Did you know that in Florida, there are four types of Widow Spiders? They are the Northern Black Widow spider, the Southern Widow Spider, the red Widow Spider and the Brown Widow Spider which will discuss in more detail below.
Although the venom of these spiders are not as toxic as the Black Widow, they are still very painful and can cause serious injury if not treated.
Because brown widow spiders (latrodectus geometricus) can vary from light tan to dark brown or almost black and may have differing markings such as white, black, yellow, brown and even orange on the back of their abdomen, they are very hard to recognize! The picture below is of the red widow spider.
On the bottom of the abdomen you’ll notice the hourglass marking but it will be colored yellow or orange. The Egg Sac of the brown widow spider is not that same as other widows and has pointed projections much like the old sea mines.
If you have pictures of this spider, or believe you have been bitten by a Brown Widow, please post your comments below and send the pictures to the email address located on the bottom of this page.
Wow maybe I’m sensitive to the Brown Widow bites……I got a bite on my hand (no mark just slightly red if any I can’t see one really) but intense aching pain like I had broken it – the only thing that works is soaking it in Epson salts or taking Advil. It has been two weeks and I think today I can finally use my hand! Yay! That one person is right if it bites you on a tendon or muscle watch out! They love plastic furniture or really any patio chair (I am constantly having to check) they can suddenly appear and be there with an egg within 3 days of not looking – these guys are amazing. Please check your under your cars too at night they will always be hanging out where you can see them. My symptoms were a mild fever, intense migraine and a bit of nausea. Be careful in your yard when you see a ball of old leaves etc. since their webs are so sticky and strong – that ball will hide up to 5 eggs sometimes! The mother is usually hiding in there too! They do tend to build a kind of tight white barrier web next to the egg and hide like a tiny ball in a corner (they actually will drop and roll out) just use a long stick and check those corners for the parent before getting the egg off there.
I forgot to say I am also from Burbank, Ca. We are being over-run here!
Just had the privilage to watch a mudwasp kill, pull out of web, drop and after about 3 minutes find a brown widdow spider. Very interesting.
I was letting my dog out last night and something bit me on my leg it only burned and now it hurts LIKE HELL!!!!!!! I have found a brown widow under an outside chair and now it’s DEAD……LOL who has the last laugh now??????Ocala FL..P.S I killed her with RAID ant and roach spray,AND IT WORKS……
Hi,
I’m in Burbank, ca and I found three eggs sacs in my tankless water heater 4 days ago. I mentioned them to the hubby who said they where spores. Didn’t think much of it but wasn’t 100% satisfied. Today,Saturday my daughter was outside playing with the sprinklers (not near the tank) and as I walked by I noticed why seemed to be thick web near the “spores”. I googled white spider eggs and sure enough my suspicion was cOnfirmed. My husband sprayed them with big killer but I think they need to be squiched. Will the spray work?
I live in Tallahassee, FL, and I had a lot of these living in my back yard around the pool. I found thier strange egg sacks first under the lid to the skimmer on the pool. We have three plastic chairs that sit by the pool, and i noticed they had webs around the legs. When I flipped them over, each chair had multiple egg sacks under it, and there were a total of five huge brown widows tending to the webs. They were all close to 2 inches across from leg to leg. I killed all the spiders with a stick, and gathered up all the carcasses and egg sacks and soaked them with lighter fluid and set them on fire (more for my entertainment than anything else). I was sitting in those chairs on a daily basis!
I live in Kansas, and a part that is infested with brown recluses, (on average I kill about 25 in my home each year, one year i killed over 50, 7 in one night, and this in normal for most people around here) it is the most common spider in this part of the state. Anyway, last year we had a really cold winter, one of top 3 coldest in 100 years, cold enough that it killed most of the spiders, last year we had very very few recluses (i killed 3 all year year, though 1 was 3 inches from my face!), however we then went on to have one of the top 3 hottest summers in 100 years, and by the end of the summer, the first offical report of a Brown Widow migrating up here was confirmed. So, this winter we had NO winter at all, (in the top 2 warmest in the last 100 years), and now it is spring.
Well, still very few recluses, though I have killed a couple and a relative has near infestation levels again, but about a month ago I noticed a baby spider by the bottom of my front door. it was a baby but it looked like a widow, so i captured it and kept it in a jar, til i could positively id it as a brown or black. A month later, with no food, the thing was still alive, and growing. So, I id’d it and it appears to be a male brown widow. Then in the past two days I have killed two of these things, then tonight i found 1 that was big enough i could capture it (and that was fun, recluses are easy to capture compared to these little brats) and id’d it as a female brown widow.
what scares me is these things are babies, and I’ve got 4 in plain veiw, and I know how prolificly they breed, so it makes me nervous, I am used to recluses, I have come to accept them, these things are new and scary.
Point is, they are now in Kansas, and probablly here to stay. Good news is they are not as bad as black widows, but I am afraid I am going to be seeing more. And what is really scary is that all 4 babies have been found inside.
I’ve had them swing out towards me when I got near the egg sac. The local chemical store sold me a bottle of potent spider killer ($150 for about 12 oz) and I spray the outside perimeter of my home and pool screen every six months. You use .5 oz per gal of water to dilute it in a sprayer can. Recently, the very small widow spiders have been blowing through the pool screen and into my pool. They get inside my swim suit and bite. Leaves an itchy red welt larger than a mosquito bite and last for a week. I’m guessing the larger widow spiders would leave a larger wound. I’ve been looking for photos of a brown widow spider bite but have not found any yet on the Internet. Have a bite on my back right now and it itches like heck.
I live on Marco Island. About a month ago I discovered a large brown widow web that stretched about 25 feet from a tree in our yard to the neighbor’s house. I noticed it would climb up into the tree during the day and every time it rains or the wind got strong it would rebuild in about two days but one of my friends destroyed the entire web with sticks and it hasn’t returned in about two weeks. It may not have built a web, but we had to kill it the other day when it decided to munch on a dead lizard in my bathroom. At least it didn’t bite me :/
today was working on the front yard and when i was getting the water hose to take around to the side of the house i notice a brown widow spider crawling on the bricks of the flower bed . i sprayed it with indoor and outdoor spray but don’t know if i killed it .it ran real quick . my concern was letting my cat outside .
