Camel Spider Bite

What Is a Camel Spider?

Camel spiders (Solifugae) are spiders which are venomous in nature. They tend to chew or bite people, mostly while they are sleeping. Camel spider bites caused by camel spiders are extremely painful. When they bite, their venom makes the area numb, so the person won’t feel anything.
Correctly identifying a Camel Spider:

Now there are many spider types in the world. For the same reason, it is a little tricky to distinguish them. To identify the camel spider, its color can help – beige, brown or light gray. It has jaws similar to pliers, plus they are mighty large. This mostly helps them to catch their prey more efficiently, in sawing motion and then pulping them down. More or less they look like a scorpion. Although the species of a camel spider completely depends on how much their length is.

To be specific, the camel spider belongs to solifugids type of the category that is arachnid. Solifugids are the organisms or insects which cannot stand sunlight, which is why they tend to run away from it. There are some apparent differences between a scorpion, the normal spiders and the camel spider.
Here’s where you can find Camel Spiders:

They are mostly found in warm, arid areas; for most cases, the deserts. They are more active during the nights. Many thorough researches point to one thing – Camel Spiders are indeed solifugids, that is, they can’t stand sunlight, like mentioned earlier, and for the same reason, they prefer living under debris or rocks. Many of their kinds are also found buried beneath the soil just to avoid direct sunlight exposure. Understandably, they become more active after the sunsets – during the nights.

Symptoms:

You will have multiple symptoms and signs to identify a bite caused by Camel Spiders, and to make it out if it’s not just a normal spider bite. Below mentioned symptoms will help you get the complete idea and get you a heads up of what to do next, and how to go about treating it with the correct remedies.

This is an expected symptom. A swollen area around the bite due to high trauma level as body’s inflammatory response to it can be easily observed. However, this is a sign you should watch out for as it can get complicated.
For any spider bite, the pain is extreme or almost unbearable. The case is similar for Came Spider’s bite as well, but for this case, the pain caused extremely intense due to its pliers like jaws.
Apparent bleeding can be seen in the bitten area, ranging from mild to extreme. This again depends on the size of the Camel Spider, but bleeding will be definitely visible around the bite.

These 3 are the most common signs and symptoms. However, the symptoms may vary for person to person on the basis of allergic reactions and the size of the bite.
Treatment for a Camel Spider Bite:

Now that you’re sure that your bite is indeed a Camel Spider bite, the next step here is obviously following the correct treatment method so as to avoid any kind of infection spreading. Having said that, even after you have followed the correct treatment, it will take a certain amount of time for the wound of the bite to get healed. However, adopting some home remedies can always help you make the healing process less painful and quicker.

Now we know that the Camel Spider’s bite is not at all venomous. Hence it can be treated just the way we treat other spider bites, but one thing that is concerning here is its infection. During the course of healing process, one has to take some steps to avoid a bacterial infection of the wound. There is no immediate or emergency cure, but here are the steps to be followed:

Wash the bite with saline water, or wash it with a mixture of water and mild soap. Saline water is water mixed with salt. This helps remove the bacteria from its venom. For this to happen, you have to clean the bitten area carefully and thoroughly for it will also help to keep the infection away.
The next important step to follow is to pat the bitten area with a clean, dry towel. Make sure that the towel is clean.
Apply an antibiotic in the area where it’s bitten. It always comes handy.
Apply a band-aid. This needs to be done to avoid any bacterial infection and to prevent the entry of any dust particles. For the same reason, the band-aid needs to be clean and its size should depend on the length of the bite.
Change the band-aid every twice a day and keep the bite under check. This will help getting a speedy recovery. Make sure the bite isn’t developing any unusual signs.
Go for a tetanus shot to be very safe. You don’t want to take any risks here.
Even then if it doesn’t heal, seek professional help. The signs to look out for – the bleeding doesn’t stop, the bite gets an infection and there’s no reduction in the pain.
It generally takes a week or two for complete healing.

Camel Spiders tend to bite humans or anything bigger than them in size. They bite in shady areas. It is interesting to know how they got their name – they tend to take shelter of bigger animals to prevent sunlight, and since camels are abundantly found in deserts, they commonly reside near camels. Their bites are not highly venomous, contrary to popular belief. Hence, there is no need to panic or get nervous if you get bitten. Having said that, there are always ways to keep yourself away from them and their bites.

How to avoid getting a Camel Spider bite ?

Now we know that they are mostly found in the desert areas and they are sunny. So when a human being goes there, its shadow makes for them easy to attack. Also, for people who actually live there, they become the easiest targets for camel spiders. Apart from that, here’s what you can do to prevent their bites:

Protect your food. Do not keep it in open. Camel spiders prey upon your food if it’s kept in open. You can always use protective containers and other traditional methods to protect your food from the insects.
Make sure you are staying away from the food that Came Spiders eat. This happens to be one of the most crucial reasons why they bite you in the very first place. Keep the place where you live extremely clean so that there are no insects or bugs. Check that your furniture is free from termites.
As mentioned earlier, Camel Spiders love to reside in shady places. So shadows tend to attract Camel Spiders towards them. In case you happen to be in a desert, try your best to not create any shadows so as to not attract them.

Some important precautions to be followed:

You should also know that spraying an insect spray on Camel Spiders won’t work because they are resilient to such sprays. In fact, this will only end up in them getting frustrated and ultimately you getting bitten.
They are wild creatures, so there is not really anything much you can do. You can’t really tame them. But what you can do is take proper precautions so as to save yourself from their bites. Take utmost care to keep your belongings – clothes, shoes, bags, gloves, socks, etc. in the open and clean. You can put them in the sunlight time to time to ensure complete safety. This will prevent them from breeding.

Since their bites are not venomous, as long as you’re well informed about everything, you have nothing to worry about.