Spiders move so fast, I'll bet there are people bitten by the black widow who don't know it.  Spiders are everywhere (even here in the North), and folks need to keep a watchful eye out.

First a drought, now an eight-legged plague.

Oklahomans are reporting a record outbreak of black widow spider bites — doubling from this time one year ago, according to the state’s Poison Control Center.

The reason? Like a lot of Oklahoma wildlife, the spiders are thirsty, thanks to the months-long drought and high temperatures. Even this weekend’s 4-inch rainstorms haven’t ended the dry spell that began last fall.

“The spiders are following the insects, which is their food source, and the insects are looking for water,” said Scott Schaeffer, the poison center’s managing director.

So the caravan of insects and arachnids are moving closer to human habitation, with its attendant faucets, basements, garages and woodpiles, leading to some 49 black widow bites already this year.

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