Hi! We need help! We live in Florida, about 20 miles east of Daytona Beach, and have been inundated with brown widows!!!! We have 2 young children and the spiders seem to really enjoy hanging out and building their webs in the bottom of their toys, swings, and chairs (all plastic by the way) outside. I’ve killed a total of 7 since Saturday and one of the webs had already hatched and had tons of little brown widows scattering. Anything we can do to take care of them and protect our little ones? Any advice is welcome!!!
I have nvr heard of them before, but found two of them under the steps and an egg sack. KILLED THEM ALL.
Live in Kenner, Louisiana and just found a brown widow in our back yard under my 5 year olds table. Thankfully, we were cleaning/scrubbing everything from top to bottom and found it along with a couple of egg sacks. Needless to say, I’m freaked out and don’t want to go out back again! But knowing my luck, I may have one or two inside the house as well.
Sleeping with one eye open tonight. That’s for sure.
Brown Widow spiders are in Island of Kauai, HAWAII!!!!! When we first moved in the house in the beginning, our carport was fine over 2 yrs until I started notice big spider with bright red-orange hour glass shape only at night! I kinda knew its like black widow style spider, but the spider is not black. Just one wierd spider I never knew, then couple months later, it came more more hourglass spiders under kids toys, bike, n wagon. I have became more concern for me, two little daughters, gf, and friends’ safety. I began to research about those spiders. I was oh my gosh, brown widow spiders are poisons!! I killed over 20 trophy brown widow spiders with sacs!!! And over 30 small tiny babies brown widows. That’s 2nd round. At first round I didn’t even notice, but second round I knew bout them. Some are very aggressive n run fast toward to you. So I had to get rid of clutters boxes n toys out of carport. Hope it will be a lot less than before. I will hunt them down every month at night!!! No mercy for them!!!!
Just a note, Vee’s photo does NOT show a brown widow. The spider she collected is a harmless orb weaver (trust me, I’ve found plenty of them). he easiest identification is through the egg sacs, as you can see they look like spiky mines. Brown widows do NOT make orb shaped webs. Brown widows are more apparent than black because ether will stay in more urban areas. They also have a nasty habit of hiding around outdoor patios and recycling/trash bins. They are less aggressive than black widows, and will often curl up and drop out of their webs if threatened. However, their venom may be just as toxic. there is at least one case of a brown widow bite hospitalization.
We live in southeast Louisiana where we have been seeing black and brown widows. We saw and killed 5 browns this afternoon in about 30 minute time span. We are finding them on a regular basis. Is there a spray that works in an area? Or do you have to see the spider to spray it?
Found this nasty thing in my front door up in t he corner. She jumped out and tryed to run away but I stepped on it 😀
Well, I just found my first brown widow spider. I wasn’ sure what it was at first, but after observing it from the underside of my outdoor lawn chair with it’s nest, cozily placed into the corner including it’s cream color spikly egg sac amidst the silky threads of its’ nest, I was convinced of my discovery. I had seen a black widow once about 10 years ago under lawn furniture as well. For this reason, I always check under lawn furniture before I sit down. I wanted to take a picture, but felt that I better kill it before it could get away. It ended up smeared to badly for a picture.
To Theresa that lives south of Sarasota. I lived in the same area as you for 30 years and just started seeing brown widows last year. They started around my detached garage, but today we found one inside. I had been spraying the ones on the garage with a spray I found at home depot that says it’s for spiders. Not sure what I am using inside yet.
Just thought you should know that they are probably inside by now. They seem to move to new locations very quickly. The good news is they aren’t aggressive. Check under furniture and in cabinets. I think the easiest way to find them is to watch for their fine webs. Good luck in your hunt… That’s what I have planned for tomorrow!
I am in Ft. Lauderdale Florida and there is a brown widow spider right outside the window of my office. I noticed the spider about 6 days ago and this morning when I looked out the window I noticed an egg sac.
I live in Fresno and i found several brown widows last summer in my garden. the web was frm rim of planter to the ground i saw the round bottom thinking it was a black widow NOT it was brown and orange hour glass.
They will play dead and they dont mind other spiders. They are faster than a black widow. I found 1 egg. be carefull they setup anywhere fast check before touching.
I live in Orange, Ca. I just found one this evening under the rack my hose is on near my front door. It looks exactly like a brown widow picture I found on the internet. I had no idea there was a brown species.
Last year we housed a black one on our porch. Only saw her at night, and she behaved. One day we found her legs and knew she had passed. Tonight we killed the brown one.
To Angela in Costa Mesa, CA: You must kill that spider – you are not doing any one any favors by letting it live. Spray that area with Raid (I like the lemon fresh scent) and then look for other hiding places and spray them too. You do not hear of Brown Widow spider bites too often – at least I don’t – but the potential for serious harm is there. Kill them All – they are not endangered 🙂 and there are PLENTY of them that we don’t need them in our neighborhoods.
I care for friends’ dogs and I see plenty of Brown Widows (more so than black) in yards around here. Specifically at residences in wher I have worked in Anaheim, Placentia, and Westminster – but they are everywhere in So Cal, Costa Mesa is no exception.
I just was at my friend’s house in Westminster and cleared about a dozen spiny egg sacs out of the handle area of two of those city-issued trash recepticles. Widows LOVE those spots. In my spraying, I did see two Brown Widows. (One had a live bee it was beginning to ready for dinner. I would have loved to have videotaped it, but I was pressed for time).
Once I put my hand on the front side handle area to re-position the trash container and felt something odd. I pulled my hand out and had webbing and a sleepy/lethargic spider attached to my fingers. I immediately shook my hand and the webbing and spider fell off. That is how I discovered that they love those spots. This occurred in Anaheim and at that house and outside area where the dogs were at, I pretty much eradicated the Black Widow population: Spraying Raid weekly in their favorite areas. (No, I am not dellusional, I know that there may have been many more in deep hiding – well out of the way – but I am not concerned about those 🙂
Don’t know any alternatives to chemicals, but I’ve found Raid – the Ant and Roach version – to work quite well. The lemon scent variety leaves the area smelling nice, though don’t think it is “safe” to breath.
