Do Brown Recluse Spiders Exist In North Dakota?

Brown Recluse Spiders in North Dakota

There has been a lot of chatter of late on social media about something absolutely terrifying.  BROWN RECLUSE SPIDERS! I don't even like to speak of them.  After spending some time down in Kansas a few years back, we were warned of these little, horrifying creatures.

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Other Names for Brown Recluse

They are also known as the Fiddleback spider, Brown Fiddler, or Violin spider. I've also watched several shows on Animal Planet on Brown Recluse Spiders.  If you happen to get bitten by one of these, in some rare cases, there is very little doctors can do. You could also experience paralysis, amputation, or, in very rare cases, death.

They will try to treat the bite with antibiotics, but depending on how much venom was injected and how long it takes for you to get treated, you could be in a very bad situation. In some severe cases, the skin will fester and die, and all doctors can do is cut out the infected area, leaving scars that will last a lifetime.

In real severe cases, a venomous bite from a Brown Recluse could cause liver failure and might be fatal. YIKES!  However, according to WebMD, death from a Brown Recluse bite is very rare.

Check out these photos from a friend of mine down in Mississippi who was bitten a few years back.

Again, TERRIFYING. Matt is one of the lucky ones, and he is making a recovery without going under the knife.

The Range of the Brown Recluse

The map above shows the Brown Recluse is nowhere near North Dakota. The Omaha, Nebraska area is the closest to us (southeast Nebraska). However, I've seen several posts from people on Facebook in North Dakota who claim to have had encounters with Brown Recluse spiders. I have even had conversations with people who work in the medical field who claim we do have these spiders in North Dakota. One nurse, in particular, last year, who works at Sanford in Bismarck, says they have treated and performed surgery on patients with Brown Recluse bites. Hmmm.

Do We Have a Population in ND?

The question remains: Is there an established population of Brown Recluse spiders in North Dakota? According to the experts, known as Arachnologists, most of these Brown Recluse spider sightings are misidentified as other brown spiders, like Wolf spiders.

In an article on LiveScience, one of these experts proved that just about 80% of so-called Brown Recluse spider sightings were indeed NOT Brown Recluse. He had people from around the country send in their photos from outside the range of these spiders, who claimed they had a photo of the Brown Recluse.

The Conclusion:

We do NOT have an established population of Brown Recluse spiders in the Peace Garden State. Thank GOD! I don't have to move. Any Brown Recluse spiders that may have seen North Dakota soil were likely hitchhikers from somebody from Texas coming up to work on the oil wells or other delivery trucks from down south. Incidental at best. Again, most of these sightings are misidentified.

The Wrong Habitat

We just don't have a suitable habitat for Brown Recluse spiders in North Dakota! Again, thank GOD! LiveScience does say that climate change could allow these spiders to migrate north, but you and I probably won't be alive to see that. Many years down the road.