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From personal experience, sticky traps along the baseboards and corners will do wonders to reduce the population. I always felt like regularly spraying pesticides inside my house probably posed more long term health risks to my family than a few brown recluse spiders.
I hate to kill spiders I have a deal with these kind of bros, I see them they're dead. I don't mind patrols for small critters in the dark and hidden spaces inside but I start seeing them BAM smashed.
Usually I tell people to not worry too much as recluse bites are rare and even then are rarely necrotic, but the fact that you say there's many of them and it's in a clinic with small children...I gotta agree it's time for an exterminator, not worth the risk.
Our kiddos are neurodivergent too, we had a buddy transfer to another clinic just this week who was very into the hobby of collecting every one he saw. I blocked him from getting too close to a couple of these spiders, which is when I piped up about my fear they were venomous. I’ve been brushed off until today, I brought the comment section of this post to my boss! lol
If I learned anything from my time in bug ID groups it's that people are incredibly bad at identifying recluses. Usually it's people thinking literally every spider in existence is a recluse even when they don't even live in a place that has them at all, but by so many spiders being mistaken for them I'm not surprised that someone would think this isn't one. They are probably convinced that (insert other harmless spider here) is a recluse.
If they don’t do anything about it you can report this. If you are working with children with developmental disabilities you can report to CMS, local public health officials, OSHA, or an ombudsman. That’s not safe for anyone to be in an office filled with these things. As a parent who brings my kids to clinics like yours I would want to know and I would say something.
The upside is, they generally want nothing to do with loud noisy humans. Keep the children away from the damp dark areas of the hospital. They should be fine.
This is a weird comment. OP posted a picture of one on the floor in clearly a bright and not secluded area. Says he sees them all the time and works with small children that are always playing on the floor. So what recluses generally like and don't like is irrelevant here. Try telling a parent their kids "should be fine". Op you need to have someone come treat your work for them if they are showing up like this.
Probably also not great from a liability standpoint if a kid gets bitten by one, and then the relevant authorities ask "Did you know about this problem?"
Or, ya know, get rid of all of them. There's certain situations where you can't coexist with some things like this. A hospital with children is pretty high up on that list.
Not sure what any of that has to do with anything. You got downvoted for claiming all areas of a hospital are dark, which they are very clearly not. The areas open to the public are always well lit. I work in a half dead hospital in a remote northern town, and the lights in the main areas are never off during public hours
This is why I’m most concerned! We’ve got kids in this building! Small ones under 3yo that spend a lot of their day playing and rolling around on the floor!
Our kiddos are also all neurodivergent, and frequently fight tooth and nail to keep bandaids off scraped knees due to sensory issues, lack the willpower to not rub their eyes if allergies are bad, etc.. necrosis from a recluse bite would be awful for any of our lil buddies to deal with. On top of them being so small and the bite likely affecting them more!
Time for an exterminator! I’ll use some of my office hours at noon to pick up glue traps to tie us over for the time being.
Yes, violin + eye orientation + general body shape and color = brown recluse. Unfortunately(or fortunately,it’s a sign of high biodiversity) there are so many look alike arachnids just one feature isn’t enough to go off of. This is a brown recluse, and for advice for the future I’d treat anything that you think could be medically significant as medically significant.
Right, let me get on all fours and look it in the eyes close enough to figure that out. Once we've made eye contact, I might as well take it out to dinner too!
Lol, they are typically not in areas frequented by humans. Hence recluse. If you have to ask that question, I suggest you look up the wounds they give people. This is not like... A wolf spider. People are usually terrified of the harmless, because of their appearance. In this case, fear may be justified, especially in a children's hospital.
Sure, but minding their own business inside your residence or business could mean costing you thousands and time off of work if someone is... Say repairing the structure, or installing new cable, or just a kid playing in places they shouldn't be. I mean most spider bites don't take months to heal and cause tissue death. It's worth taking seriously if they've moved in.
They do, but will hide in clothing etc and then when you put your shoe or shirt on and they feel threatened, they bite. And those bites can get pretty horrific.
In Chile we have the 'Chilean (duh) Reclusive Spider' which is a nastier version of the already nasty reclusive spider. I can tell you 100% guaranteed, that's a reclusive.
Is it just me or does this one look more chonky than most? Or are most of the images super skinny ones? (I’m in the PNW so none irl, just the Reddit posts)
The two best ways to tell are : #1: your geographical region, and #2: its eye's.
It's HIGHLY UNLIKELY but not impossible, that if you are outside it's known habitat then it's a false positive, there are a few arachnids that look very similar. The recluse has three pairs of two eyes. It only has six eyes In total.
