Help Identify a Spider

Two fanged spider shown up-close.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.

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  1. camilo lopez says:

    michelle..#72

    michelle you should be extremely carefull with this kind of spider thats a brown recluse spieder..you said u found it aroun the boxes of shoes in your garage.well those are common places where these kind of spiders will live..they also may be around clothes make sure check your clothe before wearing also they mostly like to habit dark places of the house this spiders does not build webs like u said u found it just on the floor..you should be very cautious with this type of spider the bite CAN be very severe.

    thank you for the picture

  2. camilo lopez says:

    rachel..#22

    i believe that is a brown recluse spider you should be extremly carefull witht that spider it can cause very painfull wond and its very dangerous too. its bite after 3 or 4 days will open like a round hole and it would probably get inffected very quick. the venom of this spider kills the cell of where it bit and eventually it will spread rapidly so i sujest..since your husban founded under the bed..check your closets garages bathtups boxes they like to habitate dark and smooth places but mostly dark. hope this lil piece of imformation helps and thanks for the picture.

  3. Sunny Stiles says:

    We live in Oregon and we have a spider outside our window. It has a large body with black and yellow striped narrow legs alot like question #7. What is it?

  4. Allan says:

    Hi,

    I moved into a 12-year old house in the Baltimore, MD area and I have found over a dozen of the following in my basement. Only in the basement, which is finished. I see no web, they just seem to pop up out of nowhere. They are about 2 inches long before they curl up.

    I have attached a couple of pictures of spiders below:

    Spider found by Allan

    Another spider found by Allan

    My family is not fond of these things at all and would (a) like to know just what they are and (b) how to get rid of them!.

    Thanks,

  5. Eva says:

    I am trying to identify if this is a poisonous spider or not, I was in Greece over the summer and there were several where I was staying. My family said it wasn’t harmful, but it looks pretty scary to me. Thanks!

    Spider found by Eva

    Smiles,

    Eva

  6. Robyn says:

    Please help!!!

    Is this spider dangerous? We found it under the BBQ & my husband wants to keep it.
    If it gets loose in my house will we die?

    Orange Spider

    Thanks,
    Robyn

  7. Dawn says:

    #87…that is a brown widow. I found one this morning in the lid of my rabbit cage, along with two egg sacs. They are easy to identify as brown widows if you see the egg sacs as the sacs have spikes on them…unlike other widows. They’re supposedly not as aggressive as the black widow, and will usually run away if disturbed. But I took no chances and squashed the two in the lid and both egg sacs.

  8. camy says:

    hey wendi it might be a spider bite all over her legs,she might be allergic to spiders that is why the bites are big.

  9. April.S says:

    Hi,
    I live in australia and saw a really strange spider that was fairly small, greenish yellow and had a diamond shape on its back.

    I saw it when I was mucking around in class and was sent out of the room.

    Please help me ID this spider if you can.

    Thanks

  10. Che says:

    To #70 I found the same spider in my backyard today. I have been trying to find any information on this unusual spider. I looked up #82’s name and that species information (crab spider) and pictures do not match our spiders. I am rather curious to find out if this little creature is in fact docile.

  11. Doug says:

    Sal, that is a widow, widows come in many different colors, so don’t be fooled, I’ve seen white widows down in GA. Ricky, and the others who have spiders that are building webs, those are wood spiders. Some of those look like different variations of wolf spiders. Also, not sure who said, but all these spiders are dangerous,and even can be fatal if you have a severe allergic reaction to a bite. Most of the time you will only get a small wheel where bit, and it will be sore and painful for a few days. Even in adults the widow is rarely fatal, but should still be treated. Good luck with the rest.

  12. Chris says:

    I have been getting a lot of these spiders coming in my house. I have no idea what kind it is and I have 2 kids and am afraid of it biting them. Can you please tell me what kind it is and how poisonous it is or if it is not and if it can only make us sick if it does bite.

    Spider found by Christina

    Thanks,
    Chris

  13. Amanda says:

    Spider found by Amanda

    The picture above is of spiders that live in my yard in Los Angeles. I think they are European Garden Spiders, but they seem extremely large compared to what I have read online. They live about 20-25 feet up in the air so I have had a difficult time determening their size.

    Please help….thanks so much!

    Amanda

  14. Sal says:

    Hi,

    My first instinct was a black widow, but it’s legs were tan and black, and it was not as big as some websites have described.

    Spider found by Sal

    We live in the coastal plain of South Carolina if that helps.

