Brown Widow Spider
(more...)
Written by Jim on June 17th, 2007 with
379 comments.
Read more articles on Mites and Spider Bites.
- [+] Digg: Feature this article
- [+] Del.icio.us: Bookmark this article
- [+] Furl: Bookmark this article
(more...)
Related spider information
Leave a Reply
I just found out about the existence of brown widows the other day and about the spikes on their egg sacs. Then today I was at the pool and moved a pool chair and my hand brushed a web. I am not very fond of spiders and I pretty much freak out if I come into contact with any web. Low and behold, when I checked it out, it was a messy web (which usually means the spider is poisonous) with an egg sac with spikes all over it. The spider was close by and was only about a half inch big. I live in Southern California in Long Beach. Scary!
Anaheim, California – just killed 6 of these in my back patio area. Seems like they are spreading like crazy lately!
I found a spider in my sun lounger whilst on holiday in the Dominican Republic. I suspected it was a black widow, but wasn’t sure (we don’t have such things at home in the UK!). My daughter thought it looked suspect and said I shouldn’t lie on the bed! Didn’t know if there were poisonous spiders in the Dominican. Just sent my photos to be identified and was told the spider was a brown widow; didn’t know there was such a thing. From all these posts it would seem this spider is quite widespread and a prolific breeder.
I live in Charlotte, NC. Never heard of the brown widow spider until about 5 minutes ago. I was at work and stepped outside for a smoke. Found two of them. One in the corner of each railing. I’m deathly afraid of spiders, so I srayed them with Raid. The biggest one died first and that was when I saw the orange hour glass. From what I’ve been reading, there have been no reports of a brown widow spider in North Carolina. Guess what? They are here!
I got bit by some type of spider about a week ago just below my calf muscle on my left leg. It was tingly at night for a few days and then went away. Now my foot is sore but only when I walk on it or put pressure on it. It kind of feels like it is cramping up and needs to be stretched out. I am going to wait a few days, if it does not get better it will see the Dr. I am sure it was a sider bite, I could see the two puncture marks. I didn’t know what kind it was but I know I was working in the yard about the time it happened and we have seen an increase in brown widow spiders in the yard. Most people don’t know this, but brown widows spiders can live in bushes or plants, unlike black widows that prefer concrete or wood piles. You need to be careful working it your yard.
Hi checking in from La Habra, CA. Just did a check after reading these posts and found a brown in the wheel well of my trailer. Sprayed it with Hot Shot spider killer-it dropped and did a dance, but I squished it anyway. A friend recently got bitten and has a dime sized swollen spot, red, raised and weeping pus-got an injection of antibiotics and a 10 day supply of antibiotic pills.
We like to toss karma at them and spray with 3M spray glue- holds them in place till they die? suffocate? Oh well works for me! If you can set fire to it all the better.
I left this on the first badspiderbites page but to you here- we use 3M spray glue to isolate the spiders in place , egg sacs and all. Seems cruel somehow, but then again, they end up dying right where you left them, not running off leaving you to wonder…….
I have found about 50 Brown Widows around my shop here in Navarre Florida… The egg sacs are everywhere also! I never knew of a brown widow until I started finding them and goggled them. All of the spiders around here are brown, with black bands on the legs, and an almost Fluorescent orange hourglass on the underside of the abdomen!
I started catching them, and putting them all in a clear glass jar – it was webbed in in no time! I am very surprised however, as the largest spider I found KILLED all the others and wrapped them in silk!! For a supposed “non-aggressive” spider, this was shocking to witness! It also seemed to spray, or secrete some sort of clear fluids on the inside of the container, looks like smeared dew drops…what is it?
Is there any way to irradiate them from my business? Will mass quantity bug-bombing work? Please let me know, as I am Self-Employed, and definitely cant afford the time off from a Widow Bite.
All,
I have attached a picture of a Brown Widow spider that I found in my storage shed outside of my apartment. If you notice that is a water heater. I was looking for somethings in my shed when I saw her and nearly fell on the web! I have a 2 year old and this really scares me. I also found one behind my tv, within arms reach of her. I knew it was a Widow, but didn’t know Brown Widow spiders were real! But I do now!!!
Jana
I live in kentucky, and I think that i have two brown widows on my patio. I cant be sure though because I dont see any of the eggs around. This thing has a huge abdomen and its legs are light brown with the black strips on it. There is another one in the hedge bushes on my patio and it has a funnel web so when you go near it, it runs down the funnel into the bush. I sprayed this thing a week ago with scrubbing bubbles and thought i had killed it. I just saw it again in the same web rebuilding it after I knocked it down! Any advice? how do i kill these suckers?
Irvine, California.
We were away for most of the summer, and the tenants did not visit our backyard. Yesterday, my wife went out, and freaked out – she killed two of those, and saw a couple more run away. This night she was dreaming about brown widows, and freaking out even more.
Today we went outside again, equipped with spider killer from a home improvement store. Holy smokes – they were everywhere!!!!! There were several undernearth every piece of backyard furniture, more near the house walls, one even made a home right above the house door… Altogether, we must have killed about 15 of those, and squashed 10 or so of their sacks… Looks like the fight has just began.