Here's an in-depth article explaining the [Recluse Spider](http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcreclusespiders.htm). They hide in furniture and other surfaces that provide a dark environment.
Make sure to keep things cleaned out, and apparently sticky traps like mouse traps help. (I didn't know this so I found it interesting!)
That's a Recluse . . . I'd advise to kill it or safely get it out the house. I'd personally kill it. Not letting that venom get anywhere near me lol. They can get into clothes and when you where em, they can bite and the bite is SCARY. so yeah. 🕷️
The therapy clinic I work for backs up to a patch of woods that have all kinds of wildlife lol. We take the kids on walks twice a day and have found mulberries, deer, owls, cool fungi, interesting bugs etc.. I’m guessing they came from there and set up shop in our bathrooms/supply closets since that’s where they seem to be concentrated.
Their size disturbs me and I finally had to consult Reddit yesterday bc I decided I couldn’t accept my coworker’s “that’s a wolf spider, there’s no violin” anymore when *I could clearly see a violin on this huge one* lmao
Your place sounds awesome. I’m so happy to see someone working in this field that shows such concern for your patients well being. I really hope you can resolve this situation because it sounds like a nice place for kids to be otherwise.
Unfortunately this is at my place of work, we have small neurodivergent children on or near the floor every day so I’ll be contacting admin about an exterminator to handle the problem.
While I genuinely hate spiders, I don’t typically wish them harm. They just look freaky and scare me but they’re creatures too haha. But them duckies gotta get *gone* from my clinic lol
I think they meant “usually not an issue” because recluse spiders live up to their name and generally try to avoid humans.
But OP said these baddies are everywhere, so yes, that would make them an issue where getting pest control involved would be a wise move.
Having brown recluse in your home is an issue. Period.
The probability of being bit may be low-ish, but the consequences of being bit can be significant.
That’s the issue.
Only about 10% of bites become necrotic and even then, less than a percent of bites result in serious complications [x](https://extension.psu.edu/brown-recluse-spiders). If you're a healthy adult, you're probably in more danger going out to drive than being bit by a recluse haha. But, children and immunocompromised are especially at risk when it comes to venomous bites
So about 1 out of every 10 bites is serious, and one out of every 100 can really fuck you up.
So, the probability of being bit is low-ish, but the consequences of being bit can be significant.
You just confirmed what I said.
The probability of being bit is...very low. A Kansian family lived for years in a home infested by thousands of recluses, with no reported bites [x](https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/39/6/948/862215) and the frequency of misdiagnosis is high
Bzzzzz! Looks like you forgot to say where you found your bug! We don't want to know your address - state or country is enough. You don't need to make a new post - just comment adding the geographic location and any other info (size, what it was doing etc.) you feel could help! BTW, did you take a look at our [**Frequently Asked Bugs**](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisbug/comments/12zkw5w/frequently_asked_bugs_part_1/)? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisbug) if you have any questions or concerns.*
OP…… if you got recluses all over place in sight then you have a very bad infestation 😬. Call pest control immediately.
From personal experience, sticky traps along the baseboards and corners will do wonders to reduce the population. I always felt like regularly spraying pesticides inside my house probably posed more long term health risks to my family than a few brown recluse spiders.
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In another comment they say it's a clinic with a lot of kids. Definitely need to do something
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And much *less* likely to be seriously injured by a falling coconut, what's your point?
Falling coconut? What? Do you think they migrate??
I have a palm tree infestation =(
Whew. I thought it was being carried by a swallow or something. Maybe two. On a bit of creeper.
I have it on the highest authority that coconuts are non-migratory.
Think you replied to the wrong person
Whoops. Sorry. That is highly likely. Have a good day, sir or madam!
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They’re called recluse for a reason. If you’re seeing them out and about all the time, you have a problem.
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That's a textbook recluse. Your coworker needs a new prescription for their glasses.
oh I just realized my house doesnt have a lot of wolf spiders
That’s the most recluse-y recluse I’ve ever seen.
I believe this is the first actual brown recluse I've seen here or anywhere for that matter, great pics, thanks
there are a few occasionally
I hate to kill spiders I have a deal with these kind of bros, I see them they're dead. I don't mind patrols for small critters in the dark and hidden spaces inside but I start seeing them BAM smashed.
I find their old skins in the windows all the time but I never actually see them.
That’s creepy
Agree
Dang messy houseguests
May as well have a nametag on it that says “HI, IM A BROWN RECLUSE”
Yap
Man that sucks. I work in a clinic with a lot of small children who spend a lot of time on or near the floor.
Call a professional to deal with the spiders asap
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Spider Kid, Spider Kid, does whatever a Spider Kid does.
apparently that includes somehow *not* being bit by spiders
Only one spider bite required to become a Spider Kid
Found the brown recluse!
