As is the case for 5 year old Hailey Poindexter. She was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider and as indicated by the photo, she's facing a long road to recovery.
As much as we dislike spiders, most are harmless. In the midwest, the Brown Recluse and Black Widow are the only two that can cause extreme pain and/or death. When bitten by either, treatment must be sought immediately.
While this young girl will be facing treatment for an undetermined amount of time, it might pay for the rest of us to get better educated on identifying these spiders and understanding their habits.
First, both types are more common in the southern U.S. and in warm, dry climates. Within these areas they tend to be found in environments that are undisturbed such as basements, closets, attics, under sinks, or in wood piles.
Note that Brown Recluse spiders are generally non aggressive and only bite when threatened, such as when they accidentally make contact with humans.
 |
| The Brown Recluse has a visible violin pattern on the top of the head |
The northern black widow spider doesn't have the hallmark red hourglass shape on its belly, instead it can be identified by a row of red spots (spots may also be yellow or white) down the middle of the upper surface of its abdomen, and two crosswise bars on the underside. The spider may be brown or have red legs.
At this point, we're not sure you want to get that close to verify. It seems that most of us tend to err on the safe side- sending many a good spider through the Pearly Gates...
Being aware of where they hide and always looking before picking up items can surely help you avoid a painful bite and long recovery. More useful info can be found here https://www.livescience.com/39996-brown-recluse-spiders.html
