Five Treated for Brown Widow Spider Bites in Montecito Heights

A member of the (ASNC) is urging caution among Northeast Los Angeles residents, after receiving reports that new species of spider has hospitalized a handful Montecito Heights residents in the last month.

According to Roy Payan, who sits on the ASNC's Health and Seniors Committee, five Montecito Residents were taken to the hospital in the last month after being bitten by brown widow spiders.

Once incident involved a man who was stricken by dizziness and nausea after bitten by a brown widow that was trapped inside his sock.

Payan said that doctors were only able to determine the source of the man's symptoms after locating the crushed spider inside the man's sock.

According to the University of California Riverside, "the coloration of the brown widow spider consists of of a mottling of tan and brown with black accent marking." Like black widows, the female brown widow also features an hourglass shape, typically in an orange shade.

The relative of the black widow spider has established a habitat for itself in Northeast L.A. after first being spotted by researchers in Torrance in 2002, according to Payan.

Payan told the ASNC that Jeff Chapman, Director of the Audubon Center at Debs Park, had also confirmed the presence of the brown widow in Montecito Heights.

Payan, who distributed an info-packet created by the University of California-Riverside (UCR), said that research has shown that brown widows also appear to be more daring than their black widow relatives, which prefer to nest in obscurity.

Conversely, Payan said that researchers have found that brown widows will make their homes in buckets, nursery pots, mail boxes or any number of dimly lit places where human are likely to place their hands.

As a precaution, Payan urged residents to take some basic measures around their homes, such as not leaving their shoes out at night and being careful when they put their hands near any dimly lit places that might make a good home for a brown widow.

Payan's disquieting report may have had a silver lining, though.

UCR's research indicates brown widow bites seem to be less dangerous than those of the black widow, which can often be fatal. The research goes on the say that the increased presence of the brown widow--a prolific breeder--may eventually displace the black widow, leading to a decrease in the overall risk of deadly spider bites.