Yep, I think Cincy is about the farthest north that they go. Lucky you. :) They're not really walkabout kind of spiders, not like, say, wolf spiders. Or widows, for that matter. They do hunt rather than do the sit-on-web-and-wait-for-food thing, though. They hunt at night, hole up on webs during the day. Males wander more than females, IIRC, which is pretty typical of hunting spiders. Problems with humans arise when they decide to hole up in people's shoes or clothing for the day. Same thing happens with widows, resulting in accidental squishings and bites.
I'm tending to think your recluses will confine themselves to your basement, especially if your basement isn't wet, as they tend to like cool, dry, and undisturbed places. Do you have cardboard boxes down there? I remember reading somewhere that they tend to like cardboard for some reason. If you make them a nice little habitat down there, I doubt they will feel a need to wander much, and it's a much simpler proposition than to try to find them and kill them and much healthier than, say, chemical extermination. Plus, they'll probably take care of other nasties you might have lurking down there.
Yes, spiders are not the smartest creatures and will build webs in the dumbest places sometime, but I'm just tickled that you've become more tolerant. ;) Yay!
So, is Cincinnati north of Chicago? We have Brown Recluse here as well. Talked to several people that were bit by them, and had the lovely photos as well. One reason to wear gloves while cleaning gutters, as two of the gents were bit doing that. (With all the crap that accumulates in a gutter, why wouldn't someone wear gloves is a mystery to me.)
During the entomology class and during my natural areas class we got a refresher course on what they look like and what to look out for. As well as for fleas and ticks.
Cincy is on the border of Ohio and Kentucky so...No, Chicago is north. Last I heard, brown recluses weren't in Chicago, but are in southern Illinois. But, there can always be some stragglers outside of the generally-accepted range, and the range can spread, of course.
I tend to take claims of recluse bites with a grain of salt, though. Recluses are often confused with the far more ubiquitous (and more house-invasive) funnel web or grass spiders and, although most funnel web spiders are harmless in terms of venom damage, some of them can inflict painful bites that can swell up pretty impressively, and many people bitten by them will claim that they were bitten by a recluse. None of the American species are medically significant except the hobo spider in the Pacific northwest, but the Sydney funnel web spider in Australia has killed several hundred people until an antivenin was developed. So...yeah. :)
I'm tending to think your recluses will confine themselves to your basement, especially if your basement isn't wet, as they tend to like cool, dry, and undisturbed places. Do you have cardboard boxes down there? I remember reading somewhere that they tend to like cardboard for some reason. If you make them a nice little habitat down there, I doubt they will feel a need to wander much, and it's a much simpler proposition than to try to find them and kill them and much healthier than, say, chemical extermination. Plus, they'll probably take care of other nasties you might have lurking down there.
Yes, spiders are not the smartest creatures and will build webs in the dumbest places sometime, but I'm just tickled that you've become more tolerant. ;) Yay!
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During the entomology class and during my natural areas class we got a refresher course on what they look like and what to look out for. As well as for fleas and ticks.
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I tend to take claims of recluse bites with a grain of salt, though. Recluses are often confused with the far more ubiquitous (and more house-invasive) funnel web or grass spiders and, although most funnel web spiders are harmless in terms of venom damage, some of them can inflict painful bites that can swell up pretty impressively, and many people bitten by them will claim that they were bitten by a recluse. None of the American species are medically significant except the hobo spider in the Pacific northwest, but the Sydney funnel web spider in Australia has killed several hundred people until an antivenin was developed. So...yeah. :)
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