Spiders can be frightening creatures, but most are harmless to humans. Even among those spiders that bite, the affected area is often only mildly irritated. Be informed so you can be prepared for the best and worst of possibilities.
Instructions
1. You can find grass spiders in grassy areas, tall weeds or ivy. These spiders can be 9 to 20 millimeters long with brown bodies, often with two stripes of darker brown from front to back. They build sheetlike webs and a tunnel that the spider uses for seclusion from prey or attackers. There are no recorded incidents of grass spider bites affecting people adversely.
2. You can often find the yellow garden spider (also known as the banana spider) in bushes or on the eves of buildings where they construct large orbed webs. These spiders are identified by brightly colored yellow or orange blotches on their abdomen and their length--some are as large as 28 millimeters. Their webs can be often be identified by a distinct zig-zag shape down the middle, which scientists still don't know the purpose of. Bites are rare and only cause as much discomfort as a bee sting.
3. You can usually find the broad-faced sac spider outside in woodland debris such as leaves or boards, but they are occasionally found indoors during mid to late autumn. When inside, they usually live in abandoned corners of rooms and shelves. Its legs are thick, covered in a shell-like substance, and brown. The abdomen is lighter, often gray in color. Bites from this spider can be painful, and occasionally result in an infection, particularly if a person is sensitive to insect or spider venom.
4. The brown recluse is a venomous spider that lives in Indiana. You can find them in areas that are dry and undisturbed, but they are not aggressive. Most bites occur when the spider is inadvertently pressed against the skin, such as under bedsheets or clothing. The resulting wound can take months to heal and on rare occasions can be deadly. The spider is brown and usually is less than one inch long. It can be distinguished by a violin-shaped marking on its abdomen.
5. The infamous black widow is indigenous to Indiana as well and you can identify it by its shiny, black appearance and the red hour-glass shape on its abdomen. It can be 25 to 35 millimeters long. Though they are the most feared of spiders, deaths resulting from black widow bites are not common. The bite is usually not painful until a few hours after the event, when symptoms including nausea, chills, fever or motor failure might ensue. Medical attention is needed for a black widow bite.
Tags: black widow, millimeters long, These spiders