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Experts say dry conditions in Mid-Missouri have brown recluse spiders on the move looking for water.
A Centralia woman told us a recent spider bite was one of the most painful experiences of her life, "I touched my eyelid in there was something soft there and I just real fast I grabbed it squished it and threw it across the room", Vicki Burkhardt said.
Burkhardt was bitten by a brown recluse in late July.
Almost a full month later you can still see the bite mark over her eye.
She made multiple trips to the emergency room.
Every four hours the swelling doubled she said, “I was actually bitten (pointed to her eye) here and the swelling took over my whole face, my lips, my ear, on this side down to my neck.”
The swelling was so intense it caused breathing problems.
It didn't take her long to find the culprit, "I found it on the floor the next day and put it in a baggie and took it to the hospital.”
Experts say avoiding the brown recluse can be tough because they are reclusive, and like to hide in boxes, and small dark spaces where exterminators don't generally spray, "Anything you can do to keep your home uncluttered helps vacuuming helps wood piles around the house I do not recommend", said Mike Bernskoetter with Art's Pest Control.
While the brown recluse is dangerous, not everybody reacts to a bite the same way.
We're told some people might not even realized they've been bitten.
Doctors told Burkhardt if you can bring the bug to the hospital, it can help them do their jobs.
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