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Spider species
The majority of spiders cannot harm anyone and it is very uncommon for people to be bitten by them. To avoid any unnecessary encounters, there are a few things that you can do to ensure you keep spiders away from your home.
They are unpleasant to look at and their webs can cause a mess if they infest your home or business. From Common House Spiders to Black Widows, we can give you more information about these creatures to help you get over your fears.
Black widow spider
(latrodectus spp.)
Appearance
- Color: typically black, underneath side has 2 reddish triangular markings usually joined to form a reddish hour glass-shaped figure on females.
- Females are overall length of 1 1/2- 1 3/8” long
- Males are about half the size of females.
Lifecycle
- Females can lay a maximum number of egg sacs ranging from 6-21, with about 185-464 eggs per sac.
- Adult females can live 822-952 days and adult males 127-196 days.
Habits
- Outdoors they commonly live in protected places.
- Indoors, they are typically found in seldom used parts of garages, basements and in crawl spaces.
Brown recluse spider
(loxosceles reclusa)
Appearance
- 1/4 to 3/4 inch long.
- Brown or deep yellow color.
- Long, thin, brown legs covered with fine hairs.
- Six eyes, arranged in pairs in a semicircle.
- Often called ‘fiddleback’ or ‘violin’ spiders because of the violin-shaped marking on the top surface which points from the head area toward the abdomen.
Lifecycle
- Eggs are laid primarily from May to July.
- The female lays about 50 eggs in an off-white silky sac approx 2/3 inch diameter.
- Spiderlings emerge around 1 month later.
- It takes on average one year to reach the adult stage.
- Adults can live 1-2 years.
Habits
- Locations - They prefer secluded, dark, undisturbed sites indoors or outdoors. Indoors, they may be found in attics, basements, closets, ductwork, in storage boxes, shoes or behind furniture. Externally they may be found in barns, storage sheds, garages, under logs, loose stones and stacks of lumber.
- Feeding - They preferring dead insects. They can survive about 6 months without food or water.
- Visibility - The sac serves as the spider's daytime retreat. They tend to look for food at night.
- Bite – They only bite when crushed, handled or disturbed. Both sexes are venomous. A human’s reaction to the bite depends on the amount of venom injected and an individual's sensitivity to it - some people are unaffected, others may feel a pinprick, others a stinging sensation followed by intense pain. Some may not be aware of the bite for 2 to 8 hours.
House spider
(achaearanea tepidariorum)
Appearance
- Adult – body length excluding legs 1/4" – 3/8". Yellow brown body with faint markings. Abdomen pale grey brown with short hairs.
Lifecycle
- The egg sac produced by the female is spherical, covered with a layer of silk and placed within the web structure.
- The male will mate several times with the female before dying.
- Adults may live for several years.
Habits
- Found in buildings, sheds and walls.
- This spider produces a sheet web.
Tarantulas
(dysdera crocata)
Appearance
- Adult body length excluding legs – 1"- 5". Most tarantulas have black or brown hairy bodies and legs but some species exhibit striking colors.
Lifecycle
- Mating season is in autumn. Incubation of the young takes 6-9 weeks, with each female producing 500-1000 eggs into a silken cocoon. The young leave their burrow after 2-3 weeks.
- Life span 25-40 years.
Habits
- There are 60+ genii and 800+ species of tarantula.
- Tarantulas prefer to live in dry, well-drained soil where they dig a burrow which is lined with silk webbing.
Hobo spider
(eratigena agrestis)
What do Hobo spiders look like?
- Color: Light brown body with dark brownish-yellow patterns. Females are slightly larger than males.
- Hobo spider body sizes ranges from 5/16” to 9/16”
- Hobo spiders don’t have antennas
- Hobo spiders are often confused for brown recluse spiders but it’s difficult to tell the difference with the naked eye
Hobo spider lifecycle
- Hobo spiders typically enter into homes when they are searching for mates
- After mating, females hobo spiders remain in their nest
- Females can grow up to 14mm in length, which allows them to bear eggs
Hobo spider behavior and bites
- Hobo spiders build funnel webs that are open at both ends. They lie down in the web and wait for their prey, like cockroaches, flies and silverfish
- From June to October, male spiders seek mates
- Because males wander to find mates, they are more likely to come into contact with humans, making them more responsible for spider bites
- Hobo spider bites are infamously known for being painful
Wolf spider
(hogna aspersa)
Wolf spiders are active hunters and cause the greatest concern when encountered in homes. These spiders have excellent vision, allowing them to see humans approaching them, at which point, they flee. Many wolf spiders are nocturnal and use a reflective structure to maximize vision at night. Shining a flashlight at ground level will often allow one to see the green eyeshine on this spider reflected from 10-30 feet away, depending on the spider’s size. Wolf spiders are rarely pests, but they sometimes wander into houses, where their large size often frightens homeowners.
Wolf spiders are active hunters that patrol the ground for insects, small spiders, and similar prey. They do not use webs to capture prey and actively hunt in the open during the day and night, often living by the thousands in leaf litter and grassy areas. Some wolf spiders build small burrows and defend a territory, others are free-roaming. Because they are so numerous, and such voracious predators, wolf spiders are a very important part of any ecosystem in which they occur. Female spiders may sometimes be seen with their young riding on their backs until they are independent enough to go off on their own.
Wolf spiders can bite, but their bites are extremely rare. While they may be fast and aggressive when hunting their insect prey, they don’t usually bite people unless they are provoked or mishandled. A wolf spider bite may be painful, but it is not generally dangerous to healthy adults. However, sensitive individuals such as children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems may have some form of negative reaction.
What do wolf spiders look like?
- Hairy and dark brown with yellowish-brown markings
- Females measure in between ⅜” - 1 ⅜” and Males measure in at ¼ to ¾”
- Wolf spiders have short body with long legs
Wolf spider lifecycle
- Male wolf spiders are sometimes killed and consumed by female wolf spiders after mating
- If not consumed by their mate, males can reproduce more than once
- Female wolf spiders are protective of their eggs. So much so, they carry their egg sacs with them
Wolf spider behavior and bites
- Wolf spiders feed on a variety of insects, including crop-damaging insects, so the wolf spider can be beneficial
- Wolf spiders are nocturnal creatures, meaning they are active at night, and rest during the day
- Wolf spiders are typically found on floor level, hiding under furniture. Outside, you can find wolf spiders hiding under stones, leaves and firewood piles.
- Wolf spiders are known to bite when handled but their bites are rarely harmful to humans