Brown Widow Spider
Did you know that there are four types of Widow Spiders in Florida? 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 is 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 different markings such as white, black, yellow, brown, and even orange on the back of their abdomen, they are tough to recognize! The picture below is of the red widow spider.
Brown Widow Egg Sac
You’ll notice the hourglass marking on the bottom of the abdomen, colored yellow or orange. The Egg Sac of the brown widow spider is not the same as other widows and has pointed projections, much like the old sea mines.
If you have pictures of this spider or believe a Brown Widow has bitten you, please post your comments below and send the photos to the email address at the bottom of this page.
I live in central Florida. This spider was on my pool net handle. It also had a very strong web that felt like hair. I know this because I used the net before i noticed the spider. It was after i felt the web on me that i noticed the spider at the other end. Luckily it didn’t get on me. I’m not sure, but it looks like a brown widow. It was a little smaller than a dime and brownish with a big abdomen .
Okay, I am a house painter, and I see these spiders, and many others all the time. They are not monsters. They will not hunt you down. They are more common than people think, however. If you don’t want to kill them you can coax them onto a stick very easily, and carry them to a bush away from common areas. Be advised that they reproduce quite rapidly, and if you have one, soon you will have many more. The easiest way to get rid of them is to use a vacuum, and keep areas free of clutter. They do not make the classic spider web. Instead, it’s a tangled mess of threads, and they will make one just about anywhere they can. Easily identified when the sacs are present. The males are much smaller, but if there are eggs present, then you know they’re around, and the population will boom. Once the sacs open, there’s usually a few hundred babies waiting to fly away on a gossamer thread, and start the whole thing all over again. I wouldn’t say they are harmless, but they are very common, and an unknown infestation is not unusual. Nothing to freak out about, as we have been sharing the same living space with them for thousands of years. If you have infants or are taking care of the elderly, just do a search around the house for their telltale web and sacs. If you notice them, get the vacuum out, and suck them up. It really is that simple. I find them all the time while painting, and that’s how I get rid of them.
I have to laugh when I read where people say these Brown widow spiders are NOT aggressive as that is not the case here in Kissimmee Fl. I was out on my screened in porch when I spotted a web with a lg spider and spike sack and looked it up on the computer. I then went out to kill it and that spider came at me as if she had to kill me before I sprayed her. It was a LARGE brown widow spider with 2 egg sacks and I killed them both. I now see them all over by my house, Garbage cans, mail boxes, back porch, etc and they are VERY aggressive. I have 5 pic of them and they are the big as are the sacks. PLEASE tell me what to use to get rid of them before my grand-kids get bit. They are taking over.
insecticides do not work on any spider unless you get direct contact with the spider,fumigating for them is a waste of time and money………..what works really good and is really cheap is to put soapy(like dishsoap) water in a spray bottle and and spray them directly(tried and proved this myself)this knowledge was given to me by a pest control guy, hope this proves useful to everyone!!!!
Here in the UK we have conkers/chestnuts that grow on trees. Inside of them is a small brown nut, the chestnut, apparently spiders hate them, I have very few spiders in my house because of them put them at the window sills. I’m not sure where you would get conkers over in the States though.
I am a Pest Control Operator/Technician out of Central Florida and I have, lately, been encountering the Brown Widow often. Typical crack and crevice treating, along with eave and corner treatment keep these spiders away. I use Cyper wettable powder for these treatments. I see typical infestations of brown widow spiders – and other various Florida spiders – completely wiped out within a couple days to a few weeks.
The only thing that bothers me as a PCO is that I have to kill these spiders. I dislike killing spiders due to the fact that I have a pet Tarantula, and that spiders are nature’s pest control.
Seminole, FL – I have been finding a ton of the white/spiky egg sacks all around the outside of my house, under window ledges, corners, all under patio furniture. I called pest control and they came out to treat the entire front/back yard and remove eggs/spiders they found. They guy was shocked at how many egg sacks and adult spiders he found..including all under, around the lip of a big plastic pot I use to put the kids pool toys in!
Many were also around the pool pump as they are attracted to the heat. They are difficult to treat as they don’t walk through poison like other bugs…so it’s more kill on contact. I have a lot of trees, so the rain is pushing them to the ground and allowing them to then breed. I have a dog, 3 cats, and 2 kids…I am definitely concerned. Walking through the neighborhood I now see a bunch of mailboxes with the webs/egg sacks all underneath. Major problem here in FL.
One was found in KS and I’m very scared!
According to the local news, a brown widow was found in a small town just Southwest of me (in haysville, Ks.) So they are now in Kansas also.
I have killed a couple of black widows in my house the past 2 years, and my wife was bitten by a brown recluse. I killed what I thought was another black widow in my bathroom last night (though it didn’t look quite right). After seeing the news story, I started researching brown widows, and I now believe that is what I killed in the bathroom last night.