I live in Costa Mesa, Ca. and was walking up to my front door and noticed HUGE brown widow on its web between the step and the rail and my cat is only a year old and is an indoor cat, but i like to let her hang out on the porch during the day and now I’m totally terrified if this brown widow could harm my cat? Does anyone have any knowledge on this issue? Please and thanks!
@James Whitfield
I am not certain but that maybe Lyme Disease and not a brown recluse bite. does she have muscles spasms unexplained arthritis or aches and pains and nerve issues like lightening pains or pins and needles or burning pain that seems to not have any explaining. migraines that no one seems to care or connect to the rash when it flares up or maybe even when it isn’t there?
Cause a brown recluse bite if done right the area of muscle will have to be cut out sometimes or the infection can be so bad that it will get in blood stream but not after that many years my bite I think though I was told was a brown recluse I think was a tick and Lyme disease cause all the issues I have now that no one will listen to me.
…17 years later…
I was pregnant and the hospital told me they could give me antibotics but not a antidote. I didn’t know what that meant at the time but I believe now I do and now my kid is 17 and has had issues too like mine and hurt the same and no one cares. its tough cause the damage is done and can’t be proven but if you are still having the rash then maybe you can have it tested to see and treated before permanent damage is done.
its not fun and hurts a hell of a lot I can’t even work now from the pain. but I have never heard of a brown recluse bite lasting that many years. now a brown widow maybe cause its a mix of black and brown recluse so what it can do is truly unknown for time frame. I would gather not many though have it come back year after year that is why I think its Lyme Disease. but I am not a doctor so have it checked out is all I can say by a professional and good luck.
Hello, I am in NY we usually don’t have Brown Widows but I had lived in Texas and MS and moved up here 8 years ago and I had a friend that came back and forth from TX for years up till March of 2011 so the spiders I see around my apt could be brown widows she accidentally brought up in her trips unaware. or it maybe some new varied breed for NY I don’t know but it has really freaked the hell out of me I was biten by a brown recluse years ago and so I know that pain and hell all too well and don’t look foreward to a brown widow bite.
not one bit from what I have read about them I don’t have a camera so I can’t take a pic but ours are brown with dark brown to black spots on the joints and grey back sacs with brown marks down the backs and on the bottom it is a brown hourglass and grey it looks like some orange on the top but it is very light so I am not sure I have looked and can’t find any that look exactly the males are darker brown with black joints and little brown backs but I haven’t been able to preserve a male yet.
I have seen them around my doorways under my stairs and in corners under my storage bins and in corners and hell I have come close to getting bitten to many times to count thank god they are not aggressive and run from me two came out of my shoes one day one out my shirt I pulled out of my dresser and one fell on me while sitting in my chair under the stairs.
I have preserved one to give to my bugman to have it analyzed this Friday to make sure I am certain its a hybrid but if its a NY varied or one brought up from Texas I don’t know yet. but thought I would let you know and when I get a yeah it is a brown widow or no its not I will let you know.
I live just south of Sarasota Florida. I was just sweeping the millions of spiderwebs out of the lanai and came across 3 brown widow spiders and a dozen spiny egg sacs… I’m more than slightly concerned.. I haven’t seen any IN the house, just around it today (I just moved in 6 months ago) Should I be scared??
I found one today in my flower pot. Actually I found the 3 or 4 eggs sacks on a leaf then I turned the pot over (this pot had a rim on it) and found the spider with another 6 egg sacks . I had been keeping this plant in my house in a spare room for the winter.
I manage a self storage business in central Georgia. Brown Widows are everywhere here. Just a word of caution if you have a storage unit. Beware.
Brown spider, I don’t think it’s a brown widow (no obvious markings) Sending you two pictures…. Would LOVE your opinion since this is the third one I’ve found around my house. Live in Trenton Florida and I can not find a picture that matches these spiders…. Thanks, Tim
I found a spider appearing to be some kind of widow spider
Similar to the brown widow, Tan in color, striped legs, and a dark brown hour glass on its belly. Any clue what it might be?
One of my friends was sitting at home and said he saw a spider crawling out of the corner of his eye so he got up and caught it with a pair of pliers and he took a picture and posted it to Facebook. This spider is very ugly looking and he said he did some research on the internet and its a brown widow spider.
I think its a good thing he caught it before it bit anyone in his house, but he took it outside instead of killing it. I think he should have killed it but its a really nasty looking spider and when I saw the picture of it I told him that it was creepy. I have a thing with spiders. They creep me out.
We live in Huntington Beach and we found these spiders in our backyard including on the children’s outside play things (bikes, swings, wagons, climbing structure, under the lip of toys, you name it.) If anyone is interested in a natural remedy, I’ve use Simple Green and liberally spray the stuff into the cracks and crevices of the toys where they like to hide and just waited for the spiders to come crawling out and then I squash them. I also use a wind-resistent lighter to burn the egg sacs to ensure they don’t hatch (the eggs are really strong.) Works great and I don’t mind spraying the toys down because Simple Green is natural and non-toxic, and kills the spiders.
Hey: KRISTI your spider looks like a wolf-spider mixed with brown-widow just because of the red color on his butt yours might be a female spider because its fat maybe, you should look up wolf-spiders and you’ll see they both look the same
We see a lot of Brown widow spiders in Orlando, FL and occasionally black widows. This brown widow made a home very quickly in front of our doggie door when we stopped using it for a few days after one of my dogs injured his leg. I sprayed it with spider spray, but it quickly ran away. Not sure if I killed it or not since it ran away so quickly.
Found this brown widow today in Darien, Ct. It was cold and the spider was quite inactive. Found several of the spiky egg sacks as well.
DeRidder, Louisiana
I work at a liquor store here in rural West-Central Louisiana. I had a lot of cases of brandy half-pints in my back seat that I was transporting from one store to another for my boss. As I was bending into the back seat of my car to pick up some cases, I noticed EIGHT of the Brown Widows’ spiked, white egg sacks in the hinge of my car door. I haven’t noticed any of the spiders themselves, but where there’s smoke there’s fire and where there are spider eggs there are spiders. I’m going to spray the egg sacks directly with Raid Wasp and Hornet killer as soon as I get home (man I’m dreading that drive, as I’m afflicted with a terminal case of the willies where spiders are concerned), since I’ve found that to be a very effective pesticide in the past.