    Sal

  15. Jem Hern says:

    Re: Comment #20, from “Christy”:

    Christy, per our local Extension Service and our Fish and Game field expert on spiders, the banded spider in your picture looks to be an “Argiope trifasciata”, common name is Banded Argiope. Fundamentally non-poisonous to humans; unlikely to want to come into the house. You may be able to confirm this by taking your specimen to you local Extension Service. We had one of these on our deck two weeks ago (first week in October, 2007).
    From: Jem in Boise, Idaho

  16. Barbara says:

    Hello from Seward, Alaska

    We found this spider in the center of it’s orb web yesterday, October 19th. I noticed the web in the morning when I was cleaning the windows.It was attached to our front porch eave and about 12×12 in. We arrived home at 6pm and found this
    orange, yellow and tan round abdomened spider. It has a distinctive yellow cross on its back and furry segmented legs.

    Spider found by Barbara

    We figured he was about 2″ long…I mean huge!!!! It was SO BIG…I’ve been told that spiders don’t live in Alaska… I called my son to come get it for me and he laughed that it was a little bitty old spider. When he got here, it was a different story.

    He and his friend couldn’t believe it. When disturbed, it jetted up into a dark crack still attached by it’s silk. It was hard to kill and we aren’t REALLY sure that it died. My son managed to stun it with a stick and then his friend hit it with his shoe. It
    fell to the ground, but it was dark and we never found it. Their comment was, “that guy was so tough, he probably got up and walked away” Could it possibly have been living in the cracks of our house?

    How could it have gotten so big? Is it male or female? Why is its abdomen not elongated or oval like most spiders? Would it hatch eggs this time of year? I checked outside all over the ground and never saw a dead spider.

    Help!!

  17. angel says:

    to # 70 i knew right off the bat what kind of spider you had there there harmless i play with them they dont bite there very docile there floridians call them {The Crab Spider}

  18. Andy says:

    Hi Bad Spider Bites,

    Although I live in the Uk, the spider in the pictures attached came out of a pack of imported grapes (Australia or Madagascar).
    I took the photos through a glass jar wall with macro and no flash – just a torch.

    Spiders from Andy

    A friend who lived in Australia thinks it looks like a Redback Black Widow.
    The spider is safely in a jar and we think it’s all ok now.
    But, can you please help us identify it?

    Many thanks

    Andy

  19. Joan says:

    I killed a very large black, fuzzy spider today, it looked tarantula like but 1/4 of the size. I live in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was beside a backdoor where I babysit little ones and when I opened the door it ran in, so scared I stepped on it. Kind of looks like a mouse spider but it looked fuzzy. Any idea if it is poisonous or not?

  20. Lili says:

    I keep finding these very large orangey-red butted spiders around my house. It looks pretty hairy and has what looks like zebra stripes on the body and legs. I need to know what it is as yesterday it was crawling on my 4 year old.

  21. Tonya says:

    I live in Northern Indiana and found this spider in its web in the corner of the outside of my garage.

    Spider found by T Mcguire

    Can you please help me to identify? Thanks

  22. Sam Robb says:

    I saw this Jumping Spider. I didnt know what type it was, but it had a red abdomen. It had a small black diamond on top of the abdoman. It also had a red upper half of the spider. The body wasnt red. The hair was.

  23. Arlene says:

    Hello,
    My husband got bit about 2 days ago on his upper thigh by what we assumed was a spider or fire ant bite. There are 3 flat red marks on his thigh (bites ?) and his entire thigh is swollen and sensitive to touch, feels somewhat like tingling (starting to get painful). There is no pus or anything of that nature. Although he will be getting treated for it, just curious to what might have bit him.
    Thanks

  24. Carolyn says:

    Hello.
    Did anyone postively identify Rachel’s #22 spider? I’m no expert, but I don’t think it looks at all like a brown recluse. I was thinking more like a wolf spider???

    I caught the same guy in my basement and have seen several of his friends. They are usually on the floor by the wall. No webs. I live in a western suburb of Chicago.

    Thanks!

  25. Kathy says:

    Spider found by Kathy

    Above, you’ll find a picture of a spider and I am wondering what type it was. I have not seen this spider before and was just curious as to its origin and background. It has a very shiny gold main body and a silvery colored head, black stripes on gold legs. Please let me know if you have info on this type of spider.

    Thank you!

  26. Michelle says:

    Hello,

    Could you please help me identify this spider. I live in the East Bay area
    of Norther California. I have many trees and mountains around me. I found this spider dead on the floor in my garage. (I spray for bugs, I am sure that is why he was dead)

    I found one of these the other day under my garage can when I was bringing it in from the street, it was just sitting under the can on the pavement, needless to say I squished it.

    Spider Michelle 2

    The spider in the picture above was found this morning. I would like to know if I need to worry about it, it was near where we keep all our shoes in the garage. I did not see a web it was just on the cement floor.