Oh my God. I was cleaning the screened in porch I found like 30 brown widows and 3 black widows. I’m sending my husband to get bug spray to get rid of each one of them. Next I’m calling pest control. I have 4 kids cant afford anything to happen. One of them is a 3 yr old, he likes playing outside. I have to figure out how to upload pics. To be continued……..
i live in fl and one day i went to my grandmas house and i got her recycle bins up for her and i felt a web and i looked and saw a brown widow spider with 3 big spiky egg sacs. luckily i was not bitten. i used this bug poison for wasps called “The End” and it kills the spiders instantaneously. thought this might help. -Cj
Hi! I’m a grad student at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga. and I’m doing my Master’s thesis on Brown Widows. I’m in need of specimens, so if any of you are in the state and happen to find some, I’d greatly appreciate if you would email me! These spiders aren’t very aggressive and would rather run than waste venom, so if you’d let them be and notify me, I’d be happy to come get them. :)
Email: ba00014 [at] georgiasouthern.edu
Thanks!
OMG I saw one and I live in WA, but I al glad to know that I killed that one… MAN I hate spiders… UGH!
Hi! I live in Mission Valley in San Diego, CA. I found one of these brown widows on my porch. I would normally smash him, but the only time I see him is when he is on his web. It would be impossible for me to smash him because he is floating in air. IF I went out there during the day and smashed (or even better…burned) his web, would he move on and go away or would he build his web again? Also, how can I find her sack? How else can I get rid of him. Can anyone recommend a spray I can buy?
I live in FL. i saw them in my mail box a month or so ago, and sprayed them, but that didn’t work. a couple weeks ago, i was cleaning my back patio and and lifted the cover to my fire pit and there was a few spiders and a bunch or sacs. I sprayed underneath with a hose to get it all clean, and have since left it uncovered. it seems to be helping. however, i found a spider on my mop bucket today, so i think now i am going to find an insecticide.
We are being invaded by brown widows down here at fort Polk la. Nothing works to get rid of them and I have 4 small kids…. Help if you can!
I found this nasty guy hiding under the lip of my garbage can. Will find out later I guess if I was bitten. I had been working the whole day with the can cleaning out the garage and had felt a bite earlier in the day. Not sure if it was her but I was on the look out when I noticed the egg sacks and went in to investigate. I tugged on the web and she shot out showing her red hour glass on her abdomen. I sprayed her with Raid. Beautiful insect.
Jeff, Tampa, FL
just found one in the kitchen while cooking my cheeseburgers for dinner, i have a 3 year old little boy and its the second spider i have found., no pics tho i have no camera, and i also killed a brown recluse 2 days ago, this one in the kitchen was a brown widow, i am in Tulsa OK
Spring Hill, Fl has become over-run with widows. Our entire property and anywhere I go, whether it be friends houses, the local botanical garden, whatever it may be, I see brown widows all over the place.
I see the black widows mostly in the garage where its much darker. I was bit in several places last night in my husband’s car. One of them bit my toe in one place and I have at least three entry point bites on my ankle and my ankle is now nearly the size of a tennis ball.
I don’t have any pics yet I’m waiting for my camera battery to charge. What has been helpful in reducing the number of spiders has been using apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle. We have a lot of animals and we don’t like the idea of using pesticides both in and outside the house unless it becomes absolutely necessary.
I’ve sprayed around every entry/threshold to the house, I’ve been spraying the cars before dark and if I see any sacs or webs around the outside in the gardens I’ve been spraying them too. The spiders scatter and begin to die within thirty seconds or so and its pretty obvious they can’t stand the stuff as they scatter every which way trying to get away from it.
I’ve even had some non threatening garden spiders run out of the lawn and run away down my sidewalk just after spraying the vinegar a few feet from the lawn. They apparently can’t stand the smell of the stuff anymore than most humans.
I’ve also learned that acetone is detestable to most bugs and the fumes can suffocate them. I’ve been told that dousing cotton balls in acetone and strategically placing them in common areas will help cut back on numbers too. I’ll be trying this later today.
According to Dr. G.B. Edwards, an arachnologist with the Florida State Collection of Arthropods in Gainesville, the brown widow venom is twice as potent as black widow venom. However, they do not inject as much venom as a black widow, are very timid, and do not defend their web. The brown widow is also slightly smaller than the black widow.
I have found the brown widow to be very shy, and she has not defended her nest when provoked. For that matter, she packed up and moved elsewhere. Her speed in doing so was very surprising. I wore heavy duty gloves for protection in cleaning the area, but am not sure I could have avoided her had she chosen to attack as I cleaned out the nest.
I hadn’t seen these in my 18 years until about a month ago i tried to move something and there was a big brown widow in it’s web (i accidentally touched the web and got within probably a half inch of it). Anyway,lately i have found quite a few more…they are starting to seem more and more common as i research them. I was wondering though if anyone out there would be interested in buying some of the ones i have?
I live in El Cajon, CA also.
Ok well, yesterday in the bathroom there was a spider. I had no clue what type it was. I examined the eyes and there were eight. It was a tannish brown color, and had dark brown (faint) stripes on it’s legs. I looked in the Pine Barrens Of New Jersey, (I live there) And there was no spider that fit my description. I decided to Google it. I found a picture of the spider (the brown widow) and it looked EXACTLY like the one I found in the bathroom. The one in the bathroom is a brown widow. Last night I captured him. I took closer looks at him and compared him with the picture. It was indeed a brown widow. I would like to know more about their defense system, and more, because they are not in the pine barrens of new jersey at all. Please Help me learn more.