I want to be THOROUGH, though, so I’m considering using a fumigator inside my car. I don’t know if this is a great idea, but I can’t think of any other way to eradicate ALL of these dangerous (and creepy) spiders.
Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I wondered onto this site trying to find info to back up whether it’s possible for a female black widow “not to have” ANY markings. I have so many black widows around my house that I began studying them. I’m at the point I can id them them by body alone regardless of size. I still catch them to study them under a magnified light. I caught 2 today, same location. Obvious body structure & color. They don’t however have ANY markings on their back or abdomen.
I’ve read several other posts and thought I’d share information I learned from a friend that is a exterminator / wildlife specialist. He states that red widows; although still rare and hard to find a lot of info about; are considered the most venomous of the widow species, 2nd- brown widow (which is also more aggressive) and 3rd – black widow. With all widow species; the female is the one that carries the “venomous” bite. All spiders are venomous to a degree or couldn’t kill their prey. The male widows carry no more of a venomous bite than that of other spiders. Male and female blacks look completely different in size; markings and body structure. I’ve captured well over 40 in the 3 yrs in my house and studied them all. In my opinion they are fairly docile unless aggressively provoked.
Lastly, not to offend anyone, but I found a few of the posts concerning. 1) who knowingly lets a spider continue to bite them for id purposes. Grab something close at hand and capture it. Once contained in a closed container you can safely study as long as you want. As an EMT of 20 years I can’t tell you of the jeopardy you put yourself in by allowing that; let alone the extremely painful symptoms. 2) For the person that called the police for a widow spider. Tell me your joking. That’s not what serve and protect means; and not responding definitely isn’t being lazy. As far as your dog; pit bull or not, dogs are just as capable of being bitten regardless of breed.
well i thought i seen it all…
well found a black widow in my apartment, then a week later found what i thought looked like a brown widow i said no way a brown widow but look at the legs their kinda like bony to look at just seems like they would have no problem putting their legs around a 6 sided object
I was biten by a brown widow spider just over a week ago on Monday 11/28/2011; it bit me by my ankle. The bite mark has made changes through the days. The actual bite felt like someone was directly burning me with a cigarette, so I went to look at what was making my ankle burn, and to my surprise it was a spider. I allowed it to keep biting me, so I could identify it, and it hurt badly; I really wanted to make sure what it was, so I could tell the Dr., so he could tell me what I should do, mind you I was just diagnosed with pneumonia 2 days prior. He ordered me to wash my ankle thoroughly and prescribed cephlexin. Stupidity on my part, I have not taken the antibiotic.
Anyhow, about an hour after the bite, I started to feel pain on my right side of my body: ankle, right thigh, butt cheek, lower abdomen, right side of my back, and even a headache on the right side of my head. Today is Tuesday 12/6/2011, and my right side of my lower back still ache; my ankle still has pain like I sprained it, and I have had a puss head on the spider bite a few times (meaning I had a puss head on it 2 days after the bite, and my husband popped it; then, the puss came back the end of the day, and he popped it again, and it keeps coming back after he pops it). Today, there is a new purplish halo surrounding the area I was biten. Has anyone ever heard a that from a brown widow?
I live close to El Dorodo park in Long Beach, Ca and periodically find these fairly large dark brown spiders. They are usually hidden but they run very very fast. The thing that really creeped me out was a week or so ago I put my son in his crib and a spider began running back and forth on the mattress. I always shake out the blanket so I’m not sure if it flew out of there or was hiding next to the wall but it wouldn’t leave. My son has been bitten before by what I assume are spiders and I would really like to know what I am dealing with. The look very angular and mean.
Also, I drove home and there was a very large similar looking lighter spider with a body shape just like a giant black widow. It was hanging down from our tree and hit my windshield. I tried to take some pictures but the lighting makes it hard to see the color. Either way does anyone have advice? I don’t really want to use pesticides but am afraid my children will be bitten.
OMG I just found one in my backyard. I tried to hit it with the tip of my towel but it quickly ran up in to the corner of the wall. It sat there for a good two minutes giving me the evil eye. I went in to the house to call my next door neighbor. When he arrived we both went outside with a can of bug spray but, the spider was gone. I am now waiting for my husband to get home, he will have to find this thing or else we are dead tonight, the way that spider gave me the evil eye I am sure of it. The kids will have to stay with their grandparents tonight. I called the Police department over two ours ago, they tried to pawn me off to Animal control and it has been an hour since they promised to come around.
I know this brown widow wont mess with my dog ( he’s a Pitbull ) but Im not risking my dog’s life because the police are to lazy to protect us.
Does any body have any suggestions?
Please H.E.L.P!!!!!!!
Hello, everybody apparently here in southern cali we have an infestation, I went down the homestore (depot) to buy a 2 gal canister for $14.99 and a concentrated can of poison for $8.99 got home used it, and these brown widows fell death within minutes a whole bunch it must of been at least 30-40 the product worked just fine better than orkins which were charging $60 a month and would take care of the problem, with $25 I took care of it and there’s still some left waiting for the next wave of brown widow if they dare.
i live in Savannah, GA and i have brown widows everywhere in my garage. i went on a spider killing spree and found that bleach will eat away the spider web and kill the babies.
I live in Southeast Florida, and I have seen the Brown Widow in the window of my neighboring apartments, one on one side of me, and one on the other. I thought I noticed the hourglass makings, but was puzzled by the brownish color. Then I did an Internet look-up and sure enough, thanks in part to both the look of the spider and egg sacs, I learned for sure they are the Brown Widow.
I told my apartment managers to be on the look out for them, but they don’t seem to be all that worried as they are still there. Well, I know I have done my part. Hopefully nothing will happen to anyone because of them.
When our lanai on the West Coast of FL became infested with small brown spiders (w/hourglass markings), we contacted the FL Dept of Agriculture. They explained that the egg sacks (which can produce up to 400 young) and look like little velcro balls had been borne aloft on the upper winds of Hurricane Andrew from Africa. The spiders then rapidly moved across the FL peninsula.