Found 2 adults and one baby today when moving patio equipment out here in San Diego , Ca.
Didn’t notice the spiders until taking table and chairs back out of my truck. Notice the thick sticky webs which had me thinking it was not your regular spider. Then saw the funny looking egg sacks..about four of them
decides to use a stick to take off the webs since I was going to set the furniture out in my patio. Found the spiders. Sorry no pictures, I killed them too fast. Pretty scary to think I just carried the table and chairs over my shoulders while the spiders came along for the ride.
I’m in San Diego County and about 2 years ago I took a specimen to the county entemologist and confirmed it was a brown widow. Now I see them everywhere around the city and they are in every little crack they can get into, I’ve seen them in fences in public, they love lawn furniture & kids toys, car fenders, rims of planters, and the hugest ones I see are in the metal electric support lines that come down horizontally with a half circle cap on top so they can hide underneath. Everyone thought I was neurotic and said there was no such thing as brown widows. Guess what, there are and they are everywhere! To date no one at my horse or my pets have been bit but we are more aware before we just sit or play with equipment that has been outside.
I am not an expert, obviously, but I am pretty sure that the reason that we see so many is that they have lots of little creatures to sustain their presence. We have been seeing a lot of crickets on our driveway at night, someone else here mentioned ants, it only makes sense that if there is something for them to eat, they will come and stay.
I live in LA and have been fighting those brown spiders since last year. unfortunately dry warm weather we had seem to work great for insects. I have frequent ant infestations and spiders as well.
I’m on a loosing side as every so often I find new webs and nests. In the past I would come across a black widow once in a while. From what I know they are cannibals and will eat each other. From 700 or so hatchlings only 7 will grow up to maturity.
Just yesterday I found 3 brown widows and 4 egg sacks under 1 solar garden light right next to each other (and at least 1 brown widow under every other garden light). I guess they are not as predatory and that’s why they multiply so quickly. I have 2 little kids and torn between using and not using pesticides around the house. Even if they are not aggressive eventually there will an encounter.
I walk around the house and yard during the daylight and note any webbing that looks like widow nest (it looks random and is very strong – you can hear it tearing ). At nightfall I revisit those spots – they are nocturnal – and spray them with “ant/roach kill” Raid.
Since training my eye to spot the webs I have also noticed the widow-style webs all over the city – from parking structures to children’s playgrounds – the let’s hope for a freezing chill this winter. I have no idea what else can curb their numbers.
I live in North Carolina and we have black widows but I had never heard of a brown widow. There was a spider outside of my boys’ bedroom window hanging from the roof. I left it alone but today I got to looking at it and it spooked me (I’m deathly afraid of spiders). So I took the spider spray and used what was left and as the spider was spinning around I noticed the markings on it’s belly. The first thing I thought was oh god, it’s a widow but I had never seen a brown one. Needless to say, I’ll be keeping a close eye out there, especially with the kids!
I just found a brown widow in my backyard. I live in San Jose, CA. I have plenty of black widow but first time I have a brown widow.
Are they migrating?
I work in a manufacturing plant in Alabama.
My desk is right where trucks come in to be unloaded.
While walking around last Friday i noticed a lot of the same spiders..
I found 27 brown widow spiders all in the same area and I’ve seen plenty more since then..
Is it normal for there to be so many in a single area????
About 3 days ago found what appeared to be 5 full grown very large brown widow spiders. One in the door way of my families apartment home and 4 more behind the screens of our two front windows. I’m very concerned because we have a 3 year old child who loves to play outdoors, and our pest control man said that a broom is the best remedy for any spider. There must be some other solution to keep these dangers away from my child and us.
My son already has very bad upper respiratory problems and I sure don’t want any other problems. I am not fond of spiders my self at all and when I found these lurking on my porch I became very nervous to even go outside.
The pictures that I have seen posted look exactly like the ones I have found and I have also run across 1 black widow several months back. I was able to kill them using regular old roach spray, but there must be some other way to prevent them from coming back. Thank you,
Vanessa a concerned parent.
I live in north central Florida. We have brown widows all over our yard. I found one in my garage and killed it. I later found egg sacks in another location in the garage. I got rid of those too but not before some had hatched. We have them in our bushes and on the kids swing set. I go out all the time knocking down webs, killing spiders and I have pest control come out every three months. I don’t know what to do. So far I am keeping them out of the house but it creeps me out. Good luck out there. I hate spiders!!!!
We live in Savannah, Ga. Our neighbors just moved and the house was infested with brown widow spiders. Their house was treated along with ours yesterday. This morning I go out on the front porch and there was one on the railing of the steps.
Hello, I live in south Texas… This morning I found a brown widow spider next to my back door. Has two eggs in the nest and a large cricket to snack on.
I live in San Diego, CA and have noticed some strange looking spiders making their home on my front screen door and in my backyard. I am not a spider lover so I got the RAID out and sprayed them right away. When I sprayed the big spider it fell to the ground and that’s when I noticed a red dot on the belly. I have never seen these spiders in San Diego before and I have lived here all my life, 40 years. I have been extreamly freaked out by them and to make things worse they recently had something on our local news about them.
