Apparently not everyone reacts badly to them! (edited to add: I’m talking about brown recluses here) Just a small percentage. And I’ve read their jaws aren’t strong enough to bite you, so when you’re “bitten” by them, it’s bc you squished into them and their fangs broke your skin. The more I learn about them the less scary they seem. I grew up in Texas so I’ve heard all about their reputation…which seems to be unwarranted for the most part. Hope that makes you feel better lol.
Edit: okay I just noticed your screen name, are you a fan of spiders? If so, disregard my knowledge drop bc you already knew that lol
I've seen em in person. And I've never heard of someone getting bitten and having side effects like the pics online show. I know people who have been bitten but yeah, they were fine.
I've seen black widows before, they're not as big as you'd think they would be, and are very easy to spot since they're black in color. Though they are still painful and can pierce the skin and cause nausea, so overall, still really fucking scary!
Black Widows can do a lot more than just cause nausea lol it is true that often people don't die but it has happened and can be a horrible experience.
Brown recluses can rot your skin off -- my ex has permanent nerve damage in her back from where she got bitten.
Scorpions... I have no idea, grew up in south east us and never saw one. Always thought they'd kill you but learned later they're usually just really painful.
I was told black widows and scorpions would kill you, but alas, just severe pain usually.
A black widow is far more dangerous than these scorpions. I was stung in the neck by one and it was no big deal. It was like a wasp sting, instant pain for up to a day, then dull pain for maybe a week. Red wasps are worse. The sting is about the same… but they’re super aggressive and can fly.
I mean, people also respond wayyy differently. That's why it's hard to know. Some people get bitten by a brown recluse and barely have a scar even without treating it, others treat it and end up with holes in their bite area.
I'm surprised it's compared to a red wasp though. I've been stung by red wasps, yellowjackets, honey bees, asian giant hornets (murder hornets but I have only seen them alone one at a time, not sure why they kill so many people in japan -- maybe a whole hive attack) and the hornet was so much worse, and the yellowjacket surprisingly wasnt far behind. But maybe I am just more sensitive to it, since we are all different. I don't know man.
I do know yellowjackets are evil bastards, and that black widows/brown recluses gave me my fear of spiders. Despite now living in central europe, I act like every spider could kill me, when I know that isn't true.
edit: also yeah, if similar to wasps/hornets you pissed off one scorpion then like 50+ scorpions ran to you to repeatedly sting you, it might also end up like people dying from hornets. My grandpa almost died from hornets like... shit. Many many decades ago. 75+ years ago I guess? Just cutting a tree and vroom stingers go brrrr
Yeah, definitely varies by person. Looking across averages, black widows and brown recluses have worse outcomes over these bark scorpions and that’s all I’m trying to say.
Not trying to generalize that every bite from a widow is worse than every sting. Hell, it even varies by individual insect. I’ve been stung a dozen times by a red was and it was no big deal. Then one time I was stung in the ankle and my whole foot blew up.
Where these buggies nest makes a difference. I honestly don’t think yellow jackets are that painful, but the species that nests in the ground can fuck right off. You can find yourself swarmed with no warning if you’re hanging around the wrong place.
I get you. Yellowjackets have always had bad strings for me and been absurdly aggressive, but that's my experience. I recently had two asian giant hornets (not on the same day) fly into my window on the 12th floor in central europe, and they are terrifying because of their size, but I managed to get them outside without getting attacked these two times. I feel a yellowjacket from back home would have just attacked me in my sleep because I existed.
So, bark scorpion you probably don't need a hospital after getting stung? or any scorpion for that matter? Assuming you aren't severely allergic, I mean.
There are definitely scorpions you have to be careful with. General rule is the larger the pincers, the safer the sting. The idea is the pincers do the killing since they are large and strong. Small pincers means they need more potent venom to kill.
As you can see, bark scorpions have pretty small pincers, hence the painful sting. It’s still a neurotoxin, so it can pose a risk that way. The good thing about neurotoxins is that if you can survive the effects after initial injection, you’re usually in good shape. For scorpions… that’s really easy to do. There is a risk of infection, but it’s nowhere near what you may get from a spider bite.
