Concerns surrounding brown recluse spiders in Michigan grow following another bite

ALLEGAN, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Concerns surrounding the brown recluse spider continue to grow after another West Michigan man comes forward claiming he's in jeopardy of losing his leg after being bitten by the venomous spider.

An Allegan father we spoke to tonight says a brown recluse spider bite continues to produce painful and nasty side effects.

Levi Corke has been recovering at home, and tells us his doctors say the spider's venom ate away at his wound.

It has been two months and the blistering sore on his leg still hasn't healed.

"They are trying to close the wound; since it is so far out, they are trying to push it back together. If that doesn't work and since my veins have been destroyed, I may have to go under the knife," he said.

The culprit--he says a brown recluse took up residence near his Allegan home in a brush pile, like this one he says he found and killed.

"That is him; I know that is one actually," he said.

The father of four says he never had a problem with spiders. But that all changed when he claims the venomous insect bit him causing a wound the size of a golf ball.

"The spider actually bit my vein. Straight on my vein, so when the poison was injected it went straight into my vein," Corke said.

When his wife recognized the dangerous symptoms she forced him to see a doctor.

"I had a low grade fever for a while; I just didn't feel right. My muscles were really achy," Corke said.

By then the skin had started turning dark and becoming a deep sore.

"In all honesty, I had no idea. I was going to work for a month. I was going to work for a month prior before it started getting worse and worse and worse," he said.

After being examined, Corke says doctors determined venom had started eating away at his skin.

"You definitely have some necrosis; necrosis, what is that? Tissue that has rotted what do you mean rotted? They are like, something is literally eating the tissue inside your wound, what does that? Well we can't say spider bite because on the technicality on the forms they only have insect bites that is. What do you mean no spider bite? We don't have those here," he said.

Two months and rounds of antibiotics later, Corke says he is grateful the bite wasn't fatal.

"If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have luck at all," he said.

Experts insist they have not been able to confirm the presence of brown recluse spiders in West Michigan, though there have been isolated populations confirmed on the east side of the state.

Corke says he's forwarded his pictures to an entomologist at MSU, but hasn't heard back yet.