How to Identify Maryland Spiders
There are many different types of spiders living in the southern regions of the United States, and some are even native to Maryland. Some of them are poisonous, some of them are harmless, and some of them help to keep the number of insect pests living around our houses low. However, if you get a visit from one of these eight-legged guardians, it is important to know how to identify different types of spiders so that you can tell which ones are dangerous and which ones can be calmly moved outside.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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1
Judge how large the spider is by looking at the length of its body and the length of its legs.
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2
Check to see if the spider has a body that is 1 inch or more in length without including the leg span. If it does, then the spider is most likely a wolf spider or a fishing spider. If the spider has a body that is less than 1 inch long without including the leg span, then you skip to Step 5.
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3
Determine if it is a wolf spider. This type will have a leg span of about 2 inches. It is brown with a dark gray-black cross pattern on its back, and it is very furry and bulky looking. Wolf spiders are rarely found indoors, only mildly venomous, and their bites will usually only cause itching.
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4
Estimate how long the spider's leg span is. If the leg span is around 3 inches, and the spider is a dark brown color with light and dark gray markings, then it could be a fishing spider. These spiders enjoy living near water and dark, damp places. They can run across water to hunt for prey. They do not maintain a web, and they are just poisonous enough to cause minor redness and necrosis near their bites.
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5
Do not attempt to measure the leg span of smaller spiders. It is much easier to tell these spiders apart by looking for distinct traits or markings. In Maryland, these spiders could be yellow house spiders, brown recluse spiders, black widows, flower spiders, bold jumping spiders, cellar spiders or cobweb spiders.
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6
Look for a yellow-green color on the spider's body and a darker color on its legs. If this coloration is present and the spider is about 1/4 inch long, then it is probably a yellow house spider. These spiders cannot puncture the skin of all people, and even if they do, they are only mildly venomous.
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7
Check to see if the spider is brown and smooth with a violin-shaped pattern on its back. If it fits this description, then the spider is most likely a brown recluse spider. These spiders are very poisonous, aggressive, and they enjoy hiding in soft places like the arms and legs of clothing, bedding, or pillows more than any other spider in Maryland.
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8
Look at the coloration of the spider and see if it is black with a red hourglass-shaped pattern on its underbelly. If it is, then it is almost certainly a black widow. These spiders have extremely poisonous venom, and commonly hang upside down from their rough, messy webs.
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9
Check to see if the spider is brightly colored and found amongst a cluster of flowers. If it is, the spider is most likely a flower spider. These spiders are a type of crab spider, and they will wait for unsuspecting bees or butterflies to come land near the clusters of flowers. Flower spiders are not dangerous to humans.
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10
Look carefully at the spider to see if it is black with a white marking on its back. Also, if the spider is jumping around, this is another big sign that the spider you are looking at is a bold jumping spider. These spiders are aggressive and spunky, with a bite that hurts, but lacks any dangerous poison.
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11
Look to see if the spider has a very small body with relatively long legs. If the spider fits this description, and was found in a dark, damp place, then it is most likely a cellar spider. These spiders cannot penetrate human skin.
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12
Check the spider in question to see if it is brown with triangle-shaped tan markings on its back. If it is, then this spider is most likely a triangulate cobweb spider. These spiders are not dangerous to humans, but they do hunt brown recluse spiders and black widows.
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Tips & Warnings
Spider identification is tricky business if you squish your eight-legged visitor. Avoid pounding a spider to death if you would like to know what it is.
If none of these steps led you to an identification of the spider in question, send a picture to a biologist in the area, or contact a poison control center if bitten.
Always seek medical attention if bitten by a poisonous spider. Serious symptoms may not start appearing for as long as 8 hours after the initial bite. If you can, try to catch the spider that bit you so that you can present it to medical officials for identification.
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Comments
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Does anyone want to come to my Big Bang party?
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Sounds like you are safe- brown recluses do not have any stripes on their legs.
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I was bit my right arm near my elbow by a recluse 11 years ago while living in Suitland, MD. My arm swollen up to the point that it looked like Popeye. A week and a half of the doctors and ER visits and several antibiotics (oral & IV drips), nothing worked. After I pulled a plug of necrosis from the bite site that was the size of a golf ball, I was hospitalized. They tested it and realized it was a recluse and how to treat it. The venom was working its way to my heart and was only a day or two away from reaching it. Let them tell my hospital bill that they aren't in MD lol
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We live in Glen Burnie MD and we just killed a black widow spider in our front yard. We never thought they were up here this north. It was black with the orange hour glass design on its belly. What do we do next?
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We just killed a black widow spider in our front yard in Glen Burnie, Maryland. It was dark black with the hour glass orange stomach. Has any one else seen these in Maryland before?