A family has been infested my them and they were telling their story. So I guess I’m not alone. I do have two dogs and two small children and am worried because I’m not reading anywhere on how to get rid of these pest. My main concern is to keep them out of the house! I do not want any of those things in here. I already feel like their everywhere!!! If anyone knows how to get rid of these spiders please… please let us know.
Although I am guessing if I can get rid of their food source they might leave… hopefully. If anyone wants to see the news cast it was on San Diego 10 news.
Thanks and hope we can all be rid of these eight legged pest.
Hello i just came across one of these brown widows. I have found and killed 5 big black widows in the past few weeks. This was the first brown i have come across. I didn’t think much of it but was sitting down to watch a recorded tv show when a news comment came on about the spiders being in San Diego. I will be spending most of my Saturday trying to find more.
We are infested in Encinitas, CA (north of San Diego) with both black widows and brown widows. I’ve killed 7 (brown and black) but there are so many more. You see their webs every where but do not see them. I thought I was crazy with the brown spider with an hour glass. I sprayed them and killed them and put them in a ziploc bag as proof.
Hello,
Quick Question… I live in Northern California near Roseville, (Lincoln- Between Chico/Marysville and Sacramento, CA) and I was wondering if there is or has been any record of any other kind of “Widow’s” around these parts? ie. Brown Widow, Red Widow or any other kind for that matter? The reason I ask is because I think I was just bitten by a Brown Widow. It Doesn’t hurt at all, not one bit what-so-ever, Frankly I’m not quite sure I was bitten at all. I got up early this morning before it gets blistering hot here, (108 yesterday) anyways, we have a broken drip line sprinkler system that was shooting water 25-30′ in the air, around the broken line i have a fake boulder (fiberglass rock casting), while moving the boulder i came across 2 different kinds of Widow.
One of which i have never seen before today. One was a normal, well known Black Widow, the other was a tan widow, it still has the distinct red hourglass on its abdomen. Well, while I was very respectfully and gently moving them to another location along the perimeter of the yard, I was unaware that the Brown/Tan Widows web had become tangled with the stick I was using to move it, and I accidentally flung it directly at my leg and into my shoe without socks… After that, I never saw it again, which happened to be very embarrassing, I ended up stripping my clothes off, down to my boxers to try to find this thing! Which never happened!
I never found it! Which worries me, cause as I’m sure you know, they are sneaky little guys and don’t die real easy, you really have to try to kill them, if you want to kill them… you can’t just squish ‘em, they’ll smile and crawl away, so I know I didn’t squish it in my shoe, so how long do I have before it starts to show symptoms, and How long do I have before I can relax if nothing happens? Thanks for your feedback in advance!!! If there is any at all.. Nobody has been on this site since November ‘08 so hopefully somebody still checks it out and responds! Thanks again! sOCalKenG
P.S. I guess that wasn’t as ‘Quick’ of a question as I thought it would be!!!
Michael, Orange, CA
My first encounter with the brown widow was 5 years ago. I had noticed a spikey web sac, similar if not identical to the ones posted above, and ones circulating on the net. I killed a brown spider by smushing it, not noticing any markings, probably because I did not think it was a widow. Now, September 28, 2009. I noticed a bunch of messy webs outside when I went to bring in the trash cans from the street and also around my lawn mower and gate. Being the curious pre-vet student biologist that I am, I starting looking around for the owner of the web. I noticed a brown spider with neon orange hour-glass markings and a spikey/studded cream-colored egg sac. I sprayed it with raid and was resilient to the spray. So I smushed it with my shoe after using a stick to remove it from its web in the undernook of the trash can grip.
I went to google for my research. Lol. I found out that they are multiplying around other people’s homes. I went outside and started looking around for messy and STRONG webs. I found a total of 8 brown widow spiders without moving any objects. One of them had THREE egg sacs which was unusual, as the other 7 each had 1 egg sac. I have not found a brown widow without an egg sac yet, but it is September and maybe breeding season? I am going to hire an exterminator because winter will be rolling around and there is only room enough for 2 species in my house, humans and house centipedes.
These centipedes are my friends, they scurry about and ever since they infested our home, I have yet to see a spider in the house. These hunters gobble up all the spiders.
Last week we found a big brown spider @ the end of our driveway, it was in between a tree & ice plant, out in the open. It was there a couple weeks before I finally made my boyfriend spray it with raid. He likes things like spiders & lizards, so he decided 2 put it into a plastic baggie ( it was dead). We’ve looked @ some different web sites but didnt find anything it really looked like. The other night on the news they mentioned brown widow spiders,so now ive looked this site up. The spider resembled these ones, but the biggest difference is that it had spikes on its body. It had all the same markings + spikes…. not sure if it was a brown widow or something else. It looked like it was ready 4 war… I didn’t see any egg sacks.