Once we became aware of them, we began to see the egg sacks everywhere! The Dept of Ag said they are smaller and non-aggressive, but their bite is more toxic than a black widow’s. We later heard that Ag never publicized this infestation widely so as not to inhibit tourism. Am sorry to learn that these nasty, venomous critters have moved across the US. As a person who suffers from arachnophobia, I have since returned to NY. Absolutely love the snow and ice, knowing that I don’t have to be on the lookout for the brown widows!
I have heard and seen on the internet conflicting facts of weather the brown widow or black widow is more poisonous…I really would like to know since i have no car nor live within walking distance to a hospital. I
have 4 children and we just found a brown widow yesterday right outside our door on the frame outside. my kids are not afraid of bugs though I warn them here in Florida bugs are more likely to be poisonous then when we lived in NY, also this thing was HUGE!
the abdomen alone was just shy of the size of a nickle. but it had the definite red hour glass on its underside (haha fun trying to get my arachnophobic self to turn it over!!!)
I’m in Torrance, CA and these little bastards are EVERYWHERE.
If I take a flashlight and walk around my house at night I can count hundreds…literally every two feet. They hang upside down in their web which is usually about a foot off the ground, connected from the ground to the side of the house.
They are in trashcans, patio furniture, child toys, underneath cars…EVERYWHERE, and they are here to stay!
I’ve just learned to live with them because there is nothing you can do. Kill em?? Hundreds are waiting to take up the vacant spot. By far, the most prolific spider I’ve ever encountered.
I live in Carlisle PA in an old farmhouse and just killed a Brown Widow outside my front porch. I am not a happy person at the moment.
Hi everyone,
There are 4 different widows, Northern Black Widow, Southern Black Widow, Brown Widow, and Red Widow. Black Widow’s venom is 10 times more deadly then a rattle snakes venom. But because widows are so small they are incapable of injecting enough venom into you to kill. They are dangerous to people that may have health problems. These spiders have been living with all of us for years; you have just now noticed them. Mostly they stay outside, that is where the food is. Generally they like to build their homes in places where they won’t be bothered, like under picnic tables, under grills, and outside furniture.
I went out today and caught these two beautiful ladies to take to school with me. I have had spiders for years. Mostly I have tarantulas. Here in the United States none of our spiders are aggressive. Widows will retreat; they will even abandon their egg sacks. You may think they are acting aggressive but they are not. An aggressive spider will stand up on it back 4 legs and show their fangs. They will even slap at you with their front 4 legs. I have a Brazilian Bird eater she is 8 inches in diameter, when she gets pissed off at me for having my hands in her tank she lets me know. If you go on Youtube you will find great videos of aggressive spiders. The more you learn about them and understand them; you will be able to deal with them. Like I said I take spiders into schools and teach children all about them.
It never ceases to amaze me talking to children and showing them all the different things and yes even the bad and dangerous things that live with us every day.
Well I had 2 pictures of widows that I have but I don’t see how to post them. I hope that I was able to help. Spiders are an amazing thing and they are very important to the environment.
Just found one in the kitchen cabinet. I noticed the orange hour glass shape on the abdomen but it was brown with stripes on the legs, did an internet search and now I know.
Culver City, Ca
We first encountered brown widows a couple years ago when we mounted a bug light in the back yard to keep bugs away from our pool. Big mistake, the bug light attracted bugs AND 15-20 brown widows. I became suspicious when I noticed the orange hour glass shapes on the bellies. After some research I came back armed with several cans of bug spray with those “shoots 10-15 feet nozzels. They might be less poisonous than the black widow, but because we had so many, wasn’t risking multiple bites. Turned out they were not only on the pole near the bug light but we also had some hiding under every Rubbermaid chair we had in the yard. They love those little cubbies on the bottom. Most were killed quickly, however one very large one sitting on her egg sack behaved pretty aggressively when I hit her eggsack and actually ran across a chair right at me. I was a couple feet away, but the reaction was so surprising it scared me a bit. But after a steady stream of wasp killer she eventually gave up. I never used that bug light again however having all the spiders centralized did make it easier to kill them all.
Carlsbad CA,
My son found the brown widow and an egg sac under a plastic patio chair. Based on some of the other comments I read, sounds like they like it under the chairs. I am going to do a sweep of all the chairs now. We have found a few black widows over the years in the surrounding 20 miles, never heard of a brown widow, before, their coloring is amazing. Seems like they are all over the world.
Bye, Bye, brown Widows!
Just saw one and thought it was a regular garden spider, till I saw the hourglass. Looked under the windowsill saw five egg sacks, strange looking things. Smashed her before she gets me or dogs, then smashed egg sacks one by one between my fingers. I was surprised at how strong the nest was, covered in slime that won’t wash away with the hose. Diatamacious earth is what I will spread around.seems to work. Haven’t done it this year, maybe that’s why there’s so many insects this year. Get those things before they get you! That’s what I think. Especially poison spiders. No thanks. Spider bites suck.
saw my first one taking down fake Halloween webs today. she was on the antique plow in our yard. scary thing was her egg sacs, she had 9 of them. they have very thick and sticky webbing.
We just had our frame home treated for termites (subterranean, non-tenting with orange oil).
Today I found a brown widow spider under the lip of my laundry room window. I picked it up with tweezers, but it got loose after I looked at it under a magnifier lamp and rode a silk down to the floor where my husband promptly stepped on it. Sorry, no pictures. I am going to clean the room from top to bottom in case any more linger. I’ll use the vacuum cleaner before moving anything! We also had just sprayed for ants in that window area yesterday, so the ant spray does NOT kill them (at least not right away).
Nancy in St Pete FL
My friend just caught one here in pleasant grove, UT.
My brother thinks that he was bitten by one. He rode on a Greyhound bus and it smelled like they had sprayed with raid. A few days later, his finger was swollen and he had to have it lanced to draw out the puss. Why would they have sprayed like that and not have taken it off the road it is a total mystery.
I found 2 brown widows in my back patio. they had brownish but close to red hourglasses on there abdomens and the bottom of the spider was black, i first thought it was a black widow and i know from experience that they are not that aggressive until you really start messing with them.
i thought nothing of it because i knew they would not mess with my dog. When i came about 2 weeks later 1 was gone and the other was turned over and i saw that the spider was brown and thought that it was a new spider and the old ones died. I failed to realize that the spiders laid eggs and by the end of the month i had 8 brown widows and about 22 or so eggs. I freaked out, got a lighter to burn them out of there webs and then finished all of them and their eggs with a bb gun. its been about 2 1/2 months and i haven’t seen any spiders since.
