Help Identify a Spider
Need help identifying a spider? If so, then take a look at our collection of spider pictures to see if it looks like yours.
You can also look through the comments below to see if any of the images match your spider.
Don’t see your spider? feel free to upload your photo here and we’ll attempt to id it, and if we can’t, then perhaps one of the visitors can after we post it.
Cari: I live in Ohio as well as you do but not for much longer because I go to college. And I have to tell you I fear spiders a whole lot here. This happens to me occasionally but there are times where I happen to see spiders in my room when they aren’t even there this makes me nervous because like I said I get scared because I feel like there’s a spider on my floor in my room when it aint even there. Do you live in Cleveland? I am asking you because so far I never had any types of spider problems knock on wood and for 2 I never got bit by a spider in my whole entire life knock on wood. Can you please respond back? I have a disability and I seem to have arachnophobia! I live in Cleveland fyi. What kind of spider was it?
Maddy
I have found spiders that look similar to Christy F’s photo..I really need to know what it is, Can anyone help me??
#305
Philip,
The place where I am currently living has the exact same spiders all over the house. The ones I see range from the size of a dime and the largest one I have seen yet were the size of a half dollar coin. I did some research because my friend tried to pick it up to release him/her outside instead of me killing it (big time creature lover) and it reared up and attacked her. We got it outside in the end, but I was a little worried so I researched it and the results I came up with was a grass spider. Apparently they have hemotoxic venom… I also live in PA so I’m following my gut and am going to just squish them when I see them.
mystcnurse: I HAVE A DISABILITY AND I GET SENSITIVE TO WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT SPIDERS I DON’T BLAME PEOPLE FOR HAVING ARACHNOPHOBIA! WHY ARE YOU BEING RUDE AND DISRESPECTFUL TO OTHER PEOPLE? HOW OLD ARE YOU BY THE WAY? CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT STATE UR FROM. I AM OFFENDED TO WHAT YOU SAID. I HATE SPIDERS WITH A PASSION! WHENEVER I SEE A SPIDER IN MY HOUSE OR WHATEVER I SCREAM AND SAY I HATE HASHEM! ID RATHER HAVE A SNAKE CRAWLING IN MY HOUSE THAN A SPIDER BECAUSE SNAKES HAVE NO ARMS OR LEGS AND THEY KILL SPIDERS! AND SNAKES ARE NOT HARRY CAN YOU PLEASE WATCH WHAT YOU SAY? I HAVE ASPERGER’S EVEN WHEN I SEE A SPIDER PERIOD I CRY AND FREAK OUT! RUN TO THE STORE! PLEASE RESPOND BACK
MADDY
First of all #72 is a Wolf Spider. My question, I’ve seen these spiders in 2 different states (Northern Mississippi, Southern Indiana) and I’m guessing they’re probably harmless. I’d just like to know what they are. Haven’t been able to take a picture b/c I’m insanely afraid of spiders of all types, and by the time I’m done smashing them there’s nothing left but a smear in the carpet. And I can’t find any images on the internet. They’re maybe the size of a dime, some are black, some are brown, but they’ve always got little white spots. Always find them on ceilings or high up on the walls.
So we have had this spider everywhere we have lived, its small only grows to be about 1inch and largest is about 1inch and half; its pure black and looks furry; the fangs are long and we usually find it in our home with no web. We live near the coast of WA and we don’t know if its poisonous or not, we kill it every chance we get, I have a little brother about 6 and I’m worried about him because he likes to poke around at spiders and other insects, we have the brown recluse (think that’s the right spelling) and the wolfs bane spider? I believe that’s the other poisonous one, and my family and I have no idea what their appearances are. If you have any idea what the three might look like, please don’t hesitate to tell me, even if you might not be 100% sure, please because it will be a big help.
With great hopes,
Del-Chan
There were a few of these on the outside of my garage (Eastern Washington) today. This one was by the biggest– the body (not counting outstretched legs) was probably the size of a nickel or quarter. Does anyone know what I’m dealing with? Are these guys garden helpers or are they a risk to my family and pets?
For anyone in WNY, I can assure you these range maps are NOT accurate. I have had 2 or 3 customers that have been bitten by brown recluse spiders this year, and know other people who say they have them around also. I actually just killed what looked exactly like a brown recluse about 5 minutes ago, down to the long spindly legs, the black stripe going down the back and the bulb on the back. I saw an identical looking spider today while we were down at the waterfront marina in Buffalo.