OK, I have been battling Brown Widow infestation for a year an a half. I live in central San Diego. I emailed an etymologist with our Natural History Museum a couple weeks ago. I told him I have found and killed hundreds (I am NOT exaggerating.)and maybe have had a stretch of a week and a half of no BWs out in plain view. I went on to say that they are everywhere. In my trees, pots, rose blooms, wind chimes, bushes, rocks, eves, windows, rim of every pot, The etymologist said he talked with the county etymologist and here is what he wrote:
***”There are canned sprays available at home and garden stores that are formulated for spiders as well as other critters. These seem to be effective but the spiders need to be hit directly with the spray. Egg sacs can be gathered and drowned in alcohol. I had a chat with the County Entomologist about mass spraying by pest control companies. He said he wouldn’t recommend as they really do no better than you with can sprays and are a lot more expensive. Also, mass spraying will kill of beneficial creatures as well as those that go after spiders. There are no sprays that can be put down that will last to keep spiders away as there are for insects. One article I read suggested spraying webs and when the spiders eat the silk during web repair they ingest the poison. That’s fine but it seems that widows don’t do that as often as other spiders but may be worth a try. Most of the sprays commercially available are not long lasting and so don’t pose a great hazard to kids and pets.”***
So then went on to ask if I would drop him an email if I figure something out and it works. Grrreat!
He is what I have learned:
They do not hide like Black Widows. But they don’t like full sun on them.
I use a little soldering torch to kill them and burn up sacs. (I do not like doing this)
They will run up a stick towards you. Best not to use a stick.
I just found if you go out at night they are further out in their web and easier to fry. (fun fun) Plus they are upside down and easy to spot hour glass.
They are NOT aggressive. I have had 2 on me and they run off. (yeeeech!!)
They can have multiple sacs and they do hide them. They do not stay with sacs as a rule.
There web ais sticky and very strong and no pattern. They will make long “tag lines” away from where they are.
The hour glass varies in color from a pinkish orange to orange to almost red.
Even the very small baby ones have an hour glass.
The sacs have up to 35 babies in them. (at least it isn’t hundreds!?)
I found only 1 in my house right near a hole in screen door. (last straw for me. I am now obsessed with getting rid of them.)
They don’t care if they room right next other spiders or even Black Widows.
When you kill one try to get rid of web so you’ll know when a new one comes you see the new web.
I just did an hour and half night killing and got at least 60. Sadly only 3 egg sacs.
I think this night hunting is really going to knock them back. Wish me luck!
I really wish they would figure out a way to help. Who are “they”? I don’t know. lol
I’m from Los Angeles (Palms, to be exact) and I discovered their egg sacs (about 6) all over my bicycle the other day, and the spider itself hiding within a web behind the reflector. I’m so terrified of spiders but I managed to spray everything off with a hose while hyperventilating. I hope they don’t find their way into my apartment… my bike was sitting just outside our door.
*shivers*
I just killed a very large brown widow that had made a nest under my office desk. I have only been gone two days but that was more than enough time for him to move in. Luckily, I had got under the desk to reset the cable modem and saw the spider. Had I not seen it I prob would have gotten bitten on the leg when I started working. I am going to inspect everything for these spiders now, since everyone here is saying that as soon as you have 1 you have a 100.
Los Angeles, CA (Hollywood area)
In the space of a month, a couple weeks apart, I found 2 black widows inbetween the 2 sides of our big metal driveway gate to our backyard. Killed them as soon as I saw them. Around 3 weeks ago, as I opened the gate, I heard the crackling of a web breaking so I thought it was another black widow. When I saw it was light brown, with a red diamond my first thought was it must be no big deal because it wasn’t a black widow. But seeing the diamond made me a little concerned so I googled it. That’s when I discovered brown widows.
And like everyone else who has posted here, I’d never seen them before or heard of them before. And now it’s like we’re infested. I’ve killed 5 in the last 3 weeks in the exact same area of the gate. As soon as one goes, another takes its place. And just tonight alone, I saw 5 of them. 1 near our kitchen window and 4 in webs around my trash cans that were at the curb. The trash collectors just emptied them yesterday morning and already they set up camp a day and a half later.
I talked to an entymologyst last week who said they’re solitary and won’t build webs where there’s usual activity but the gate and the trash cans get pretty frequent use. He also said there’s not much you can do. Just keep an eye out. I have a 3 year old so these things are really concerning me.
Like everyone else, I haven’t had much luck with finding a solution online and I’m not about to spend hours searching my yard to kill them only to have them come back the next night. Nice to see we’re not alone but really troubling.
I need to find out if I what I have is brown widows. We have black widows here too, I killed 7-8 in the past couple months. I know these brown widows look exactly the same as all the photos of these on the internet but the weird thing is their hour glass is not orange or red… its black or greyish. Im not so sure ive been searching and searching but cant find anything about this. They are identical and there everywhere. Only come out at night and make webs right below my gutter near the security light. Been here for a long time… so many. They aren’t aggressive.. you can walk right past them and they take cover. I just dont know how to figure out if they are. Im almost certain but the whole hour glass thing is weird, they have one all right its just dark colored, they are so light with orange dots on there back and grey and ect.
i live in pico rivera, and this last year or so i have been finding them around the house mostly in the garden/ plants it seems that they don’t hide in places like black widows, and they tend to have more egg sacks as well . i have found them with 4 egg sacks in the same location. i think that is why they are harder to get rid of them. they can be from light brown to white and also they can be black and white. so what im trying to do is find the sacks, so they cant reproduce more. like i said they seem too like the outdoors, so be careful when gardening. FYI… show and tell your friends and neighbors and if you can catch one and show it to your local elementary school.