To whom,
Don’t expect an answer but sure hope someone will find time to answer this email, while stationed aboard the USS LASALLE AGF3, in 1974-76 in Bahrain, my wife was bitten on the back of her right by what the Navy doctor said was a brown recluse spider and to this day my wife still gets a quarter size rash on the same spot that the spider bit her 37 years ago, is this possible. I say it was a brown widow spider but 37 yrs and still returning rash.
Anyone have a answer!?
Just found one here in NYC!! I caught it in a soda bottle, I used to live in SW Florida so I know what they look like. Besides, it looks exactly like the pics… Didn’t know they were here too..
I caught a brown widow a couple days ago in my house in Washington State, i cant post any photos of it but i took it to my biology teacher at college, and they told me to dispose of it quickly because its dangerous, it is a very light tan color when in the light, and has white markings on its back with a red stripe down the middle of the back on the white, and a red hour glass on its abdomen, and the hourglass is edged with white, its very interesting
I noticed a ladder-like web on my car this summer that was widest at the bottom. I really didn’t think anything of it. Then I saw it again last week in a different place- attached to the back bumper. Today I opened the rear hatch of my Subaru and saw a medium-sized spider with swirly tan, orange, and brown markings on the abdomen and I thought…hmmm… I’ve seen that before….juvenile black widow?
I chased her out of a plastic crevice with a a grass stem and she took off through the long grass (not on my property). I don’t think she had access to the car interior- she was just in a spot that is protected when the rear hatch is closed. Having read all the posts here I now think that it was a brown widow spider. I just went out to the car with bug spray and treated the areas I can’t see into. I REALLY hope there is no egg case in there. The last thing I need is a couple hundred baby brown widows in my car.
Just found this site as our house in FL suddenly got a bunch of brown widows a year ago, we’d never seen them before and have been here for 11 years. As we’re from the UK – which has no venomous or even large spiders – this came as a shock although seems they have become a lot more common all over the US recently. A quick spray or two of Home Defense kills them almost immediately and they don’t seem aggressive. We don’t have any crickets by the house so I’m not sure what is attracting them.
I have brown widows at home and at work. My garage always has them and the pointy egg sacs. I occasionally use insect foggers in the garage. Two or three of foggers at once kills about everything, including brown widows. When I see a live one in the garage, I bomb it again, seems like I need to about every six months. Thank fully, I have not had them in the house yet, but they like my cars.
At work, we have an exterminator in about every month. I see no brown widows inside, but they are outside on chanlink fences.
I was working on a tractor in Roseburg, Oregon and when i removed the dash to do some electrical repair, the dash area had several of these with sacks. this was the first time had come across this type of spider and i didn’t recognize it. looked like a black widow but was brown and had stripes on it’s back with a hour glass on the belly. having to put my hands into the dash area was a bit scary. this was back in 1997. haven’t seen any up until now.
Saw my 1st one in January 2011 and have since found em all over our yard on roof eaves, and fences. One was almost nickel sized but was very lethargic in the day when I poked at him. Must be 10 individuals around the yard right now.
Just found a brown spider sitting upside down on its web in my garden with an hour glass; one of my customers told me to watch out for Brown-Widows. I found one, so I used Raid’s Ant and Roach killer on it. I sprayed it and it fell off of its web and walked around in circles. I don’t like to kill spiders as they eat the insects that prey on my crops, but I don’t like to be poisoned either….
Chatsworth, San Fernando Valley, L.A., Calif Oct. 7, 2011
I have found three brown widow spiders….one on trash barrel handle; one under plastic patio chair; one in garage. I used a LOT of ant/roach spray. I put one in a bottle but it went moldy. I froze the second one, and just found the third a few minutes ago. I had sprayed under the chair and she was hanging from her web. I thought she was dead, and put her into a plastic bottle when I saw her move. I’m freezing her now. What do we do to get rid of them?
I live in Ormond Beach which is on the east coast of Florida. I have lived in my house and have never seen these spiders, until now. They are everywhere! There is one in my car! It keeps making a web on my gas and brake pedals. I keep knocking it down but it reappears. They are around my front door and under the patio chairs. I don’t want to get bitten.
I found one in my backyard! Here’s the video of it:
Brown Widow Spider!
I live in Bahrain, an island-state in the Persian/Arab gulf. A month ago we moved to a new house with a very big garden. A week after we moved, I discovered an adult widow spider on the door of the garage. Not sure if it’s a black or a brown widow (the hourglass marking was more orange than red). It was the first time i see one, and it scared the heck out of me! I checked the outdoor furniture and toys and found some more widows and egg sacs (the brown’s pointy ones).
I’ve put powder all over the garage and had pest control spray the garden twice. But during a routine check last night, I have found some more spiders and eggs inside the house (underneath furniture, but fortunately not underneath beds). The discovery made me very nervous … spent the night spraying pesticide.
All the stuff I’ve read says that there is no way to get rid of these things (that i really hate) for good. Any miracle solution???
We are in Orange county and after reading different post, I too am concerned about spraying for these stupid spiders.I see them often but really its the webs I see more than anything and their egg sacks. They come out at night, my husband goes out at night and sprays them . They like to hide by the garage. It seems they stay low to the ground, we have a almost 3 year old and I worry for his sake and mine.I hate them! I want them to go!!
Found this brown widow and four egg sacs at work yesterday in Luling, Louisiana.
I have to say I am freaking out. After living in one home the last 19 years in San Pedro. Ca, I never saw a Black or Brown Widow before(Thankfully). We had a huge yard with trees, bushes, flowers etc. Never saw a Widow. We moved a year ago to Culver City and I feel like I am in another world!
It started with the invasion of cockroaches (ie. water bugs for southerners)! I mean everywhere. You cannot walk around the city streets without stepping on them. City cleaned the sewers and the population dropped though growing again. The HUGE invasion are crickets. They are everywhere and they hop through my house like it’s a super highway. Gave up try to get rid of them UNTIL NOW!
