Aliens in This World

A lady I know got bit by a brown recluse spider the other day! I knew they’d spread to this area, but… brrr. Also, brown recluses are apparently given to wandering at night hunting (similar to those big black jobbies we’re used to having in houses), so they can come and find you. Which is what happened to this lady. (So “leave them alone and they won’t hurt you” doesn’t always apply.)

In case it should happen to you — ice packs or other cold compresses to keep the venom from spreading. Also, bring your doctor the smashed or Raid-filled spider body for identification and diagnosis before the venom really starts going and makes it obvious. (Okay, maybe you can capture it, but personally, I’d want that sucker very, very dead.)

For some reason, some bites don’t do the flesh-killing ulcerating thing.OTOH, if someone elderly or frail gets bitten, the necrotizing poison can spread through the whole body and kill important bits, or just plain kill them. So watch out for spiders in dark corners, folks.