Warning: Hobo Spider Season Nears

Item: Invasive species: It’s hobo spider season, but experts see no reason to panic /Allison Maier, Missoulian

More Info: Dr. Dan Pierce, an emergency physician at St. Patrick Hospital, said that of the 30 or so complaints of “spider bites” he hears a month, only about one every three years can actually be attributed to a spider. Usually, what people think are spider bites are actually other skin infections. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, there was no spider ever involved,” he said. And even if you are bitten by a hobo spider, he said, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the bleeding, ulcerated lesions people are so afraid of. Even when a human is bitten by one of the spiders, the victim usually don’t feel anything, he said.

Question: Do hobo spiders make you nervous?