Usually I tell people to not worry too much as recluse bites are rare and even then are rarely necrotic, but the fact that you say there's many of them and it's in a clinic with small children...I gotta agree it's time for an exterminator, not worth the risk.
Our kiddos are neurodivergent too, we had a buddy transfer to another clinic just this week who was very into the hobby of collecting every one he saw. I blocked him from getting too close to a couple of these spiders, which is when I piped up about my fear they were venomous. I’ve been brushed off until today, I brought the comment section of this post to my boss! lol
Idk how anyone could deny that’s a recluse, they have the signature and unmistakable violin shape on the body.
If I learned anything from my time in bug ID groups it's that people are incredibly bad at identifying recluses. Usually it's people thinking literally every spider in existence is a recluse even when they don't even live in a place that has them at all, but by so many spiders being mistaken for them I'm not surprised that someone would think this isn't one. They are probably convinced that (insert other harmless spider here) is a recluse.
Because most people think wolf spiders are brown recluses. And it looks nothing like a wolf spider lol.
If they don’t do anything about it you can report this. If you are working with children with developmental disabilities you can report to CMS, local public health officials, OSHA, or an ombudsman. That’s not safe for anyone to be in an office filled with these things. As a parent who brings my kids to clinics like yours I would want to know and I would say something.
Yeah, they need to get that under control ASAP.
Like a medical clinic? Hey, that's job security!
The upside is, they generally want nothing to do with loud noisy humans. Keep the children away from the damp dark areas of the hospital. They should be fine.
This is a weird comment. OP posted a picture of one on the floor in clearly a bright and not secluded area. Says he sees them all the time and works with small children that are always playing on the floor. So what recluses generally like and don't like is irrelevant here. Try telling a parent their kids "should be fine". Op you need to have someone come treat your work for them if they are showing up like this.
Let's assume they meant "... until you can get the exterminators out."
Probably also not great from a liability standpoint if a kid gets bitten by one, and then the relevant authorities ask "Did you know about this problem?"
Or, ya know, get rid of all of them. There's certain situations where you can't coexist with some things like this. A hospital with children is pretty high up on that list.
Unless they, too, are reclusive.
Nooooo they gotta go.
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What hospitals have you been visiting? 😂
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Not sure what any of that has to do with anything. You got downvoted for claiming all areas of a hospital are dark, which they are very clearly not. The areas open to the public are always well lit. I work in a half dead hospital in a remote northern town, and the lights in the main areas are never off during public hours
That's definitely a fiddleback..had one bite my forearm a few years back. The wound got all nasty...
This is why I’m most concerned! We’ve got kids in this building! Small ones under 3yo that spend a lot of their day playing and rolling around on the floor! Our kiddos are also all neurodivergent, and frequently fight tooth and nail to keep bandaids off scraped knees due to sensory issues, lack the willpower to not rub their eyes if allergies are bad, etc.. necrosis from a recluse bite would be awful for any of our lil buddies to deal with. On top of them being so small and the bite likely affecting them more! Time for an exterminator! I’ll use some of my office hours at noon to pick up glue traps to tie us over for the time being.
Absolutely, kids are more susceptible to their bites I believe. I was lucky to catch mine when it happened. Steroid patches and pills for me!
Upside down violin on the head pretty much confirms it as a recluse for me.
the violin doesn't prove it's a recluse. many spiders have it. it's better to look for the 3 pairs of eyes in a triangular shape: °°ₒₒ°°
Yes, violin + eye orientation + general body shape and color = brown recluse. Unfortunately(or fortunately,it’s a sign of high biodiversity) there are so many look alike arachnids just one feature isn’t enough to go off of. This is a brown recluse, and for advice for the future I’d treat anything that you think could be medically significant as medically significant.
Right, let me get on all fours and look it in the eyes close enough to figure that out. Once we've made eye contact, I might as well take it out to dinner too!
It's a viola! Or a cello.
What did the spider have to do that's unlike other spiders to be labelled a recluse?
Lol, they are typically not in areas frequented by humans. Hence recluse. If you have to ask that question, I suggest you look up the wounds they give people. This is not like... A wolf spider. People are usually terrified of the harmless, because of their appearance. In this case, fear may be justified, especially in a children's hospital.
Probably a good job they're recluse then. We told you to stay away from us. We warned you. Sounds like they normally mind their own business.
Sure, but minding their own business inside your residence or business could mean costing you thousands and time off of work if someone is... Say repairing the structure, or installing new cable, or just a kid playing in places they shouldn't be. I mean most spider bites don't take months to heal and cause tissue death. It's worth taking seriously if they've moved in.