    Thank you for your help,

    Michelle

  27. Sarah says:

    Hello Cindy,
    I also live in Northern California.Sacramento area.
    I was wondering if the spider you posted was brownish red.
    Because I keep finding the same shaped spiders in my house.About three a day.They do not make any webs though.I am worried about my children.I called a bug guy out for tomorrow.I saved it to show him.If you find out what yours is please let me know and i will save your photo and ask the bug guy about yours too.Thank you,Sarah

  28. Karen says:

    Karen found this spider

    I found this spider on a web in the back yard. I Live in Florida and it was hanging from a grapefruit tree. If you could identify it that would be great. I’ve never seen anything like it!

  29. Cindy says:

    Thank you for posting BadSpiderBites.com site. Very informative and I enjoy reading and viewing others information also.

    A couple of years ago one dog was bit in the mouth by a black widow. The dog liked to eat bees and found the large sick widow on the patio after I had sprayed insecticide the previous day. She bite into it thinking it was a bee. It bit her on the inside of the upper lip. Her head swelled very large and she had trouble breathing. Veterinarian emergency told me to use ice packs and Benadryl. Within a couple of hours the swelling began to subside and the dog survived. So anytime I find a spider I can’t identify in the yard, I have concerns it could pose a threat to the welfare of my pets . . or me!

    For the past couple of years I began noticing black spiders making webs in rock areas of my yard. The web consists only of a small matted area on the top of the rock. I am familiar with many of the spiders in the area, but haven’t been able to identify this spider so I have been killing them when I flush them out after watering because I have dogs in the yard. The spiders seem to be very hardy and I have squashed many!

    Now that the weather is now cooling down in so. California, the spiders are looking for warmer spots. This one found it’s way into one of the dog’s beds. It isn’t as large as some I’ve killed (about 1/2″ from fangs to end of abdomen, 3/4″ from front legs to end of abdomen). The larger ones have some hair on the abdomen & look somewhat like a young tarantula at about 2″ in length; front legs to end of abdomen.

    Spider found by Cindy

    If you can identify the spider above and let me know how toxic these spiders are, I would be grateful.

  30. Lynne W says:

    Hi, I just read #19 post and I have just seen the same type of spider in my roses. I live in Northern Ca. It was black with three orange-yellow dots on its back was furry and very weird looking because its eyes were very strange. I found two of them and they moved their position to keep me in their line of sight as I tried to get a better look.

    What spider does this sound like? It isn’t a black widow.
    tks

  31. Ricky says:

    I found this spinning a web between a tree and my house this morning..it’s between the size of a nickel and a quarter. Here are a couple of photos I took.

    Spider found by Ricky

    Photos were taken in California. What kind of spider is it? Thanks~

  32. Debbie says:

    I am looking for picture and id name of a spider that is black kind of furry and has 2 red furry markings on it’s back. I have been through lots of photos here and have not been able to find it. Any help would be appreciated.

  33. Marcia says:

    I found a spider about the size of a nickel on the ceiling of my outside entry door light. I put the light on every evening before going to bed.
    It has a gray colored back with a perfect white looking cross on it’s shell or back. I live in North Washington, and it is very wet here. Please help me identify this spider; i.e. if it is poisonous or not, thank you.

  34. rick says:

    Hi,

    I found 2 of these so far in my yard. They are about the size of my thumb not including the legs. They are much larger than the regular spiders I have seen in my yard.

    Spider found by Rick

    I’m curious as to what these are as i have never seen them before and am concerned about my kids being bitten by them. This one in particular formed a web in front of my garage entrance in a matter of hours . It was a large web that I almost walked into.

    Any thoughts as to what type it is.

    I’m located in Toronto Ontario Canada and they were found in September.

    Thanks
    rick

  35. Dennis Richards says:

    I found a spider almost like the one of Lisa’s on #50 just the butt was brown solid color. I was bitten 10 years ago in the night. It swelled up like a half of egg 3 in a row on my left arm. 10 mins later they were like big mosquito bites the next 3 days my arm was paralyzed. Also there is an ingredients list for a mix for brown recluse bites you should be able to find these ingredients at a natural pharmacy.

  36. Sonda says:

    Hello, I caught this spider as it was crawling up my wall in Western Oregon.

    Spider found by Sonda

    Any idea of what type of spider it may be? Thanks!

  37. James Mc. says:

    I have a different kind of question for anyone, I also live in Washington state (eastern) and see a ton of spiders on a regular basis. I have seen and caught countless black widows, wolf spiders, but we are not “supposed” to have brown recluse’s in this state. I captured a “HUGE” spider in my garage in early spring this year (perhaps April) It moved with amazing quickness for the size of it. If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead a long time ago, but my question is “How long will most spiders live if captured and “fed?”” BTW, this spider is now larger than a half dollar when crouched, and larger than a silver dollar when streched out and walking. It is quite dark and in the right light, his legs look like tanslucent dark blue, no distinguising marks slightly fuzzy body, i will work on a photo. Thanks for ANY info,

    James

  38. virginia says:

    i live in hiawassee, ga . the spider i have lookes exactly like pic # 7. do i kill it or do i move it? i really do need to know i dont want someone in the house to get hurt. FYI i hate spiders….

