Adams Pest Control

RESOURCES: SPIDERS
House Spiders

Also called the American House or Domestic Spider, the House Spider's common name reflects the fact that this is usually the spider most often encountered indoors. It is a nuisance pest, probably more because of its webs than the spider itself. This spider is found worldwide and is common throughout the United States and Canada.

House spiders range from 1/8" to 5/16" in body length. Their colors vary, but usually have a dirty white abdomen with a few dark spots (sometimes a black triangular spot), dark stripes meeting at an angle.

Female house spiders lay about 250 eggs in a silken sac which is brownish, oval to flask-shaped, about 1/4" to 3/8" in diameter, and with a tough, papery cover. There may be more than one sac in the web at a time; a female may produce up to 17 sacs, containing over 3,760 eggs, in her lifetime. The eggs hatch in about 7 to 10 days. Adult house spiders may live for a year or more.

The house spider randomly selects its web sites, depending on the amount of prey the web catches. Inside, house spiders are most likely to be found in upper corners, under furniture, in closets, angles of window frames, basements, garages, and crawl spaces.

Brown Recluse Spiders

The Brown Recluse or Fiddleback/Violin Spider gets its common names from its coloration and reclusive habits, or the dark violin/fiddle-shaped marking. Brown recluse spiders occur pretty much throughout the United States and of 11 species recognized, 7 are of public health importance.

Both male and female brown recluse spiders can inject venom, and must be considered dangerous to humans. Injection of their venom may produce dead tissue, resulting in an ulcerating type of sore that may expose the underlying muscles or bone. Healing is very slow, and in severe cases, may require plastic surgery. An antitoxin has been developed but is not available.

Fiddleback

Adults are usually 1/4" to 1/2" in body length. Their color is usually tan to dark brown, with a darker fiddle-shaped marking on the back, whose neck points towards the abdomen. (Pictured, right) While not all brown recluse spiders are poisonous, identification should be left to a pest control expert.

The female deposits 40 to 50 eggs in a silken egg sac which is off-white, with the outer covering loosely woven. The sac has been described as either flat beneath and convex above, or as round. From 1 to 5 sacs are produced, each containing 31 to 300 eggs. The eggs hatch in 25 to 39 days. Brown recluse spiders can live up to 4 or 5 years.

Inside the home, brown recluse spiders can be found in almost any undisturbed area to which they can gain access. They are most commonly found in boxes, among papers, and in seldom-used clothing and shoes, although they can be found in corners, underneath tables and chairs, or in crevices such as those found along baseboards, doors, and window moldings. They typically run for cover when disturbed.

Tarantulas

The name "Tarantula" was applied by Europeans to the large, hairy spiders of the southwest and western United States, probably because of the resemblance to a large European wolf spider that took its name from the Italian city of Taranto. Myth was that people who thought they were bitten had a huge desire for dancing with the frenzied dance being referred to as "tarantism", and the legend grew; the bite of the tarantula is no more dangerous than that of other wolf spiders. Although some people become alarmed when tarantulas are found indoors, they are primarily a nuisance pest; bites by United States species are no more harmful than a bee sting.

Body length is usually between 1 3/4" to 2 7/8", with a leg span up to 5 inches. Color is usually dark brown to blackish, sometimes tan to yellowish or reddish brown, robust and hairy.

Mating occurs in the autumn, and the female produces an egg sac the following summer. The egg sacs average 800 to 850 eggs each, and are up to 3" in diameter. Adult males die about six months after reaching maturity. Adult females can live for more than twenty years.

Tarantulas are not seriously poisonous to humans. Their bites usually result in pinpricks with mild pain, but can be very painful because of the tarantula's large fangs. Tarantulas are not aggressive and must usually be provoked to bite. Tarantulas are nocturnal and spend most days secluded in their burrows or retreats. As long as they have water, tarantulas can live for up to two years without eating.

Black Widow Spiders

These spiders get their common name from the popular belief that the female eats the male after mating, a phenomenon which rarely happens in nature. There are 5 species of black widow spiders occurring in the United States.

Body length for females is usually about 1/2" including an almost spherical abdomen, an overall length including legs of about 1 1/2" to 1 3/8". Males are about half the size of the female. Their color is typically black, with two reddish triangular markings usually joined to form a reddish hourglass-shaped marking. Young spiders are primarily orange and white but acquire more and more black as they mature, with markings very similar to those of males.

Female black widow spiders deposit their eggs in silken eggs sacs which are 3/8" to 1/2" in diameter, can be constructed in one to three hours, and are white but soon turn pale brown. Depending on the species, the maximum number of sacs per female ranges from 6 to 21 and the average number of eggs per sac is about 185 to 464 eggs.

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Adams Pest Control
(Little Rock Office)
12324 Stagecoach Road
Little Rock, Arkansas 72209
(501) 455-1065
(501) 778-7270
(501) 337-1472
(501) 623-3811
Toll Free: 1 (877) 232-6772