kartracer, I'm glad, also, that your son is doing well. It depends on the spider and the individual as to what the outcome can be. Some people have a little discomfort, some people go into shock. The black widow's poison is a neuro-toxin which travels via the nervous system...brown recluse's poison is a hemo-toxin and travels via the bloodstream. Neuro toxins tend to cause more "instantaneous" pain whereas the hemo-toxins tend to produce little/less pain.
With a black widow bite a person pretty well knows instantly that they've been bitten, but it seems that once a person is over the initial effects of the bite that they recuperate well. With the brown recluse, though, there is a difference...a victim is many times unaware that they've been bitten by a brown recluse and do not realize it until the flesh starts to die and a sore begins to form. As for long lasting health problems it seems the brown recluse is the most injurious...but for immediate, serious health issues the black widow appears to be more guilty.
There are anti-venoms(?) for black widow bites. Something I read a couple of years ago is that in some countries in south America they have such a large population of black widow that when a person is bitten by one of them the doctors will withhold the anti-venom until the patient is right at death's door. The reason that was given is that the anti-venom can only be given once in a person's lifetime and that they figure that the person may get bitten again later in life and have a greater need for the anti-venom then...so they will watch the patient and only give the anti-venom as a last option.
Bootlegger is correct in stating that a poison has to have direct (sprayed) on contact with spiders to kill them...spiders do not preen themselves like roaches and some other bugs do so they will seldom pick up any poisons from their feet/legs.
DE/diatomaceous earth is good for soft-skinned critters...especially worms and caterpillars and will work on some thicker skinned bugs. But, from what I understand, once it gets wet it loses it's usefulness.
Many times it's easier to spot the black widow web rather than the spider herself. Being predators, the black widows do not build pretty webs. Mostly what they have is just sloppy web material that they've spun in a crevice or under an object (piece of wood). This is only used as the spiders "den" and not to trap anything with. So if you look pick up a something (piece of wood?) and see some web material that looks like a spider didn't know what they were doing when they built it....start looking around 'cause there's probably a shiny patent-leather looking spider with a (small to large) splash of bright red paint on their *stomach*. Anything that's been laying on the ground for a few days in spider territory is suspect
!
One thing that is good at getting rid of spiders....chickens
Yelp, them wonderful yard birds...they love spiders
! If you can stand the noise, guineas work and will take care of your tick problem, too.
Best wishes and watch where you put your hands,
Ed