CRUZ
I just caught a large female Brown widow spider its still alive in a jar. i live in southwest Va and I caught it an a porch outside during wet weather
Are brown widows native to Alabama? I’m sitting here in my office staring out the window and was distracted by a really pretty brown spider with the most beautiful white/yellowish design on it’s back… I did some googling and the brown widow is the closest I could find…
I only took the time to look at it cause it’s on the other side of the glass
Speaking of spiders and biting… I have bad allergic reactions when I get bit… don’t suggest it… I just moved out of my old apartment because between my cat and I, we were killing at least 2 big ugly brown ones a day… Beware of the ones that play dead and then scare the living day lights out of you, by jumping at you when you go to pick them up with a tissue…. My new apartment is spider free… so far….
ok soo theres this spider outside of my house on my window and i have no idea what it is… i would like to know can a brown widows abdomen be smaller than a nickle but bigger than a penny and how big can its web get and what it looks like, the web here strecthes about one standard window of a standard home. the weird thing about this spider is that it has seven legs not eight… its realy really scary too haha any way thanks and please answer those questions!!!! asao if possible!
I have been finding brown widows all over my property in Greenville SC, at first I thought they were something like a window spider until I noticed one with a red hourglass after inspecting the others I realized they were all about the same. Also in my area I have found 14 black widow spiders under boards, railroad ties, and in low lying bushes. I haven’t ever seen this many and I’ve lived in this area my entire life I wonder if it has something to do with the warmer changing climate.
My wife and 2 yr old son just moved in to our new home and on our lanai and front porch has black and brown widow spiders every were. We’ve been here now a week and on the lanai iv already killed 2 black widows and 6 brown widows and with my 2yr old who plays out back im very concerned i really would like to know what i could do to get rid of them? We’ve tried several different things and they still keep coming so please help me out
I live in San Diego (4S Ranch) and just found a smaller brown widow in my garage. It made a web right in a walkway. I’ve seen hundreds of black widows before, but this is the first time I have seen a brown widow. What is the best way to kill them?
can you die from a black widow bite or a brown widow bite can dose cal have anti-venom if you get bite from one
Alot of folks on here commenting on brown widows and how dangerous they are… People some of you are getting hysterical! Yes, they are getting more common in the Southern U.S. states but if you care to read up on some of the facts: for example, YES they do have more toxic venom than black widows per mmg., BUT they deliver much less in a single bite. Some don’t even have fangs long enough to break the skin (though most black widows do). In general, they are safer to have around than black widows. One website even goes so far to say that they are competing with and replacing black widows in those environments they share, and it will be a god thing that less people will be showing up in emergency rooms because of it!
P.S.: For the lady who lost her dog, I’m so sorry to hear about that–but if the vet said it was old age.. just believe him/her, okay? Also, for the little girl bit outside on the picnic bench, remember she doesn’t have to be intentionally bothering a spider for it to react like its in danger.. they can’t tell the difference. The human race isn’t under attack, the brown widows just aren’t that aggressive.
Hi I just found this I think is a brown widow you tell me it was in my window inside my room I wondering if there’s any more a round? I live in San Diego ca. Downtown area what should I do if I get bite for one of this brown widow?
Live in Byron Ga. Found 9 egg sacs and several small brown widows around and about sprayed with Clorox and then bug and wasp spray. The week before killed two black widows in same area. Looked this morning and egg sacs were gone ,hope the ants took them off. Will def. be spider hunting now . Printing pictures to show my grandson and to educate him on the dangers. Calling county ext. agent tomorrow to see what exterminates these pests!
This whole Brown Widow business is difficult because the facts vary and they are relatively “new” to the US.
I am very very frustrated! I have knocked down the numbers on my property radically. The key is hunting at night. I emailed a local entimologist informing him of my progress as requested. He wrote back , “You can knock back the population but the way the browns are reproducing they can be back in a few weeks.”
Crunching the numbers, and even using the reported lower end numbers of babies in sacs and sacs a female produces in a lifetime, if I have missed just 10 female adults, I’m screwed.
So, we need the facts. We all need to know how poisonous? At what size can they bite and inject venom? What is their lifespan? Do the males bite? (please look at male widows pics. as they need to be “removed” also. They help make the babies…)
For example if the experience of “T Turner post
#94. September 8th, 2008 at 1:26 am ” is accurate as a mainstream Brown Widow bite experience, symptom wise , I would be greatly relieved.
The words excruciating pain, hospital stay, and animals dying is not something I can just accept. If this is the reality, what choice do we have but pesticides and sterilizing our yards?
Allison
i just found what appears to be a brown widow spider in my uni room by the window, its being said off for examination as i type this becasue it is such serious thing. surely its too cold for them over here (UK) but then again it has been a really this warm summer. I’m not scared of spiders but this one really made me shiver. It just looked so out of place the colourings was so odd. it had the hourglass on its underbelly so i rekon it really was a brown widow. It’s kinda scary when you think out it (for me anyways).
