inch raised red circle with two punctures in the center a little over a 1/4 inch apart. The doctor asked where I had been and I told him about the hunting trip. Best we could figure, one of a number of spider species was chillin in the woodpile until I disturbed it. Then it took shelter up my pant leg into my boot. When I dropped the firewood on my foot it scared the spider and he bit me. Thr bite pain was covered by the pain of the dropped wood. Never saw the spider, he likely exited my boot right after biting me.

I spent the rest of the seminar on crutches and couldn't get a boot on for several days.
 
I’ve smushed loads of these my whole life. Where I grew up we had them, they live in Vegas as well. I’ve never been bitten by one-few close calls picking up pallets, but never stung.

I’ve smushed more than I can count with my palm, first few were kinda scary. Then after I figured out that works every time it’s not a big deal.

I know a few people who have been big/stung by them and depending on the level of their allergic response their wounds varied. Nobody I know ever lost their life-however I do believe in a small % of people they can be lethal. It’s painful. I remember one person with their arm in a sling for a month or 2 from a bite.

Their webs are very very tight and if you strum the web you can hear it-where most other spiderwebs are very delicate(except bird spiders and spiders that live in trees) black windows live under things in dark areas so having thick webs is a unusual trait they have. There’s no web “pattern” like the tree spiders. But their webs are noticeable and when we used to lift anything up and see webs we’d touch the web to see if they were present or other spiders (with delicate webs)

Interesting topic

Fatboy<——-not snake bit or spider bit(so far) ok I’ve been bit by snakes. But I’m not “snake bit” different topic. 💪😃
I’m originally from Ohio and the black widow’s reputation made it seem pretty scary. After moving to the San Joaquin Valley they seemed pretty alarming the first couple of times. But as you said, you get accustomed to being around them. They are pretty timid which is why the biggest danger is bumping into one that is hiding. I bought a house while living there and was crawling around in the crawl space below the main floor. I noticed that the rat traps had black widows by each of them. I thought about spraying to kill them but then got thinking it might be the dumbest thing I ever did. There were no bugs in the rest of the crawl space and it seemed they might actually be my friend. True symbiosis. They never bothered me in the house and I left them be in the crawl space. They are kinda cool looking; very shiny black.
1AC94BEF-7FB0-4D58-8E37-38848D21F6C0.jpeg


Brown Recluse?
I’ve never seen one, but know a guy who was bit by one. That is a scary spider. He was hospitalized for quite a long time.
 
Back when I was a biology teacher, I had my students build terrariums in empty 3 liter bottles. Kids brought in all kinds of stuff. Been bit by a big ol' black widow. No allergic reaction, but the pain was intense. OTC meds didn't touch it, Norco didn't touch it. Finally had to go to the ER for a morphine shot just to get some sleep. Believe it or not, got hit by a 6" centipede that was as bad, if not worse.
I believe you. Centipedes are supposed to be nasty.
 
I’m originally from Ohio and the black widow’s reputation made it seem pretty scary. After moving to the San Joaquin Valley they seemed pretty alarming the first couple of times. But as you said, you get accustomed to being around them. They are pretty timid which is why the biggest danger is bumping into one that is hiding. I bought a house while living there and was crawling around in the crawl space below the main floor. I noticed that the rat traps had black widows by each of them. I thought about spraying to kill them but then got thinking it might be the dumbest thing I ever did. There were no bugs in the rest of the crawl space and it seemed they might actually be my friend. True symbiosis. They never bothered me in the house and I left them be in the crawl space. They are kinda cool looking; very shiny black.
View attachment 673149


I’ve never seen one, but know a guy who was bit by one. That is a scary spider. He was hospitalized for quite a long time.
San Joaquin Valley is where I grew up from 3rd grade.
 
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I’ve never seen one, but know a guy who was bit by one. That is a scary spider. He was hospitalized for quite a long time.
I was bit by a brown recluse on the hip while shooting in the desert outside Las Vegas. Was kicking old, rusty cans and assume it ran up my pant leg until it started to get crushed.
Couldn't walk for over a month, took another month for the baseball sized divot from the necrosis to begin to heal.

Still causes pain 18 years later.
 
I was bit by a brown recluse on the hip while shooting in the desert outside Las Vegas. Was kicking old, rusty cans and assume it ran up my pant leg until it started to get crushed.
Couldn't walk for over a month, took another month for the baseball sized divot from the necrosis to begin to heal.

Still causes pain 18 years later.
That’s a lot like I recall from my friend. He was out of work for ~10 weeks IIRC.
 
I was bit by a brown recluse on the hip while shooting in the desert outside Las Vegas. Was kicking old, rusty cans and assume it ran up my pant leg until it started to get crushed.
Couldn't walk for over a month, took another month for the baseball sized divot from the necrosis to begin to heal.

Still causes pain 18 years later.
I was pulling ivy off an old brick foundation when my brown recluse got me. It was hot summer and all I was wearing was cutoff shorts and my boots with double thick cotton socks. He got me right behind my left knee. It took two months to fully heal. That was in 1981. I guess the discoloration is permanent.
 
I was pulling ivy off an old brick foundation when my brown recluse got me. It was hot summer and all I was wearing was cutoff shorts and my boots with double thick cotton socks. He got me right behind my left knee. It took two months to fully heal. That was in 1981. I guess the discoloration is permanent.
For the love of God, please don't ever tell us what you were wearing again. 🤮 lol
 
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