Black Widow at my House!

[F1GTR]

EEEek!

 

[Pako]

An Introduction to Camel Spiders
An American Soldier recently stationed in Baghdad was bitten by a Camel Spider which was hiding in his sleeping bag. These spiders have the ability to jump very high and when they latch on to you, you will be injected with a local anesthesia so you can't feel it feeding on you. These spiders don't just suck out your juices like a normal spider, they eat flesh.

Origins of Camel Spiders
Camel spiders, also known as wind spiders, wind scorpions, and sun scorpions, are a type of arthropod found (among other places) in the deserts of the Middle East. They're technically not spiders but solifugae (although, like spiders, they belong to the class Arachnida). Camel spiders are the subject of a variety of legendary claims, many of them familiar to Americans because they were spread by U.S. servicemen who served in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and re-spread at the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003.

Quick Facts About Camel Spiders
Camel spiders can grow to be as large as dinner plates.
Camel spiders can traverse desert sand at speeds up to 25 MPH, making screaming noises as they run.
Camel spiders can jump several feet in the air.
Camel spiders eat the stomachs of camels, hence the name "camel spider." (Legend includes the detail that camel spiders eat camel stomachs from either the outside in or the inside out. In the former case they supposedly jump up from the ground and grab onto camels' bellies from underneath; in the latter case exactly how spiders allegedly as large as dinner plates get into camels' stomachs intact remains unexplained.)
Camel spiders are venomous, and their venom contains a powerful anesthetic that numbs their victims (thus allowing them to gnaw away at living, immobilized animals without being noticed). U.S. soldiers were said to have been attacked by camel spiders at night but remained completely unaware of their plight until they awakened in the morning to find chunks of their flesh missing.

Although absolutely disgusting......and giving me the heeby geebeez, I found this article which makes me feel a little better:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

 

[cardude2004]

I am glad that we don't have poisonous bugs here. I wouldn't have gotten that close to the black widow spider.

 

[a6m5]

Although absolutely disgusting......and giving me the heeby geebeez, I found this article which makes me feel a little better:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

Even after reading it's actually only few inches, it's still too freaky and too big. I'd never live in the neighborhood that has those spiders. I'd rather live in North Portland and deal with the bullets flying around.

 

[Pako]

They're are still friggin' huge....

They kinda freak me out...must be the color....., or the rat like size.

 

[Mr Deap]

Reading that thread is better than playing Resident Evil or Fatal Frame, lol!

Anyway, it was good reading.

BTW, so if a Camel Spider bite your leg... It mean you can't use your leg for awhile... XD!!

This sure is crazy...

 

[stumpydino]

a guy i knew was out in the desert ages ago with army stuff and them camel spiders liked to stay in the tents apparently , one time they was a bunch of em in a big tent and he spots this spider climbing up the side and he waits until its above the center and knocks it down into the crowd and everyone runs screaming

 

[Danny]

Pako, why do you refer to the Black Widow facts as "Fun"?

I absolutely haaaaate spiders!

 

[T5-R]

Blimey and I thought Black Widows were supposed to be bad, those Camel Spiders sound like they've come straight out of a horror film

And there was me feeling pleased when I found a large stag beetle on the porch at my old house

 

[extreme car]

Omg!!! I'll Never Visit This Thread Again!!! I Hate Spiders Eeekk!!!!

 

[Event]

Blimey and I thought Black Widows were supposed to be bad, those Camel Spiders sound like they've come straight out of a horror film

And there was me feeling pleased when I found a large stag beetle on the porch at my old house

I wouldn't be worried about Camel spiders. I've never seen a black widow before, but I have seen a Brown Recluse! Those things are baaad... Don't gett bitten by one of those... their venom eats your flesh away!

 

[Danny]

Oh no, not the Recluse!

I hate Snopes now.

 

[dropzone]

My dad got a email from a friend that showed pics of someone that got bit by a Brown Recluse. It was not a pretty sight. The Day 10 pic after the bite makes me wonder if he went to a doctor or not(it looks like in the pic after a closer look). I would've posted his hand at that day but it's really ugly, maybe a link or pm.

 

[2ez2KiLL]

My dad got a email from a friend that showed pics of someone that got bit by a Brown Recluse. It was not a pretty sight. The Day 10 pic after the bite makes me wonder if he went to a doctor or not(it looks like in the pic after a closer look). I would've posted his hand at that day but it's really ugly, maybe a link or pm.

OMG I was in the backyard the other day and saw 1 of those ones just crawling across the screen door I thought the only poisonous spider was the balck widow so I left it alone.

Next time I see it, I'm gonna superglue/epoxy it to the wall and crank my soldering iron to 900 degrees

 

[Spock]

Ive seen quite alot of black widows down here in billings, i guess its a bit warmer further down in montana.