Glendale, CA
Every year we get tons of Black Widows, but tonight I noticed a spider that was brown with striped legs and the same hour glass marking as a black widow. Luckily I found this website that helped me identify them as Brown Widows. My husband killed 5 of them and 1 got away. We also got a few good pics. I’m not sure if the big round one is a Brown Widow with an egg nest attached? It was in my kids’ playhouse that I just hosed down earlier in the afternoon, kind of freaked me out to see a web back up so quickly.
In regards to post 316, that is actually just a garden spider not a brown widow.
It lacks the orange hourglass, and brown widows lack any type of “fur” or hairs on legs. I have plenty of both of those spiders, I now let the garden spiders live in hopes they may kill some of the brown widows.
I have had to rip out all of my shrubs and almost all my plants to combat these nasty browns, they love kid toys which is really scary.
La Mirada, Ca. My 16 yr old son found a spider, He has it in a glass container. I didn’t know that there was such a thing as a brown widow until today. He is so killing it as soon as we get home.
I work at the plant in new Orleans la and came across my first brown widow today so then I really started to look for them and came across about 50 freaky pointed eggs and I’m parenoid as shit right now!
me and my daughter looked at this site and the comments scared the hibbie jeebies out her (i told her we don’t have them and she was like HOORAY!)
Hi,
On Halloween 2009 outside in the backyard A brown spider spun down & crawled on my sister’s head until my brother got a broom and pushed it down.! It came down from an orange tree, (fruit)
I never knew there were such things as brown widows.
I live in Ky. Only once have I seen a black widow in my lifetime but I hear a lot of people tell me they have seen them around the apartment complex I live in. The one I saw though was at least twice as large as the ones I’m seeing in the pictures on this site. No Kidding! It was a black widow because of it being so large, when it got to close to the edge of it’s web, it flipped upside down on the web hanging on the underneath. That’s when I saw the red hourglass figure.
I live in Monterrey, Mexico and had a black widow make her web in door hinge of shed behind my house. One day she had caught a small lizard. The lizard was easily 3 inches long. That tells you how fast their venom can work.
I just caught a brown widow that was out on the patio. I am about to let her go. Most people squish spiders. I am not Buddhist but I’m not taking any chances with my karma.
Not bitten, just found a brown widow spider in Tustin, CA (Orange County). Was courious to learn about the unusal markings, because we are use to seeing the traditional black widows in this area.
Brown Widow Spider
Our backyard has a bunch of these brown widow spiders and egg sacks, I’ve sprayed the ones that I found on the sand box and bikes and around the other spots where my kids live. For the most part it looks like they curl up and die but I’m afraid of how many I haven’t found and what to do if they get into the house or live in the closets. I don’t know if have the house tented is a safe thing for us since we have two young children but I’m really tempted.
It’s really interesting. I have always been warned of the Black Widow because I live in Florida. I grew up in South Florida, but now reside in North Florida. A few weeks ago my husband was doing some cleaning around our porch and came in to tell he had found dozens of Black Widows under the porch. Now our porch/deck is about 4 ft. off the ground so it’s easy to get under. He said not to worry and that he had taken care of them all. I didn’t think anything of it.
That was until a week ago when I was doing some rearranging of the furniture to start preparing for the holidays. We have a heater that resembles a fireplace and I started to move it to the opposite side of the room. I found many spiderwebs and noticed the eggsacks myself, 10 to be exact. I brought my husband in and showed him, he said they were black widows. I had to correct him because I’ve seen Black Widows nests before. We got rid of them of course, but looked it up to find out what they really were. Brown Widows!! I have 2 young children and I freak out when a mosiquito bites them- my some suffers from severe allergies.
Well we found 27 more eggsacks in the front doorway taht we never use. I opened it up to let some fresh air in the house 2 days ago and there they all were- all 27 of them and at least 4 spiders. I live in the middle of nowhere. Heavily wooded so we get all kinds of creatures here. I’ve had bats in the house. My husband had to remove a opposum from the house as well as a small raccoon. We found out that when they made the hole for a 2 inch pipe in the kitchen a 12 inch hole and never sealed it. So we’ve had some excitement around here.
Not to mention the 6 and 5 ft. rattlers we discovered at the bottom of our porch one day, but that’s been about 2 yrs. ago.
Today my co-worker took a brown Widow off my back. I’m so lucky
to be alive!!!
i live in southern Colorado and we have a lot of black widows and they usually don’t attack humans but just pay attention
Just took our Christmas decorations out of the attic and there was a spider on one box. I sprayed it and continued on. When I went back and looked, it was brown and had an hourglass on the tummy. That’s when I found this site. I just wonder how many more that I don’t see are lurking nearby.
I live in Coronado, CA and have killed over 20 brown widows with egg sacks around my property in the last 2 days. They are EVERYWHERE. under almost all my patio chairs. on every trash can. in all my trees and bushes. Under my eves. I have warned my neighbors. I am afraid to let our pug go in our backyard.
We took her for a walk tonight around the block and took along a flashlight and my gallon jug of insecticide. She almost walked through 3 brown widow webs at the base of trees and poles. I killed 5 more of them on the walk.
I sprayed my yard and trees today. I may hire professionals if that didn’t work.
I feel like John Goodman in arachnophobia.
hi,
i have been noticing spiky eggs in Utah and i don’t know if there deadly or not but they are not aggressive.