I grew up around an absurd amount of them, as I said above I've mainly only been stung by wasps and hornets, and a couple bees which were usually my fault stepping on them (the wasps/yellowjackets are just fuckers.)
My ex got bit 3 times basically down her spine in a southeastern state in the u.s. I'm pretty positive there's not brown recluses in europe, as I was saying earlier, I like not having venomous things here lol
Was bit like7 times by a black widow while I was sleeping. The bites became swollen like golf balls and I had a slight fever and headache for a day or two but eventually it went away.
I’m pretty sure the little white scorpions are dangerous because they’re young and don’t have complete control over their muscles, so they release all of their venom during bites rather than a little bit. I’m not sure if that’s true but that’s the lore around them where I was living.
It works that way for snakes at least. Mostly they have no interest in wasting their venom on you because you are too big to eat and will let you off with a warning, but juveniles can't control very good how much they inject
Thats a myth. Can't speak about scorpions, although I assume it is similar. But it is not true that baby venomous snakes are more dangerous because they can't control their venom. There was a whole thread about this recently.
I mean I am fascinated by everything that crawls on 6 or more legs and I also have years of experience in caring for and breeding various tarantulas, phasmids, bugs, roaches and so on, but sometimes I'm really glad I live in a country where the most dangerous thing that can sting you is probably a wasp....I think.
In central europe atm and it took me a long time to adjust to that reality. Asian giant hornet is the worst I have seen here, which I said above. Still, it's just a sting and the two I saw were alone (or maybe the same one on different days? Idk.)
Point is, I carry a knife because of peoples dogs, or a random boar, or some other random aggressive animal (or human -- methheads are basically the equivalent of a rabid animal, but even the methheads here are way less violent than the U.S.)
In america I was just scared to sit on a rock or lift an object up for fear of there being a venomous snake or a black widow or something. Also, I feared humans even more, used to carry a gun. I don't really fear walking somewhere here in central europe at all, again, I carry a knife due to animals that probably will never attack me.
I now am pretty anti-gun, or at least very pro-gun control. I'd also probably get a home defense gun if I move back to the U.S. After feeling "safe" here, the difference is staggering. It's like the atmosphere is different.
Went kinda off topic but yeah, all related. I just want those critters to live their own life away from me lol
Yeah I’m in the southeast and it’s the same with snakes. Everyone makes it sound like if you get bit you die. But really it’s like, just go to the ER and you’ll be fine, it’ll just hurt a ton. Now pets and children on the other hand can be way more dangerous
It depends though. A lot of those snakes will leave you with really severe lasting damage, assuming you mean southeastern U.S.
You may live but might be fucked over if you even survive. Tbh, a copperhead/rattlesnake bite isn't something that is overstated like black widows and brown recluses. Like, you actually might die, and if you don't you might have long term side effects.
Unless you have an allergy, death from a spider bite or scorpion sting from any species native to the US is very unlikely. The bark scorpion is the species of most medical concern in the Southwest, and even then the most common symptoms are shooting pain for 1-3 days like you said.
Good to know =) I also condemn all of the southern US because fuck those creepy crawlies, but I feel better knowing I probably won't die or have lasting damages from a scorpion.
Although brown recluses can and will leave lasting damage, I know a few people who have been through it. Usually from not being treated, same as not treating a staph infection, but even getting it treated can result in long term side effects.
Snakes are the worst about this though. If you see a Cottonmouth/copperhead/rattlesnake, calmly fucking leave. It's not like a scorpion or a black widow. You need to leave and just admit you lose. Have my whole house, rattlesnake, I'm gone. There's coffee making in the kitchen, have fun.
155
u/blonderaider21 Jul 25 '22 edited Jul 25 '22
Apparently not everyone reacts badly to them! (edited to add: I’m talking about brown recluses here) Just a small percentage. And I’ve read their jaws aren’t strong enough to bite you, so when you’re “bitten” by them, it’s bc you squished into them and their fangs broke your skin. The more I learn about them the less scary they seem. I grew up in Texas so I’ve heard all about their reputation…which seems to be unwarranted for the most part. Hope that makes you feel better lol.
Edit: okay I just noticed your screen name, are you a fan of spiders? If so, disregard my knowledge drop bc you already knew that lol