I am truly freaking out! Out of the blue we have been invaded with Brown Widow Spiders. The first was just hanging there along the cat’s water dish in the middle of the day. Scared the pee out of me. Killed it. Next day another right over the cat’s water dish. That was it. Got the flashlight out that night and ended up killing 48 of them all over our plastic chairs, the house walls, the swing, the chair I sit on every day and each night and my daughter’s bike she rides every day.
I am just blown away. Bad enough I have a fear of spiders, but to know they are right outside my backdoor (patio is concrete too) gives me hebeejebees and I am having nightmares now.
The cricket population is too ingrained here to do much about them, but I am worried as my daughter is allergic to insect bites, son has bad allergies, asthma and lower immune system & I have allergies and autoimmune issues too. I fear one of us getting bit with the Brown Widows right outside my door.
Ortho Home Defense clearly states that it does not kill or repel Black Widows or Brown Recluse. I have several containers always on hand!
Time to find a way to control cricket population first & foremost and……
Any proven way to get rid of them?
we have a lot of these now in our garden (brown widows) which is quite large space and in our patio area…….we used to have more black widows…….lots………but since these have shown up we have seen very few black widows……if the the brown ones are killing or somehow taking over the black ones…. this would be good for us …..as the black ones are far more deadly…..anyway we just got the browns two years ago…… we live in southern California ……inland empire area
I found some with my brothers. They were everywhere in plants and trash cans. Once we found a egg sack in the trash can in chula vista, CA.
I have found two in different locations in Redding, CA. So they have traveled pretty far north. Of course black widows are very common up here as well.
Found a bunch of these Spiders and egg sacks on my scooter in Darwin Australia we have never known what they where your web sit helped heaps thanks Kym.
I just found a bunch of these spiders as well as 6 of the strange looking eggs. Especially the kids bikes and outside toys are full of the thick and odd looking webs. The strangest web goes from a tall bush up in the air across to a big tree.
It’s like a 15 feet long web up 10 feet in the air. I noticed it since a huge dragonfly seemed to be floating in air when in fact it was caught in this odd really long spider web. It’s time to get some poison and get this cleaned up. Lot’s more black and brown widow spiders than last year – wondering what’s that’s all about.
I live in La Mesa, CA. I awoke with a stinging upper lip…within a few hours it was swollen and burned. Could feel and see the two holes about a mm apart. Had flu like symptoms the rest of the day. Two days later I squished this big spider on the bedroom wall by the closet. This morning I spotted a large female (abdomen 1/2″diameter) suspended about 8ft. off the ground between the fence and a tree, a good 15 foot span. Captured her and tried to identify it….ended up here.
I just found the 2nd of these spiders. The first one was inside the water hose reel – along with it’s spiky egg sac. The second one was on my back porch – fat and aggressive. They both died with a heavy spray of ant spray. (I have a picture of the 2nd one but don’t see a way to post pictures)
I’m in Southern California.
We live in Kelowna, BC in Canada and we have got black widows here. Apparently we have brown widow spiders too as I see in the photos. I kill them every chance I get because if you let them live, they will lay those eggs and then more come.
They tend to enter our garage when the nights start to get cold. One year we had 16 come into our garage. Our way to kill them… a hockey stick! I crush those buggers with a vengeance and the tip the hockey stick is great for the tight spaces. My momma bear comes out with those stinkers as I’ve got two boys and don’t want them or my husband and I bit by those things.
We tend to bring in our shoes that hang in the garage during the fall months. And check the garage corners and around door ways to kill any who may have entered during the night. We had a bug guy come that made recommendations and one of them was to get rid of as may rocks as possible. At that time we had a rock boarder around our backyard. Now all that has been removed and replaced with grass. It has made a big difference.
…me again. No exaggeration, i’ve killed at least 35 Brown Widow Spiders in the last 4 days!! However, I just spoke to the Western Exterminator man who services the building where I work and he asked if I have a lot of crickets, and whatdoyouknow, I DO! He said, “they love crickets. Get rid of the food source and you get rid of the problem.”
He suggested Ortho Home Defense bug spray to kill both the spiders and the crickets. He showed me to spray the cracks around the foundation of my home to kill the crickets and to hit the spiders directly and their egg sacks, which I’ve already been doing. (deep sigh) Let’s hope this works.
I live in Stockton California. I recently killed two of these brown widow spiders in my back yard. There has always been a relatively large population of the black widow spider in my area but they seem to be more shy. I see them only when I move an outdoor umbrella or garbage can or if I disturb some sort of hiding place.
The brown widows I have spotted have spun large, very strong webs that extend out into the yard and they tend to hang out there where they are very visible. They are as big as any of the black widows I have seen. Some of my neighbors here have also seen them and my friends in the bay area are seeing them as well.
I found a brown widow spider with 16 egg sacks in my grandma’s garage. The egg sacks look like spiny sea creatures.
I live in Huntington Beach, CA. Last Fall I noticed a brown widow spider near my garage door on the outside of the house. I’d never heard of these before and got a little freaked out. I went online and read that they like to hang out in trash can handles and anything cast iron. Sure enough I found a brood of them there including their spiky egg sacks.
Since then they have rapidly multiplied. I can go outside any given day and kill 10. It’s easiest to find them at night though since they come out to find food. I find that any old spider spray works, but plan to try dish soap & water in a spray bottle as was suggested in another post. In the past week i’ve noticed them moving closer to my doors!! Augh!
DID I MENTION I HATE SPIDERS? Got bit by a widow when I was a kid. No fun, let me tell you. The poison travels through your body & exits some random place in the form of an enormous painful boil preceded by terrible sickness! None have made it indoors yet, thankfully. Praying it stays that way till someone finds a way to curb the population.
Hi,
I just submitted a blog about a suspected brown widow spider in my townhouse. What I forgot to mention is I live in what we call *Northern* California, near Sacramento! (Tallahassee, FL is my birthplace!) Thanks.
~ Bob
Around 3 this morning (Sun. 9/18/11) I discovered a brown spider hanging upside down in my townhouse. Under the guest bathroom counter cabinet near the floor is more specific.