I had a fairly large brown spider that was shaped like a black widow (which I have in my storage shed). this one was brown, busily making a web on my car hood. It had two white spots on its back.
I have looked on every spider website and have yet to see a picture of one like it.
I don’t like spiders so, I grabbed a small stick and knocked it off, then stepped on it.
can you tell me what kind of spider this sounds like?
Thanks
Debbie
my wife said “what is this?” we knew it was a spider but it was weird, bulbous round brown/white stripe-ish back.. I looked it up b/c I knew it was dangerous.. it just looked sick and I knew nothing could look that crazy and be benign.. so we put it out our window .. I should have killed it instantly but I didn’t know then what I googled now.. too bad.
wow, we live in New Rochelle, NY who would think we’d get that kind of spider here? we did just pull up our rugs.. I guess anything can happen we live on first floor and right outside our window is dirt garden and we do get ants all summer long..
can someone with knowledge on these things (spiders) say if it’s possible to get this kind of spider in NY or did someone plant this bugger in our apt.?
From Venice,CA 1/2 mile from beach. Rarely see black widow’s. Found over 20 brown widows today for the first time ever and killed probably fifteen of their pods. Under patio furniture, a stepping stool, ALL over the trash cans and just went outside with the flash light. Window awnings and the tv dish as well. I would really like to know where this is going. From zero to 30 in no time.
i got bit last night and it is about the size of two quarters and is swollen, please help.
Hi, we live in Southern California and have just recently been INFESTED by the brown widow spiders. Originally, I thought they were male black widows, but did some investigating and found out about the BROWN widow. We had a pest control guy come by yesterday and he mentioned that originally they were only located in Florida, but have migrated to CA.
He also mentioned that they are infamous for spinning there webs exactly where you wouldn’t want them to. This possibly explains me finding three webs and egg fars. One under my boys pitching matching, one under their quad and one on the door handle to the garage. I elected to use some WD40 and flame making sure the adults and eggs were dust!!
How can I get rid of these stinking spiders. At any given time I could go in my back yard and find 20 of these monster brown widows without looking very hard. I have a three year old daughter, even though they don’t pose much threat I still worry. In the two years we’ve lived here in Torrance Ca, the spiders have been here and still I haven’t seen one in the house so at least they are outdoor pests?
We recently discovered a brown widow spader in our kitchen. Could you please advise me as how to get rid of this spider. Will it be possible for you to answer my request by e-mail? Thank you and kind regards, Rita.
They are everywere in So. Cal. The problem with them is that they are non aggressive — thus they don’t mind sitting under your patio chairs. But really, how often are you bitten by a spider? If you see one, your are not taking care of your yard — or at least have not been there for that long. Keep your yard clean and if you see them — spray vinager on them. For a week or two after spray with water. No spider wants to live where we do. The brown widow is here to stay — i live in a normal cookie cutter house and had 200 in my yard (a repo). A little viniger and good house keeping will do wonders. Remember if you keep your yard clean they wont live there. If bitten go to the ER, but dont worry. There has been not one spider bite death in california in 10 years.
John
Picture of a Brown Widow Spider
I live in Northwest Florida.. and about two weeks ago, I removed the tarp off my kayak (been sitting there for several months on a trailer) to get it ready for spring fishing. I worked several hours on it, cleaning etc… and I can’t even remember if it was Sat afternoon or Sunday morning, I had this HUGE itch on my left shoulder. I reached to scratch it and almost freaked out. I found 4 good size lumps within several inches, 2 right off my shoulder and 2 about an inch down my back and they were about an inch apart. In scratching, I removed the blisters. From then on.. things went downhill.
I had no idea what bit me but I knew it wasn’t good. I had previously aggravated an old injury in my neck and could move it a little more than half way, well after that bite, it got really bad… I couldn’t hardly move it at all, so made an appointment with my chiropractor. He sent me back to get a massage and the lady doing it said she had the exact same markings about 7 years ago on her chest and it was a spider bite. I never saw or felt anything biting me so I am still wondering. I did finally go to a Dr and he said I had Merser. Well.. I KNOW I didn’t from all the research online on spider bites. All I know is that something bit me and from looking at the picture, I think one of the widow’s got me because you can see two little spots and then their appears to be three poison pockets. After taking two strong antibiotics, I was finally able to remove the black parts and they are now healing, but still itching like crazy. I wish there were more pictures of widow bites so people might be able to figure out what bit them. It’s been a terrible two weeks.. with horrible neck, shoulder and back pain, terrible muscle spasms and chills and fever.
Oh.. before I started and a few days after the antibiotic, the burning continued in cycles. It burned like it was a crater and had a raw feeling to it, then a few minutes later, it started itching like there was no tomorrow then the pain. OMGGG.. it hurt like nothing I’ve felt before. It would continue doing this over and over again… until finally the meds kicked in and the cycle was broke. Now it just itches like crazy and it seems to have developed a rash around the bite (with the two little spots in the picture. The other 3 spots are healing and no longer bother me). I hope no one has to go through this ever… it’s been a terrible experience that I never hope to go through again.
Do black widow spiders live in Louisiana??? If they do i dont want to move there
I was bitten by a garden variety spider while watering my plants. I had an immediate bad reaction and took benedryl. Then went to the
Dr. who gave me a shot. I got better slowly.
