Hobo Spiders

Living in both Europe and North America, hobo spiders are a species that prefers moderate climates, making their nests both in houses and outside, in gardens, hedges, fields and pastures. In the United States, hobo spiders are considered a real danger since their bite can cause severe necrosis; nevertheless, the reported cases are pretty rare, as the most likely symptoms to appear include local pain, itching and swelling of the bitten area.

Aloe vera, ice chips and antibiotics applied on the bite are thought to reduce the discomfort and speed up healing; yet, none of them is considered a 100% reliable remedy for hobo spider bites.

The consequences of the exposure to the venom of hobo spiders are less serious than the bites of the brown recluse spider for instance. However, people who have been bitten may expect to experience headaches and a general feeling of malaise. Sometimes, even vision problems have been reported, but under such circumstances you should contact the doctor right away and receive professional help.

Nevertheless, it is a good idea to stay calm since anxiety adds up to the severity of the symptoms and that is surely the last thing you’d like to do. One further mention here is that many of the “dangers” related to hobo spiders are in fact rumors and anecdotes found on the Internet.

Hobo spiders definitely do not deserve the label of aggressiveness, and presently, there are trends of opinion among scientists related to the real danger of this species for humans: there are some who actually claim that hobo spiders are no threat to humans. The only time when hobo spiders are really dangerous is when they are laying their eggs, particularly if they see you as a threat to their future siblings. It is also good to know that these creatures seldom inject any venom when they bite, which is why there is little health risk and discomfort.

Even if hobo spiders live both on the American and the European continents, there is no difference in terms of physical specificity or venom composition. The treatment of the hobo spider bite is common with any other procedure applied to puncture wounds; let the bite bleed so as to eliminate as much venom as possible and then clean it with some topical antiseptic.

Even if the bite may be itchy, try not to scratch since you may cause an infection of the deep tissues; do not apply cold or hot packs on the hobo bite since such measures are likely to increase tissue damage.