  39. Rachel says:

    Hi,

    I don’t know much about spiders, but when I saw this one last year in my yard, I thought it would make a good subject for my camera. And then suddenly it occurred to me today that I should find out what kind of creature I have lurking around here. I have included two pictures below:

    Spider 1 by Rachel

    I have a few more shots of it, but I chose these because they seemed to show the most detail.

    Spider 2 by Rachel

    These were taken on a warm day in South Carolina, if that’s helpful.

    Thanks,

    Rachel

  40. Stacey says:

    Hello,
    I live in New York, and I’ve seen a lot of spiders around my house recently, and its really freaking me out. Their quite small, maybe a inch? Their white/clear with a black abdomen butt thing…I dont know if their poisonous or not, and could not find any of the to the website/pictures I’ve been too. I’ve seen 10+ in my house, and their making nests everywhere. I’m very scared of spiders so if anyone could help me identify them it’d be greatly appreciated!!! Sorry, no picture. The camera broke and their always in a tight space to get a good picture. :[

  41. Barb says:

    I just came across your website and see that you offer to identify spiders.

    My nephew found these spiders in the basement of his new home. I’m not sure if they were found near or in a web.

    They live in Parker, CO.

    Spiders from Barb

    (He put the spiders on a sticky mouse trap pad after finding them – that is what you see them sitting on in the picture).

    Thank you!

    Barb

  42. Joanna. says:

    Ok so today my mom was talking about how she found a bunch of baby spiders on her bus and she killed them all. I just got a call from her asking me to look up spiders. She found the mother of the babies dead under her seat and said it was a brown color with an orange dot on it stomach and had a bulbous abdomen and we live in Florida and the only type that comes to mind are widow spiders but I could be wrong.

    I was wondering if someone could tell me what type it is cause she is wondering and now so am I.

  43. haley says:

    #32 and #48– DONT KILL IT its a verryyy harmless female garden spider and they are harmless and dont bite unless u give them a reason to bite u!!

  44. lona says:

    I dont have pictures but my sister was cleaning my older father’s home helping to sell it. She got bit by a brown recluse.
    It was THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. She had a hole in her foot the size of 50 cent piece. All the skin around was turning black.
    Her eyes swollen shut. She must have went to 10 doctors who kept telling her to stay on steroids and relax. Then she got SHINGLES on her face and in her mouth. (This all for being a nice person)
    It took her every bit of 6 months to get better. It was terrible.
    If you have flu symtoms…get to the ER right away.

  45. Rebecca Duncan says:

    Also, pertaining to my story of #49, my Mom read me some remedies yesterday, one saying to using baking soda and water paste, to pull the poison out. Also, it mentioned vinegar too use, and even a meat tenderizer seasoning. I heard that olive oil is great for mosquito bites. I think I will try the baking soda today.

  46. Rebecca Duncan says:

    Hi, there, my husband and I live in Colorado, we believe he has been bit by a spider, last Monday he was having weird sensation on the one side of his head, we called the doctor that had removed a tumor from his optic nerve back in 05, they had done a lot of bone removal to get to where they needed, so we thought maybe something was going on with the nerves in this area.

    In the next couple of days we thought, what looked like a bite above his eyebrow appeared. Then, last Thursday at work, he had a headache and pain around his eye, and just so tired. We were going to head to the Doctor, but he thought perhaps let’s wait, as we were not sure; now I wish we had done so, I want him to get well so bad.

    We live in an area where we only have ER on the weekends, so if he had showed signs, perhaps bad fever, rash and any other alarming reaction we would have headed there. So, we are now waiting for Monday. Well, today is Sunday, he does great when taking Tylenol around the clock, but as soon as a dosage period is up he is in much pain. Benadryl didn’t seem to work. Friday was a bad day in the evening, Saturday was better, with Tylenol, my husband was being humorous and able to play with our 3 yr. old son a bit, of course watched football ;)

    Today, he woke up with a bad headache, and the bite area, really looks like that picture of a 36 hour bite. The bump seems to be getting bigger, not by too much, but I can see it happening. So, our plan is the doctor tomorrow, would they describe antibiotics for a spider bite? I’ve been doing soapy hot compressions, and antibiotic ointment. Would another ointment work? We will set up an MRI too here very soon, because this bite has only been affecting the side it happened, within his head and neck, but due to this being on his surgical side, we are worried that it is disturbing the area of his eye that had the tumor.

    We give so many thanks to our Dr’s that performed the surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, in Detroit, MI. The tumor he had could possibly re occur, so this bite on the same side has alarmed us.

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