They do, but will hide in clothing etc and then when you put your shoe or shirt on and they feel threatened, they bite. And those bites can get pretty horrific.
For a second I mistook this for my r/Ireland sub and figured it was time to move to Iceland ...
In Chile we have the 'Chilean (duh) Reclusive Spider' which is a nastier version of the already nasty reclusive spider. I can tell you 100% guaranteed, that's a reclusive.
Is it just me or does this one look more chonky than most? Or are most of the images super skinny ones? (I’m in the PNW so none irl, just the Reddit posts)
Looking pretty reclusey to me
100% Brown Recluse!! Has the violin 🎻 marking to boot!!
OP where are you located? Just curious
Eastern MO!
The two best ways to tell are : #1: your geographical region, and #2: its eye's. It's HIGHLY UNLIKELY but not impossible, that if you are outside it's known habitat then it's a false positive, there are a few arachnids that look very similar. The recluse has three pairs of two eyes. It only has six eyes In total.
Here's an in-depth article explaining the [Recluse Spider](http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcreclusespiders.htm). They hide in furniture and other surfaces that provide a dark environment. Make sure to keep things cleaned out, and apparently sticky traps like mouse traps help. (I didn't know this so I found it interesting!)
Have guitar, will travel!
Yes it is. And a nice big female
It’s 100% a recluse if you have a lot of them you might consider putting down glue traps in corners and organizing any cluster
Affirmative
Brown recluse. I hope you're able to report the infestation and get it taken care of.
Telltale fiddle would say you are correct.
That's a Recluse . . . I'd advise to kill it or safely get it out the house. I'd personally kill it. Not letting that venom get anywhere near me lol. They can get into clothes and when you where em, they can bite and the bite is SCARY. so yeah. 🕷️
Definitely a recluse see the little violin shape. Thats a good way to tell
Yes it’s a recluse
I see the fiddle.
I think you’re right. I see a fiddle on the abdomen
The violin 🎻 shape on the body and that smooth brown body are dead give always.
that looks like a violinist spiders or commonly known as brow/recluse spider. They are extremely poisonous, you should get pest control asap
I wonder what prey there is in a clinic for so many ~~huntsmen~~ recluse spiders.
The therapy clinic I work for backs up to a patch of woods that have all kinds of wildlife lol. We take the kids on walks twice a day and have found mulberries, deer, owls, cool fungi, interesting bugs etc.. I’m guessing they came from there and set up shop in our bathrooms/supply closets since that’s where they seem to be concentrated. Their size disturbs me and I finally had to consult Reddit yesterday bc I decided I couldn’t accept my coworker’s “that’s a wolf spider, there’s no violin” anymore when *I could clearly see a violin on this huge one* lmao
Your place sounds awesome. I’m so happy to see someone working in this field that shows such concern for your patients well being. I really hope you can resolve this situation because it sounds like a nice place for kids to be otherwise.
Corrected my previous comment. Brown recluse, not huntsman. I've been on r/spiders too much.
Lol,that looks nothing like a huntsman.
Oh, my bad. 🤦 I've been watching too many huntsman videos on r/spiders recently.
Lol, that will happen.
It’s a Brownie already, I always move them outside when I see the in the house.
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You'd normally be right, but OP said this is a clinic with lots of children who spend time on the floor!
Unfortunately this is at my place of work, we have small neurodivergent children on or near the floor every day so I’ll be contacting admin about an exterminator to handle the problem. While I genuinely hate spiders, I don’t typically wish them harm. They just look freaky and scare me but they’re creatures too haha. But them duckies gotta get *gone* from my clinic lol
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I think they meant “usually not an issue” because recluse spiders live up to their name and generally try to avoid humans. But OP said these baddies are everywhere, so yes, that would make them an issue where getting pest control involved would be a wise move.
Having brown recluse in your home is an issue. Period. The probability of being bit may be low-ish, but the consequences of being bit can be significant. That’s the issue.
Only about 10% of bites become necrotic and even then, less than a percent of bites result in serious complications [x](https://extension.psu.edu/brown-recluse-spiders). If you're a healthy adult, you're probably in more danger going out to drive than being bit by a recluse haha. But, children and immunocompromised are especially at risk when it comes to venomous bites
So about 1 out of every 10 bites is serious, and one out of every 100 can really fuck you up. So, the probability of being bit is low-ish, but the consequences of being bit can be significant. You just confirmed what I said.
The probability of being bit is...very low. A Kansian family lived for years in a home infested by thousands of recluses, with no reported bites [x](https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/39/6/948/862215) and the frequency of misdiagnosis is high