Common House Spiders of North Texas
North Texas contains nearly 900 species of spiders, with recluse spiders and widow spiders the only two groups considered poisonous to humans. Most spiders keep insect populations under control and are generally harmless to humans. Tarantulas, wolf spiders and jumping spiders do bite, but in nonallergic individuals their bite is no more painful or poisonous than a bee sting. Wolf spiders, brown recluses, widow spiders and jumping spiders often infiltrate people's homes in northern Texas.
Other People Are Reading
-
Wolf Spiders
-
Wolf Spiders are large, often up to 1 3/8 inches long, hairy and often confused with tarantulas. They may wander into houses when hunting and tend to stay at floor level. Wolf spiders may bite but they are not considered poisonous. Wolf spiders from the genera Rabidosa and Hogna are common in North Texas. Wolf spiders form webs for shelter rather than for catching prey. Female wolf spiders carry their eggs below their abdomens until the eggs hatch.
Brown Recluse Spider
-
The most common brown recluse spider seen in North Texas, Loxosceles reclusa, often inhabits spaces under baseboards or furniture. They are orange-yellow to dark brown and are the size of a quarter. Recluse spiders have six eyes that form a semicircle around their heads. Venom from their bite will kill the affected tissue, causing it to slough off. Healing takes six to eight weeks and is accompanied by the formation of a dense scar.
-
Widow Spiders
-
Widow spiders often have orange, red and white markings on their backs in addition to black. They often live in basements or in boxes or piles of clothes. Widow spiders are typically 1 1/2 inches long and weave tangled webs that they use to catch prey. Their initial bite is often painless and accompanied only by two slight pinprick type marks; however, the bite becomes increasingly painful over the next 48 hours and includes muscle tremors, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. The toxin may cause unconsciousness but causes death in less than 5 percent of people bitten.
Jumping Spiders
-
Jumping spiders belong to the family Salticidae and stalk their prey during the day by attacking their prey in a series of fast leaps. They are 1/8 to 3/4 inches long, hairy with bold bands of black or white on their bodies and some have red abdomens. They are most active around windows and doors. Phiddippus audax is one of the most common jumping spiders in North Texas.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit black spider image by Artyom Davidov from Fotolia.com