She is almost as big as a small full-grown black widow, yet she is still medium brown. She could be a cupboard false widow (Steatoda grossa) spider. However, the shape of the abdomen looks more like a true widow’s. Additionally, she seemed too out-in-the-open in my bathroom, despite it being a dark part of a dark house at that hour, to be a black widow.
Slamming the cabinet door a dozen times today will hopefully chase her next-door to a vacant townhouse. Its downstairs guest bathroom is there too. When I find out how to reach it’s owner, I get to warn him/her/them!
I live in Orange, CA I was in the porch with my mother when she pointed out this huge spider building its web I’m not as terrified at spiders as my husband is but I had the urgency to kill this spider one because it was so big like nothing I had seen before ( that it gave me the creeps) and two we have a pet and a 1 yr old daughter…
I went out caught it with a tupperware and we where very curious on seeing it up close so we sprayed hairspray and degreaser ( that was my husbands idea) n eventually killed it we took pictures n I will post them…I thought that our was the only one around until last night we were walking into our home n my brother spotted ANOTHER ONE hanging from our front door…I’m scared of leaving the Windows open now because I’m afraid they might crawl in!!!!
I have already killed around ten Brown Widows and about sixty egg sacs in Denham Springs, Louisiana all over my front porch
I returned from NY to find Brown and Black Widow spiders had taken hold of my Florida garage. I called my pest control guy and he said they have to make direct contact with the pesticide to kill the spider. Since he isn’t going to stay in the garage, he swept all the corners and the back of the garage door and suggested I get a spray bottle and add 1 part vinegar to 1 part water and spray them directly when I see them or use cheap hairspray. He also suggested I change my exterior garage lights to the yellow colored bulbs as the regular bulbs are what has likely attracted them in the first place as the spiders like to catch and eat the insects flying around the lights.
I found this lovely (sarcasm) brown widow right at my back door yesterday. I live in Lake Forest, CA. We get a lot of spiders here, actually, and especially black widows, but I was surprised to find a brown widow. I didn’t even know such a thing existed!
The poor lizard in the pic is alive and I did rescue it after killing the spider. Sad, I know. But, the last thing we need is a poisonous spider right by the door and the possibility of one of us or our animals getting bit. Honestly, we have a widow problem here at the house and it scares the be-gee-bees out of me 😛 I’m a Texas girl so I’m used to tarantulas, but not sneaky stealth deadly spiders like this. EEK GAD!
We have had black widows for several years, just found my first brown widow here (used to get them at work in Orange County). All widows are easy to control without toxic insecticides…just mix water with dish soap (orange scent / essence seems to work best), and put it in a sprayer. A few spritzes will kill the spiders, and it also works to bring them out of hiding if you only find their web.
It can sometimes take a few minutes to work, but they cant breathe when the soapy water hits them. After they die, just rinse with a hose and your pets and kids are safe.
i was washing dishes one day and felt something on my leg i felt a sting right before i slapped it off my leg i thought i got bitten but i didn’t have any marks or side effects i took a pic of it but my phone was to close so the flash made the background blue but u can see the markings on it perfectly.
We live in Whittier, CA and this afternoon my son and I found what we think is a brown widow spider. It has the classic widow body and the orange hourglass. The body looks exceptionally large so I am wondering if it is pregnant…do they get “bigger” before they make an egg sac in a web?
This one was just on our driveway and not in a web. I don’t recall seeing anything like this before, but the I think I have seen their spiny sacs. We are in an old neighborhood with lots of large trees, established foliage and open hills not too far away.
This makes me very uncomfortable because I hate spiders (although I have this bizarre fascination about them at the same time LOL) and with pets and a child, I worry about a bad bite.
I told my son we are going to do a thorough spraying this weekend and get some quotes for pest control services.
Got bitten six times by a Brown Widow moving into our Sarasota, FL rental.
I haven’t heard of anyone else being boneheaded enough to get bitten repeatedly by a brown widow, so I thought I’d post my story and symptoms. I was unpacking boxes in our garage and felt a prick under my armpit (mid-morning), which I dismissed as my imagination or a mosquito, so I just let it go.
I had recently put my shirt back on after leaving it laying around and I had also walked through a very strong/sticky web. A while after feeling the prick, maybe an hour or two, I wasn’t feeling well, so I called off moving day and drove my family back to my mom’s house, over an hour away. By the time we arrived (early afternoon), I had a bad headache and was feeling rather ill.
This developed into a severe headache, strange and uncomfortable hot/cold flashes, and nausea. I felt like I couldn’t really move my face b/c it just hurt too much and I didn’t want to. I recall my 2 year old climbing on me and feeling helpless to get him off of me. I’ve never felt something just take over the way this took me over. Not knowing what had happened, I took 4 Excedrin Migraine pills (I’ve never had a migraine so thought it might have been one).
They didn’t help at all. Almost an hour later, I was vomiting (not due to the pills). I took a double dose of someone’s migraine meds (Fioricet), slipped into a very deep sleep for a few hours, and woke up feeling substantially better – like I had an almost normal piercing headache. I took 4 Ibuprofen, which helped a little. A few hours after that, I started feeling close to normal again (late evening). Then over the next few days, I found these unexplainable bite marks under my arm that seemed to develop slightly in severity.
I’ve been bitten by mosquitoes, chiggers, no-see-ums, wasps, and ants, and the bites were just not quite like any of those, although I’d say they were closest to my experience getting stung by a wasp or fireant (but I didn’t get stung by a wasp or ant –I would have noticed that). There were 6 distinct bite marks within about a 6” radius. I suspect it was from one trapped spider, as they seemed to range from more to less severe (in order, down my side). I tried various treatments and found witch hazel to be most soothing.
Fortunately, the bites never became infected and they went away after a little over a week, first coming to a firm head, but never actually popping or oozing (I resisted the urge to fuss with them). Anyway, a few days after the symptoms, did some research on spiders, went back to the house and found the web I had walked through, which had a Brown Widow and egg sacs around it, and I found dozens of other Brown Widows and egg sacks around the garage. They were mostly in the overhangs among the aluminum garage door panels and around recycle bins.
The widows and their egg sacks were unmistakable once I knew what to look for. I killed them all with pesticide and expect to have to make another round again shortly.