Bite of the Hobo
There are many myths out there that hobo spiders deliberately
seek out humans to bite them. T
his is absolutely not true.
There are some people who associate agrestis with aggressive,
but
it actually means agriculture or field. Tegenaria agrestis
definitely doesn’t mean aggressive spider, but agricultural spider.
It is also known as the spider from the fields. The hobo spider
actually has poor vision and this can lead to a misunderstanding in
what it is attacking. I will reinforce that hobo spiders do
not seek out to bite humans, but they may attack if they feel
threatened. Females can be more aggressive than usual while
they are protecting their eggs as well.
If you come into contact with Tegenaria agrestis and it bites
you, some of the time you won’t even know it. There are many
cases where the victims never feel the bite. Only about half
the time when the spider bites a human will it extract its venom.
Usually the spide
r just uses its venom on prey items that it plans
to make a meal of. When venom isn’t expelled by a bite, many
times the victim won’t even know they were bit. If the spider does
release venom with a bite, this can lead to some complications.
When someone is poisoned by the venom of Tegenaria agrestis, it
is referred to as tegenarism. Hobo spider bites are not all
that well documented, so it is hard to determine the affects of
tegenarism. There have been experiments done that have shown
that the venom of male hobo spiders is more harmful t
han that of the
female hobo spider. It has also been shown that the adult
spider bites are not as bad as the bites of the younger spiders.
If bitten, it is important to save the spider if at all possible to
help judge the potential dangers of the bite. The location of
the bite also plays a large role in the potential damage that can
occur. If the spider is trapped between your skin and
clothing, it may bite multiple times. The bite is often
painless, but there are some exceptions when it comes to the area of
the bite and how the person reacts mentally.
After a bite, there is usually a red area that forms around the
site. After a couple of hours pass, the red area disappears
and leaves a small, hard spot. After a
day or two there will be blister formation and some of them may
break. If they break, it le
aves an open ulceration. This
open wound will eventually scab over and after about three weeks it
looks like a target with a bulls-eye. This will eventually
disappear and leave a scar, and all of this occurs in about a month
and a half. If the bite occurs in an area where more fatty
tissue is present, it may take a couple of years to fully heal.
With the bite of the spider will come other physical effects. There is a pain that feels like a burning sensation, possible cyst formation, and also possible damage to the valves of blood vessels. There is also a possibility of necrosis, which is tissue death. This can occur when the spider venom moves down and away from the bite site. When this happens it can damage blood vessels and cause a lack of blood in these areas, which eventually can lead to death of the tissue.
Other symptoms that are experienced include severe headaches,
hallucinations, nausea, dizziness, weakness, and joint pain.
The person may also exp
erience dry mouth, visual disturbances, and
other things. Only about 15% of bite victims are hospitalized.
There are occasionally rare cases where bone marrow failure can
occur and this is often times fatal. Another serious and
dangerous effect may be diarrhea and vomiting.
I would like to say again that being bit by Tegenaria agrestis
doesn’t always result in harmful effects, but it definitely can.
If you believe you have been bit by a hobo spider, pay attention to
where it bit you and try to preserve the spider if possible.
This will help with diagnosing the severity of the bite, and help
you stay away from potential pain and danger.
Click here to
see more pictures and learn more information about the hobo spider.
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