I was just on the phone when a black widow appeared on my kitchen counter amid some papers. I quickly killed it, tho. it tried to get away.
It left an oozy clear sticky looking substance with about 5-6 small
specs in the ooze. The back was solid black and very round and large.
I live in N. San Diego.
Hate to say but that sounds like a brown recluse bite, those are recurrent, and the only real answer is to immediately excise the bite and affected tissue. Otherwise the symptoms reoccur and spread. It’s a nasty cycle that can spread with out limit. Personally I get plug in spider alarms, Krylon silicon caulking gel, and check for any entry points. Mostly we have tarantulas, scorpions, and rattlers. I have seen the traditional blk widows: WD-40 kills them. We also check for brown recluse, and violin spiders..
But I was looking for info because A friend in LA was bitten repeatedly by a spider that caused swelling around the eyes.. The Apartments were fumigated with something toxic enough that the tenets were sent away, and that worked. But it was 6mo ago and they are coming back.
By her description it is either black or brown, although I think the size of a Quarter or 50 cent piece is fear talking. What are the odds your Brn widow is the culprit? frankly, I am not sure it’s even the spider that is causing the symptoms. how common is swelling of the eyes as a singular symptom of frequent bites? She thinks they are biting here there. But has never seen actual bite marks, so I think its a result. Who ever heard of a spider that bites your closed eyes in the dark? If it were her lips and a rash I’d say Redivid….
deanna vanosdale
#4. October 7th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Sorry, no photo. 78 y.o. man living in Naples, FL was bitten by something about 4-6 mos. ago. Didn’t pay attention to it as it continued to grow w/ infection. Within 1 mo. after bite, lost sight in one eye (continuously going from one Opthimologist to another, test after test with NO specific results), then irregular heartbeat (back to emergency for meds. to regulate) now walking w/ use of walker. 2 mos. ago showed the bite to regular Dr. (now the size of “tearing a dollar bill in half”, quite deep w/ black center surrounded by progessive inner very pink to dark pink/red outer ring. Dr. drew circle around it stating: if it goes outside the circle he drew..your in trouble!? Thank you for comments and information (I believe he’s very much in d e e p trouble)
Rep: Pam Garcia #372. February 2nd, 2010 at 3:54 pm. -I feel so bad for you. And you’re Dr told you you had a Staph infection? Didn’t culture it to be sure?!
I hope he gave you antihistamines and a topical antistetic. Somtimes holistics help. I hope can find something works, good luck
I started seeing these brown widows around my apartment complex in August of 2009. Killed the few I saw around the trash cans and at the bottom of the building next to the foundation. Then low and behold a week later I started seeing them everywhere. Least to say I began the search and destroy method while waiting for the exterminator. I smashed 53 of them and about 20 egg sacs with the spikes on them. I work on pools and spas for a living and have now been finding them everywhere I go. If you see them I would definitely give the exterminator a call as well as some spider spray from your local hardware store. I have kids and would not want any of these cockroach-like breeders to infest my place.
If you see ONE then there are many more on the way. I have even been seeing them around other homes even during the winter season. Dec. thru Feb. 2010 so far.
I started seeing these brown widows around my apartment complex in August of 2009. Killed the few I saw around the trash cans and at the bottom of the building next to the foundation. Then low and behold a week later I started seeing them everywhere. Least to say I began the search and destroy method while waiting for the exterminator. I smashed 53 of them and about 20 egg sacs with the spikes on them. I work on pools and spas for a living and have now been finding them everywhere I go. If you see them I would definitely give the exterminator a call as well as some spider spray from your local hardware store. I have kids and would not want any of these cockroach-like breeders to infest my place.
If you see ONE then there are many more on the way. I have even been seeing them around other homes even during the winter season. Dec. thru Feb. 2010 so far. I swear I started having flashbacks of that movie Aracnaphobia.
This site has definitely helped me with some misinformation I received from our exterminator, who said all the banded widow shaped spiders in our yard was the male black widow species, in which BURBANK, CA is notorious for. Not only does my small nephew play outside, but the love of my life, my Russian blue cat, is a -natural hunter of all creepy crawlies. 1 night I noticed her torturing some insect, & I’m sure now it was a brown widow she spit out of her mouth cos I never understood why if it was a black widow, why didn’t it bite her. The brown’s more docile nature would explain It.
1 thing I can add is, for those terrified of them like me, instead of only hunting for them @ night to spray directly, is not to rid their webs, and saturated their webs with spider spray in. The daytime & by the AM, you’ll find many a widow carcass.
Also, any of those waiting on medical attention post-bite, are being foolish. If it was a indeed a widow bite, you only have amputation or respiratory failure in your future. Had 2 friends wait until the point of gangreen before heading to urgent care, not the way to go.
& those collecting in jars to relocate are just-crazy. They do not have a problem populating, no one wants them, & are too dangerous to keep as mere insect control. A daddy long legs can do the same thing without harming you.
If u handle your insect problems, the spiders will not need to infest your property. Use the yellow light bulbs for the porch, & do what u can to deter widow food, because widows don’t migrate