How to Identify a Mouse Spider

The Mouse spider is a little-known but still very deadly spider. Their bites can cause severe illnesses, especially to young children. It gets it name from its ability to eat rodents and other small animals. The mouse spider can be a dangerous, so it's good to know how to identify it if it lives in your area. Although bites from the mouse spider are rare, it's always a good idea to be prepared. This article will give you the steps you need to identify a mouse spider.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. 

   World Area. The easiest way to identify the mouse spider is by their habitat. Mouse Spiders generally live in areas of Australia, with a few species being found in Chile. The mouse spider freely roams the less developed areas of Australia and mouse spiders are not uncommon in rural areas. They are also on the list of most dangerous spiders in the US, though not native to the US.

2. 

   Habitat. If you live in an area where mouse spiders can be found, know what the home of a mouse spider looks like so you can identify a mouse spider, in case you ever stumble across one. The mouse spider is usually found in burrows, some as deep as two or three feet. These burrows aren't always very noticeable though, despite their size. Sometimes they hide under foliage or in the shade, so the burrows of the mouse spider may not be immediately visible. The mouse spiders will move around during the day looking for food, they especially like to venture out after it rains. You can identify a mouse spider because it will reside in a burrow and be out during the day and after the rain.

3. 

   Physical features. You can also identify the mouse spider by its physical features. These spiders are rather large, able to grow up to an inch and a half in body length. The male spider is equipped with a vibrant red head piece and larger fangs which make it easy to identify. The female mouse spiders are much larger and have a big round abdomen. The female mouse spider can also be identified by lacking the large red mouth pieces.

4. 

   Bite. If worst comes to worst you can also identify a mouse spider by its bite. The mouse spider has long hard fangs and can pierce human skin. Sometimes the bite is dry and no venom is injected. If you are bitten it will make a large puncture wound (for a spider). The bite will swell and look like a large area of raised reddish skin. Medical attention should be sought immediately.