Are Woodlouse Spider Poisonous? Here Are What To Know About Woodlouse Spiders

A woodlouse spider’s venom is secreted from two large fangs that project from its body.

Pill-bugs is usually the receiver of this venom as woodlouse feed almost exclusively on the small insects. However, woodlouse that comes into contact with people can sometimes bite humans.

These bites can be painful due to the spider’s massive fangs, but they are not known to require medical attention.

People who have been bitten by woodlouse report that the bite is intensely itchy.

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Woodlouse spiders are commonly found in gardens, under rocks or in the shade of logs.

They are night dwellers and catch their prey after the sun goes down.

Warm weather and high humidity can sometimes lead to woodlouse finding their way inside houses.

Homeowners have been known to find these arachnids in their basements.

The spiders are not known to be aggressive and will not usually bite unless scared or provoked.

Woodlouse spiders are commonly mistaken for the brown recluse spider because of their similar shapes.

But woodlouse has distinguishing characteristics including a reddish-brown head and a cream-colored abdomen. The spider’s legs are orange.

Woodlouse spiders can grow to about a half-inch in size.

The spider’s fangs are large and thick and protrude forward. Unlike most spiders, the woodlouse has only six eyes, which are arranged in an oval shape.

While a woodlouse spider’s venom does not usually cause serious harm to humans, it is possible for bite victims to suffer allergic reactions due to the injury.

People with compromised immune systems or other medical conditions may also experience more serious reactions to such spider bites.

The Mayo Clinic recommends seeking medical attention if a spider bite is severely painful or the victim experiences abdominal cramping.

A growing ulcer at the bite site is another reason for a doctor’s visit.

The woodlouse spiders are not too good at making people miserable as much as many other spiders do.

According to what we read, the most poisonous spider to humans is the Brazilian wandering spider or the banana spider, but these spiders don’t exist in the United States.

Learn about the most poisonous spiders in the U.S., such as brown recluses and black widows, with help from a veterinarian in this free video on poisonous spiders.

If you are still asking yourself the question “Are woodlouse spiders poisonous?” you might want to read through and find out the most poisonous spiders in history.

The most poisonous spiders in history ( Are Woodlouse Spider Poisonous? )

 

• Lycosa

In 1925, a report appeared about several Brazilian patients with severe necrotic lesions from spider bites.

No one definitely identified the actual biting spiders, but it seemed obvious to the authors that it must have been a large wolf spider, Lycosa raptorial (by some considered the same as L. erythrognatha), well known locally as a “biter.”

For decades this spider was considered one of the most medically important in Brazil. An antivenom was developed and used on many patients.

Not until 1990 was there a scientific study of 515 authentic Lycosa bite cases (with the spider kept and identified) that disproved the long-held belief. None of the 515 patients developed necrosis and most suffered only mild pain.

But the old medical myth is not dead yet; it appears in textbooks and is often misapplied to other unrelated wolf spiders in other countries. (Some of the original cases were probably really recluse spider bites).

• Cheiracanthium

In 1970, two respected Harvard scientists published a study of five patients with necrotic skin lesions.

“All attributed the lesions to spider bites acquired indoors …

None of the patients actually saw a spider bite him.” Cheiracanthium mildei, a buff-colored spider confusingly called “yellow sac spider” was a suspect since it was the most common house spider in Boston at the time.

To do them justice, the authors didn’t publish their conclusions until they had seemingly confirmed Cheiracanthium toxicity with guinea pigs, about half of which developed lesions after experimental bites.

However, to date, no human bitten by an authentic C. mildei has developed any lesion, and a 2006 study of 20 verified cases (main symptom: bee-sting-like pain) should kill this belief – but it won’t! I’m sure yellow sac spiders will stay on “dangerous spider lists” for years to come.

• Dysdera

In 1993, a man with no medical or arachnological credentials somehow managed to get an article published in the respected New Scientist about a roommate who felt “a rapid series of jabs” while carrying furniture and later became seriously ill and noticed blistered skin around “puncture marks.”

A spider found running across the floor hours after the supposed bite was Dysdera crocata, called the woodlouse spider because it preys on those land-dwelling crustaceans.

Nobody should have taken seriously the conclusion that this spider caused the man’s symptoms, but they did, and the “poisonous” nature of Dysdera entered folklore.

According to one off-the-wall online comment, Dysdera venom “in very rare occurrences … can be fatal as a result of an allergic reaction” (that person must be psychic since no such case has happened to date).

This spider has very large and strong jaws and can penetrate deeply when it bites humans, but a 2006 study of 16 verified bites showed that the main symptom was the pain of the puncture and that the venom had little effect.

Unlike most spider bites, puncture marks from this spider’s impressive fangs can actually be seen about half the time.

• Lampona

Six reports published from 1987-2001 attributed severe skin necrosis cases in Australia to the bite of white-tailed spiders, genus Lampona.

Would it surprise you to hear that no spider was caught and identified in any of these cases? But thanks to the number of reports, all Australians (both medical and non-medical) became convinced of the danger of white-tailed spider bites.

That belief is still very much with us, but it shouldn’t be. In 2003 appeared an exemplary study of no less than 130 authentic Lampona bite cases with the spider caught and identified.

All patients found the bites painful (not severely so in most cases); the majority developed a red mark that sometimes stayed itchy for a few days.

Not one patient developed any necrotic lesion. But in the minds of the public and the news media, white-tailed spiders still cause most necrotic sores in Australia.

The case of the notorious hobo spider still awaits more data, but it now seems likely that it, too, will be cleared of causing major skin lesions and illness (with no human case backed up by a specimen of the biting spider, if any).

One would hope that sober, published medical studies would reject the widespread public belief that the bites of unseen spiders cause all mysterious skin lesions. But up to now, that clearly has not happened! These researchers must have reasoned like this:

1. Some spider bites cause necrotic lesions.
2. These patients have necrotic lesions.
3. Therefore, these patients were bitten by whatever spider species is common in their homes.

Wrapping up

I trust you had a nice read all-through this article.

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