The range map is not accurate, there have been numerous reports of brown recluse spiders in the area with people having to be hospitalized from the bites, and more than a few have been confirmed. If these things travel, then it is should not be a surprise that they could live and reproduce in an area they travel to.
Whatever the case might be, there is overwhelming evidence that brown recluse spiders are in the Western New York area…
I live in Scranton PA, and I found this light brown spider with dark brown and white spots on it,its at least the size of a quarter.
Please help,
Thanks!!
I would like to ID this spider. We live outside of Denver Colorado near Chatfield Lake park. Is this a dangerous spider?
Thanks
Trish
I live in TN and while sleeping I woke up and it felt as though something was biting me. It looks and feels like a mosquito bite with a little burning. I was looking around on my bed and found this small spider. Very small with brown and black markings/ pattern on the back…
I also have a spider like the one in number 7. Any help identifying it would be helpful.
Thanks,
Bob
I have a lot of those in my front yard, they come in various sizes, but some are 1.5 cm. (just for the body) and around 3cm with the legs, I am very allergic to all types of bugs that bite, and I feel quite concerned about those.
I will enclose a picture of it for you to help me to identify it.
We live at the border between Quebec and Ontario, in Gatineau, close to Ottawa, if it can help
Thanks a lot
Cecil
I have found 3 brown and black striped spiders in my window. I don’t have any pictures I don’t have a camera. The legs are striped and the body dark brown about one and a half inches long. What is it?
This big spider made about a 3-4 foot strong web across my garden pathway, but is hiding among the near by tree leaves. I live in the Sacramento, CA area. I assumed it was a garden spider, but I have yet to find any pictures that actually look like it, so now I am wondering….We have lots of black widow’s here, but the web shape is not like what they make and it has yellow spots on its back. Any ideas?’
I live in Iowa and I found a spider in my house that is small. About the size of a quarter, brown and has bright orange legs. My 3 yr old was bit by a spider that night and had a huge welt that was red and hurt. I was wondering if the spider is poisonous.
I am finding all kinds of spiders in my house, I have found some brown recluse and another kind of spider i can not identify, Can you please tell me what kind of spider it is. I live in TN and I am really worried about these spiders, they all seem to be coming from my daughters bedroom and we can’t seem to find out where in there they are coming from? they are big and like nothing I have seen before.
does anyone know what kind of spider is at the number #36 with the name Leslie….I have captured one of this, and I would like to know its name…PLEASE IF ANYONE KNOWS, TELL ME PLEASE! Thanks.
We live in Morganfield, KY ( western KY) and today i found a few spiders while cleaning out a closet! I do not have pics of them but can give you a very good description of them! They are small only about 1/2 in- 1 inch in size ! Shiny dark brown almost black with a large rear end! They have a WHITE HOURGLASS on their Back!! I thought originally it was some kind of black widow but I am unsure! If ANYONE knows what kind of spider this is please let me know!
Can you guys help me figure this out?
This past Monday I encountered a large spider wandering around my bedroom floor. It has since disappeared. It was about an inch or inch and a half long and brown. It had a fuzzy/furry look too. The legs were thick.
I live in Eastern Kentucky and these are apparently common here as I’ve seen them before and recently found two others downstairs. The thing I need help with is the name. We’ve always called them Wolf Spiders, but I just looked them up and the pictures I found look nothing like the ones I’ve been seeing. Any one have any ideas?
I live in Creswell, Oregon and yesterday I was up picking blackberrys next to Fall Creek, Then I turned around and saw the scariest thing in my entire life. Usually I’m not afraid of bugs, they’re usually very interesting to me, however this was the fattest bloodsucking looking spider I have ever seen. It was bigger than my thumb and had bright florescent orange, yellow and red with a black scar look in the middle. This thing made me so scared I screamed. Now that I saw it I’m interested to know what kind of spider this is. Anyone have any clue?
I don’t have any pictures, but I just moved into a new apartment. The apartments are new, and I guess all the bugs are coming from all the people in and out, leaving doors opened painting or whatever. They sprayed for bugs, but I still have this really tiny spider, they are black in color, and have white spots on their back. I usually kill 1 to 2 a day, are these something I should be worried about?
