How to Identify Poisonous Spiders

Two spiders to fear most in the United States are the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse. These two venomous spiders have bites that require medical attention, especially for young children and the elderly. Learn to identify these two poisonous spiders with the tips below.

Things You'll Need

• Spider
• Glass jar

Instructions

Identify a Poisonous Brown Recluse Spider

1. 

   Determine if you are in the habitat of the Brown Recluse Spider. The Brown Recluse is found in the Midwestern to Southern United States. Other spiders in the Recluse family live in the desert Southwest. If you are not in the normal habitat of the poisonous Recluse, then you probably do not have a poisonous Brown Recluse spider. These spiders favor dry, undisturbed places like storage areas and wood piles.

2. Capture the spider. Use a glass jar or bowl to trap the spider. Do not touch the spider in case you have caught a poisonous Brown Recluse.

3. Identify the spider. A poisonous Brown Recluse is brown in color, not striped, and has a "violin" shaped pattern on its back. They are only a half inch in size, not including the legs. The spider has fine hairs on the legs, not spines. Its most remarkable feature--if you can get that close--is the eye pattern. A Brown Recluse has three pairs of eyes. While most spiders have eight eyes, the poisonous Brown Recluse Spider has only six eyes.

Identify a Poisonous Black Widow Spider

1. 

   The highly poisonous Black Widow spider lives in all parts of North America, and thrives in all the temperate regions of the globe. They build low lying webs and are often found in garages, wood piles and even BBQ grills.

2. Capture the spider, using a glass jar or bowl. Do not touch the spider in case you have caught a poisonous Black Widow spider.

3. Identify the spider. Black Widow spiders are shiny, black or brownish-black, with a row of bright red to orange spots on the belly. The spots often resemble an hour glass. Females are about a half inch across, not including the legs. Males are much smaller, but not poisonous.

Tips & Warnings

• Use caution when trying to capture a spider--do not touch the spider directly.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Map showing range of the Brown Recluse Spider
• WebMD listing for Brown Recluse spider bites.
• WebMD listing for Black Widow spider bites.