Letter to the Editor re:brown recluse

Judy and I lived in the Bay Area for many years and have seen big spiders before, but not a Brown Recluse. I thought these poisonous critters resided mostly in the southern USA??  We moved to Copperopolis at the end of November 2011.  We live on Little John Rd (Copper Cove area).   We have seen many bugs but this is the first I've seen this huge critter. It was in our bath tub this morning. I caught it in a paper bag and took it outside.

After I took a look on the internet about Brown Recluse spiders, I now think I should have killed the sucker. I'm arachnophobic and can't stand spiders of any size. I was bitten by something about 3 weeks ago in the night sleeping and the bites lasted for 2 weeks. They were somewhat blistery and itched like heck. I think they were from a spider. See the picture attached and the second picture I got from the internet of a Brown Recluse and give me your thought.   If there is one this size, I'm sure there are more in this house some where!!!  and probably in many more houses in this area!!!   The internet has a lot of info on Brown Recluse spider bites and they are gross and can be deadly!!!   I think an exterminator is in order....

G. Taylor