70% of Missouri Homes Believed to Have Brown Recluse Spiders?!?

For some, the last day of October is the scariest day of the year. The state of Missouri decided to take that fear to the next level with a new warning about the most deadly spider you likely won't see - until it's too late.

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Thanks a lot to the Missouri Department of Conservation. I was really enjoying my day up until this point. October 31, 2023 had not been bad by my normal standards. That changed when I saw this lovely image quite literally crawl across my laptop screen. I'll just go ahead and apologize right now. #NOPE

This, my friends, is the dreaded brown recluse. I have faced off with one of these bad boys and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. This is the most common deadly spider in Missouri and although they're everywhere, you'll rarely see one until you're already bitten.

I met this 8-legged freak in the basement of our house I was trying to get ready for sale at the time around a dozen years ago. I had a small pile of lumber in the corner and it looked suspicious so I wisely kicked the pile of timber before picking it up. It was then that a brown recluse appeared and headed right toward me. I don't want to make PETA mad, but it didn't end well for the spider. Hey, it was him or me.

Here's a horrifying statistic from the University of Missouri. Their study estimates that brown recluse spiders are in 70% of Missouri homes. No freaking way I'm sleeping tonight. Thanks again, Missouri. #KILLITWITHFIRE

I had a friend who was bitten by a brown recluse and he had necrosis on his arm and had to have multiple doctor visits over months to recover. Evil spiders.