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Hobo Spiders
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June 22, 2001
There's another effect of hot weather -- one that people with anacrophobia won't like to hear.
Two Salt Lake residents are recovering from nasty spider bites. One ended up in intensive care while doctors tried to keep the venom from destroying more flesh.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates reports.
Utah State University Entomologist Dr. Jay Karren says in about another week, Utah's Hobo Spider will move into the mating season. That means the male spider will crawl into every crack and crevice looking for a mate. And that means more Hobo's coming into the house.
Hard to believe, but Marlend Torgerson's leg looks much better now than it did several weeks ago. While sleeping in bed over the Memorial Day weekend, he was bitten by a spider.
MARLEN TORGERSON, SPIDER BITE VICTIM: "I FELT A SHARP BITE ON MY LEG AND I JUST AUTOMATICALLY SCRATCHED MY LEG AND MORE OR LESS IGNORED IT FOR THE TIME.
But he couldn't ignore it for long. In days that followed, the venom spread. The wound expanded from the size of a quarter to an area covering almost the whole leg between the ankle and knee.
"I DEBATED I WAS PROBABLY GOING TO LOSE MY LEG - THE SWELLING GOT SO BAD AND THE INFECTION - AND SUCH A HIGH FEVER. I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.
Marlen also experienced a lot of pain - especially if he put weight on that leg.
"THERE WAS A LOT OF SHARP, ALMOST LIKE A THROBBING TOOTHACHE TYPE - LOT OF PAIN"
Doctors believe Marlend was bitten by a brown recluse spider while he was in Barstow, California. But another 83-year-old Salt Lake man with similar tissue damage on his hands and arm was probably bitten by Utah's own hobo spider. The venom from both spiders reactes the same way - killing skin and tissue while it spreads.
Dr. Jay Karren with Utah State University says when the Hobo comes inside it will move along baseboards - building its funnel web in corners and crevices. It seldom moves up walls or onto ceilings. It's easily identified because it runs extremely fast and has a chevron marking on its back.
Dr. Karren's group is also watching a new spider which has moved into the St. George area.
That spider is also potentially dangerous. For short, it's called the Brown Deseret Eye spider.
More on Hobo Spiders
According to Idaho Health Department:
- Chemical control (pesticides) has both risks and benefits. We suggest that use of
chemicals be left to professionals as misuse by homeowners may present a greater risk
than the presence of the spider.
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Trapping may be the most effective non-chemical control. It is especially effective in
trapping wandering spiders during the summer and fall months of the year.
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Eliminating habitat will keep the numbers of spiders down in a home. Keep long grass
trimmed around homes, don't accumulate debris around a home, and fill cracks and
crevices in rock walls and foundations.
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Knowing where spiders may be and avoiding them is also effective. Use care when
picking up clothes which have been stored on the floor or picking up objects stored on
basement floors and use care when working around wood piles.
According to Hobospiders.Org:
- In Europe, human contact with Hobo spiders is uncommon because many houses contain Giant House Spiders, which are competitors to the Hobo.
- The single most effective deterrent against the Hobo spider is the presence of competing spider species.
- Reports of Hobo spider bites in Utah began in the late 1980's. The bites are/were often mistaken for bites of the brown recluse spider.
- The Hobo spider is now the leading cause of serious envenomation in the northwestern United States.
- Hobo spiders are not good climbers, and are usually found at ground or basement level.
- They are commonly found around the foundations of houses, and beneath rocks, wood, and ornaments in yards.
- Hobos move very quickly, and sometimes run toward people. Controversy has surrounded whether they are "agressive" or simply cannot see object beyond a foot or two away.
More on the Brown Recluse Spider
According to Ohio State University:
- The brown recluse spider is not aggressive. Most bitten people
have directly contacted the spider when putting on clothing or shoes not used for long periods of time. They usually occur in houses on the
floor or behind furniture (undisturbed areas).
- Some have been bitten after sleeping in an unused bed after rolling over onto the spider or others
after accidentally touching the spider when cleaning out undisturbed storage areas.
- Fatalities are rare,
but bites are most dangerous to children, elderly and those in poor physical condition.
- Adult brown recluse spiders are soft-bodied, yellowish-tan to dark brown, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long
and have long, delicate grayish to dark brown legs covered with short, dark hairs. The leg span is
about the size of a half dollar.
- These spiders spin small, loose, white to off-white webs with irregular strands.
- This spider is most active at night when it comes out in search of food consisting of cockroaches and other small insects. During the day,
time is spent in quiet, undisturbed places such as bathrooms, bedrooms, closets, basements and cellars.
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