Morocco has several spiders, bugs and insects that could be found in the city. Common house spiders in Morocco could bite.   House spiders in Morocco are not all harmless. The spider could crawl into your clothing or bedding and can bite. House spider are not deadly but if bitten and not treated it could spread infection. If spider bite infection is left untreated it could be eventually be threatening. 

Spiders are common in Morocco, and they tend to go inside the house when the weather outside is too hot.

I had a bad experience of spider bite in Morocco. The spider bite was not life threatening but definitely painful.

I do not usually want to post unflattering photos of (parts of) me. However, I am sharing this as it could be useful for someone else. 

Spiders in Morocco

I am not sure of exactly what kind of spider bit me. The spider was small and brown that I often see in the garden and some enter the apartment.  When I realized it was a spider bite I started to do research on spiders in Morocco and these are what I found. The following are the spiders that I have seen at gardens, apartment, offices, riads, shops, and around.  I am not an expert of spiders and only sharing what I see and know.

Common spiders in cities in Morocco.

1.Brown recluse spider

 

Brown with longer legs compared to wolf spider.

Image from Wikemedia

 

2. Wolf Spider

 

Brown, small like a button with short legs and distinct dark marking at the back.

Image from Wikepedia

 

3. Jumping Spider

 

Brown – grayish, small. And it jumps!

Image from www.entomology.ca.uky.edu

 

Brown recluse spider and wolf spider are my top suspects for my spider bite.

Brown recluse spider, wolf spiders and jumping spider are the spiders commonly seen outside and inside homes and buildings in Morocco.

4. Black House Spider

 

Black, small and with long feet at front. I have seen this type of spider mostly at the garden or outside.

Image from https://bugguide.net/

 

5. Common House Spider

Brown with long legs. Distinct large bulge body compared to the head. This spider goes inside the house and buildings.

Image from Fyn Kynd / Flickr / CC By 2.0

 

6. Black Widow

Black with some long legs in front and back. Distinct red mark at back.

I have never seen a black widow spider inside homes or buildings. Rare few times spotted it by the garden. Maybe in the kitchen once.

Image from www.lvpest.com/

The “Suspect Spider”

 

This is an actual photo of a similar spider that I think bit me.  The photo is not clear. It is small, dark brown to black with a white stripe at the back.

Small and terrible.

 

Morocco Spider Bite Experience & Healing

At first I thought it was a hive, a small red bump on the skin that I ignored. When it did not went away within the day then I thought it was a regular bug bite. I was thinking it will still easily heal but it did not. The spider bite got bigger and more painful each day. I started to feel body pain and sensitivity around the bite. Lesion started to appear with a deep red center.  The spider bite looked like a hole –  think of a volcano crater and you can see red flesh inside. Not knowing it was a spider bite I was only applying skin antiseptic. The spider bite wound got bigger each day. More painful. I was experiencing flu like symptoms with body pain and weakness.

I was only able to take photos  of the spider bite when it started to be disturbingly painful.

 

Stage 1 – Red bulge like hive. No pain. No itch. First day

Stage 2 – Red bulge start to be painful but no discomfort. Second day.

Stage 3 – Red bulge start to be hard and erupt. Between second and third day.

Stage 4 – Crater like wound. After the third day the pain start to be disturbing.

Necrosis or crater like wound developed. I was applying skin antiseptic at this point.  The spider bite looked like this for the next 1-2 weeks. The red flesh was hard and deep. The infection was getting bigger and deeper. At this point I was having flu like symptoms of body pain, feverish, weakness and feeling cold. 

 

 

 

 

Stage 5 – Puss start to go out.

 

After 2-3 days of applying antibiotic cream from which the pharmacist recommended. Puss started to go out the spider bite.

It was still painful.

 

 

Stage 6 – Crater like hole starts to be more small and shallow.

 

Within 1 week of applying antibiotic. Spider bite wound still looks like a crater. The puss lessened.  The spider bite wound started to be smaller.

 

 

 

Stage 7 – It does not look like a crater anymore.

 

The spider bite now looks like large infected pimple. Definitely more shallow and the red hard flesh inside is not visible anymore.

 

 

 

 

Healing Period. 

Total healing period until the wound closed was 1 – 2 months. The scar looks like a brown spot.

Luckily my spider bite did not get much bigger. I was able to apply proper medicine on time. If you search spider bite photos online, there are some that looks like rotten flesh.  You can easily imagine that a flesh eating monster caused it and not a small spider.

 

Morocco Spider Bite Medicine

I showed to the pharmacist the photo of stage 4 spider bite. The pharmacist asked if I have fever, which I did not, and gave me an antibiotic cream.

 

Fucidine 2% ointment worked within a week results showed. After 2 weeks I was not feeling any pain.

 

Morocco Spider Bite Precautions

• Shake off clothes and shoes before wearing. Specially if it has been stored for a long period.
• Fluff and shake off bedding and pillow before going to bed
• Commercial pesticides and organic DIY pesticides do not help. I tried most of it.

If you know an effective anti-spider that does not require overhauling the house please tell me!

 

Morocco Emergency Contacts

• Poison Control Center : 05337-777-185
• Ambulance Inter secours assistance : 0522-27-27-27
• Ambulance SAMU / SOS Medicins Maroc : 0522-25-25-25