Yeah I have heard about that... I'm not happy bout it either... And wanting a house out in the woods will only make the problem worse... I general "Catch and Release" any spiders I find in the house. I relocate them to areas where I need more pest control, usually out back along my sliders.
I have done some reading on the HOBO I just wonder how common they are and how often they come in contact with humans. I do know that fortunatly they frequently do no inject their venom and just "dry" bite... So I guess that is a bonus...
Hell I lived with fuggin 6" Camel Spiders in Saudi for 6 months, I can deal with a Hobo...
Yeah, well, until you're familar with the spiders in your new area and can identify a Hobo spider, it may be best to catch and release from a jar or something.
The Hobo spider does not have ring patterns on its legs, and it does have chevron patterns on the top of its abdomen. This is probably the most readily identifiable way of identifying them as compared to the run of the mill Wolf spider. They're also not as big as some folks think.
To the next point, they're VERY common up in the Seattle area, extending out as far east as Butte, MT, pretty much throughout Idaho and Oregon, and extending down as far as Salt Lake City, UT. It's suspected that the Hobo first found its way into this country through the Seattle docks, which explains the high concentration there and spreading outward.
As to the dry bites or partially dry bites, this is correct - but it's only about 50% of the time. When I was up in Seattle I was bitten three times - described as mostly dry bites. The bite didn't hurt initially - another great misconception about the Hobo bite - then about half an hour later a hard bump forms around the bite. A big red area a couple of inches across appears around that little bump, then a day or a day and a half later it blisters up and becomes open. This is where the serious necrosis comes to play if it's a full, wet bite...
I've seen bites on hands where the pit goes clear down to expose bone. Nasty.
After the first time, I lanced the bite area as soon as it started getting the hard bump and bleed it out thoroughly. The first bit of blood comes out dark - not a good sign. I'd keep opening it and bleeding it out and they healed up quite well. Then again, mine were mostly dry bites.
My first bite was on my arm - probably pissed the little bugger off when cutting wood. The next two were on my legs because one of the favorite places of the Hobo is in your bed and in your clothes...
Steve
