A black widow bite often causes pain right away, according to the National Capital Poison Center. Around the bite, there will be “tiny puncture wounds” along with some local swelling.

Black widow spiders, or Latrodectus mactans, are a type of venomous spider species known for their shiny black torsos and the red hourglass-shaped marks on their abdomens. Each year, more than ...

I reached out to arachnid and pest experts to learn what I could do to get rid of black widow spiders, where they live, and how to know if someone is bitten by one. As spider season ramps up this ...

However, in most cases, exposure to the venom isn't deadly. In a 2023 survey evaluating over 23,000 cases of people bitten by black widow spiders, just 1.4% experienced life-threatening symptoms.

Of these, 45 showed in-vitro neutralization of the black widow spider’s alpha-latrotoxin neurotoxin. According to the study, one antibody called MRU44-4-A1, showed particularly high neutralization.

Her first move is to escape. What they look like Female black widow spiders are shiny and black all over, with a bright red or orange hourglass-shape on their underside. They can be up to 1.5 inches ...