I’ve got spiders under my car, it doesn’t run and was sitting in a guys field before I bought it. But it has tons of spiders under it. Small black spiders with almost a white and black checkered abdomen. The abdomen is huge and perfectly round kinda like Robyn’s #95. Please help, I have gone through 6 cans of spider killer and they keep coming back, I just want to know if they’re poisonous, and what kind they are.
I have these spiders on my house and we have had several ones of them. They are brownish black and about the size of a penny. I live in southern Minnesota and I want to know how to get rid of them!!!
Re: post #62 Is there any information offered on this spider. They weave a funnel type web and shelter for young feeding on fly’s or other bugs. Adults will crawl into bed linens and wait to bite. I only hope they are not dangerous to humans.
Hello,
I found a spider outside by our horse and I live in Lovell, WY.
It has a white back with six dots in it and a yellow pointed tip on the top
The legs are stripped horizontal black and yellow and the belly is stripped vertical black and yellow. This is the best pictures that we could get we need help identifying this spider please.
Hey I live in Marysville, WA and my sister found one like Michelle #72 but it was not a brown recluse it was like it but it was black and it was the about the size of a one I see tons of brown recluse but I have never seen one like this.
I live near Sherman and Gainesville, Texas . During the summer right before school started when it has been extremely hot I saw a spider similar to #69 but slightly more curled up legs and it looked like an acorn butt in our metal concrete floored garage up against a sheet metal interior wall and had a a dead rat somewhere I tried to get a picture but when I came back outside with a camera it was gone it sent real fear down my back my mom says it’s a tarantula we have had a lot of spiders in and around our house help
Hi,
This photo was taken in Costa Rica inside the home of some friends of mine. It is a very large spider, all the same shade of medium brown except for a lighter brown marking on the abdomen. Similar to some photos I’ve seen of the large house spider, but different enough that I’m not sure that’s what it is. Here is a link to the photo:
The large object next to the spider is the heel of a shoe (to give you an idea of size)
To Sonda (#62):
I just caught one of these in my bathroom (I live north of Boston, Mass.). My fiance and I did some research and determined that it could be a woodlouse hunter spider. Here is a description: Dysderids have six eyes, and are haplogyne, i.e. the females lack a sclerotized epigyne. There is a substantial number of genera, but two of them, Dysdera and Harpactea, account for a very large number of the species and are widespread across the family’s range. One species, Dysdera crocata (the woodlouse hunter), has been transported over much of the planet together with its preferred foods – woodlice. Dysdera also feeds on beetles. These spiders have very large chelicerae, which they use to pierce the armored bodies of woodlice and beetles. There are also some reports that they have a mildly toxic venom that can cause local reactions in humans; with their huge fangs there is little doubt that they could bite if threatened, but the venom has not been well studied. It is probably wise not to handle these spiders.
The spiders have their six eyes arranged in a semicircle like segestrids, but have only the first two pairs of legs produced forward. Dysdera crocata has a characteristic coloring, which can only be confused with spiders in the corinnid genera Trachelas and Meriola: the carapace is dull red-brown and the abdomen gray or tan. The “two-tone” look, with the abdomen much lighter than the cephalothorax, is quite striking.
I hope this helps!
I have what looks like between a spider and grasshopper that jumps very far and you cant get close to kill them what kind of spider is this or is it a spider at all, please help?
Hi I live in PA and found a bunch of these spiders in my basement. The spiders are one to two inches long they have a small white body and white joints in there legs there skin is clear. I got a close look at a few and between each joint and the body it looks like copper wire inside the clear skin. There was only a few at first now each day it looks like there are more and more. I would like to know what kind of spider they are and if there are dangerous or not.
What kind of spider has it’s abdomen shaped like a diamond, and is a dark blood or maroon in color with light gray or white spots and the legs are pitch black. The spider is very fast and is the size of a quarter. Does anyone have any ideas?
Richard
White Lake, Michigan
I live in Washington.. and i have this spider hanging out on my office window. it is about the size of a quarter leg span is a little longer then the quarter. on the top it is an orangeish color with white spots on the back part of it the head is kind of a white color and its legs are really light brown with yellow. and seem almost transparent.its fangs are thick and black.. it has just been sitting on the window for about 5 hours hasn’t moved or reacted to tapping on the glass.
What are the spiders in posts #62 and #69? I have seen one of each of these in my house in the last week, also I live in central GA.
I found a spider like the one in the picture 180, but it was bigger. I was in my basement folding clothes and happend look over and there it was. I live in Columbus ohio, is this spider normally found in this area? This thing is huge and my childrens play room is down there. No one is going down there to play untill I found out!!!!!!!! Please let me know something soon.
Thank you
Angela Hays and Children
I keep finding this type of spider crawling on the walls in our house in SE Michigan, usually where the wall meets the ceiling. It moves faster than most spiders I’m used to. Can someone tell me what it is and whether it’s a concern? I have a 2 year old and am pregnant myself. Thanks!
I have a spider outside of my fathers house in southern new jersey and it looks identical to two pictures that are already posted. They are identified as the “St Andrews Cross Spider” upon doing more research the St Andrews cross (on the couple websites i went to) has a much fatter thorax region than the ones in the picture and the one outside my fathers. i was wondering if possibly it could be a misidentification or if it is more common in males or females to have skinny thorax’s. Just wondering, any input would be greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!
well i was in my garden and i have this yellow plastic cup and this very weird spider was in it had VERY long legs (which were brownish black) and his body was small but quite fat (i think it had to colours on it brown and black) i screamed turned over the cup with a stick and put a box over it. (he didnt get away) but now i’m scared to go out in my garden
I have just moved into an apartment in south carolina and my husband and I keep seeing these that look almost exactly like the one in 712 photo. The only difference is that mine the back end is half the size of the head. Its really fast and they all are slightly bigger than a 50 cent piece. I have 3 kids under 5 so I really need to know if its dangerous or anything. I would like to know everything about this thing. Thanks for the help.
We found this spider in our upstairs bathroom. My sister found it just sitting there and it gave her quite a scare. With the legs extended it was about 2 1/2″. The body was about 1″, give or take a bit, slender, legs were slender and furry, body was black with a patch of gray on the front,a dot on the back, and sides of the cephalothorax were gray. It had “boxing gloves” with hooks on the pedipalps, and the tail end of the abdomen was “split”. Can You help me?
My wife and son found this spider outside by our garage. We are wondering if it is dangerous. Thank for you help. I well send a pic of the spider to the above email address.
Thank You,
Wade
Hi, I’m curious about a white spider that fell on my car and is now living in it. I do not mind the spider living in my car it’s just i don’t want a dangerous one in there just in case i decides to bite me or a friend. I don’t have a picture of the spider because it’s very good at hiding i only see it once in a while.
As far as i know this is what it looks like – all white proportionately sized everywhere about the size of a quarter. i live in Miami FL I’m moderately certain that the spider first fell on my car around a lot of mango trees if that aids at all. Also the spider attempted to crawl up my windshield on the outside of my car but couldn’t.
Post #28 shows a spider i believe has bitten my 2 year old girl . It is black with a white stripe on it’s back . Can someone tell me the name of it and should I be worried ? Thanks
We found the same spider as Barb (above #57) in our garage- but I can’t see the answers to the posts- can you advise what this is and if it is poisonous?
Thank you!
Suzanne
Hello, can you tell me what kind of spider this is? What is interesting is that on it’s body there is a shape of a human body, minus the head. Thanks.
#80 an #188
I took the exact spider to a Western Ky. Univ. proff. that is pictured in #80 and it is a species of the orb weaver. A red or orange-yellowish hourglass are distinct to all species of widows. Neither #80 or #188 have the distinct marking so it is safe to say that neither are widows. The markings on the undersides are the spiders epigraphy, not the body marking. But… I still wouldn’t try to pet it..
If anyone who can tell me what kinda spider I’m about to identify is
I found a Brown and tan Spider under my old deck that has striped left (brown and tan) in MN and it has two black dots on it’s back it’s 3′ inches just an estimate or maybe 4′ inches it is bigger than a grass spider and is not a brown recluse and I fed it a cricket and it looks like it had a siezure/Spazm from the bite and is poisonous if anyone can get back to me I will gladly send photos thank you my email is zdog1996 [at] gmail.com
I wasn’t bitten by this spider, but I noticed it a few days ago on my enclosed front porch. He doesn’t really move around much and his web isn’t very big, but he must work fast. I thoroughly cleaned that porch less than two weeks ago, and he sure wasn’t there then. Any thoughts on what it is? I’m in St. Louis, MO.
An update to my posting from the 10th…I see that just before my post there are 3 others with the same spider. I’d looked through a couple pages and couldn’t find a match. I guess it’s the orb spider…also heard it called a banana spider (North America variety, not the killer from Australia), and also called a writing spider…anyway, sounds more helpful than harmful.