I live in San Diego and I’ve been noticing more and more brown widows around. These guys don’t hide either. They are spreading like wild-fire and there isn’t an efficient way to control them. They are not aggressive, actually quite timid. You can actually handle them. Though the chance of getting bitten is greater when they are everywhere
.
There is a professor at UC Riverside who would like you to send the egg sacs to him if you find a brown widow and her spikey egg sac. He is trying to develop ways to control these spiders. If you do find them send the sac in a pill jar or film canister to:
Rick Vetter
Dept. Of Entomology
University of California Riverside
3401 Watkins Dr
Riverside, CA 92521
Hope this helps
Doug C
Found this brown widow in the handle of my sliding glass door. We live in Dunedin Florida, off the Gulf Coast.
I took a picture but can’t get it to paste on this reply. The one I found has orange on its beautifully colored abdomen and I found it near its eggs which are creme and have spikes of sorts on them. Its web is thick and sort of cottony.
Hope this helps,
Molly
i found one in my bed while i was clipping my nails and i felt something on my back so i swatted it off it started crawling under my bed so I tracked it down and killed it.
The species is generally non-aggressive and unlike the black widow will not defend the nest. Brown widow bites are very uncommon in humans and generally occur from direct contact with the spider and your skin. They are actually rather beneficial as they are extremely efficient killers of mosquitoes. However, if you wish to avoid them your best bet is to eliminate clutter from your garage or yard such as open boxes, sheds, tools, wood, and other construction waste. Furthermore, diligent cleaning of lawn furniture and other things which offer cover for them to nest with a hose is effective. (WEAR GLOVES) Finally, they are generally unaffected by general insecticides so “bombing” your garage will prove ineffective. prevention is your best bet but otherwise a professional exterminator should be contracted in extreme cases.
These spiders like some place to hide. I found a Black Widow that had made it’s web on my fence behind a garden hose. When I moved the hose, she was not to be seen. When I put it back, she was right there, hiding in her web.
Well, they are in Baltimore, MD now too. We found a Black Widow in the house about 6 months ago and didn’t see any more, but today I found several Brown Widows in the garage and a cluster of 6 egg sacks. Soaked them all with the super-sticky wasp spray and will be heading to the store for spider killer tomorrow. Kids and a dog mean I’m not messing around with these things getting any further inside the house. Not good… Thanks for the great website!
I found one in my front yard I live in Grand Terrace, CA. I still got it in a jar it’s a small female. I don’t know what to do with her.
they make great pets!! bees and lady bugs are their favorite.
It’s no surprise to me that these spiders are being reported in so many parts of the U.S. as well as the one from Thailand. As goods are shipped over greater and greater distances, species that are normally not found in one place or another are being accidentally dropped off. It’s no longer safe to assume that just because a spider has been associated with a particular native range, it will stay there.
We just moved last month to our new apartment here in Carson, CA . Just yesterday while doing fogging we saw one big Brown Widow Spider crawling in our kitchen door frame which was easily identified by the pest control staff. “He said it is brown widow spider.” We are not really familiar with this specie of spider, so I took pictures of the spider and google it in the internet and we learned that it is really venomous and can cause harm to human. We are worried because we have 3 kids and our 3rd kid is just 18 months old. We requested fogging in the apartment because my little one has so many bites on his body everyday and it has bad reaction to his skin. We are really worried, how can we get rid of this spiders?
Found this at work in the outside picnic area on a bench.. Looked it up, saw this website, so here it is!
Found one of these guys in Sacramento, Ca. Like the black widow, they are very smart. This little man built his web next to a hole in the house. Every time I try to turn him over for a picture, he runs into the crack. He is brown with a bright reddish orange hourglass on its abdomen.
There in Texas now ya’ll. Found a black one a few weeks ago and now a brown one. Creepy!!!!!!!
Is there any other kind of spider with a round shiny body besides the widow spiders? If not, we have a brown widow in our Bearded Dragon’s habitat. It was sitting on top of a dead cricket loosely wrapped in a very sticky web. I tried to take a picture this morning, but it scurried away at the slightest hint of noise. It is currently lurking in the corner of the cage. I guess I need to somehow go home and a) remove the dragon without getting bitten by the spider, then b) kill the spider without making the habitat toxic, then c) once I am very certainly sure it is dead, turn it over and see what its belly looks like. Ugh.
We live in Ocoee, FL and my son and I have found them on our screened-in back porch, underneath a wooden table on the front porch and in the little grooves of our rocking chairs on the front porch. Just today we killed 6 big brown widows as well as the egg sacs. Within the last week, I found four big ol’ brown widows and a black widow under the edges of some square planters I have tomato plants in. I was going to move one of the planters by grabbing the edge and the little voice said, “check for spiders first.” Sure glad I listened to the little voice that time. My 21-month old granddaughter has a playhouse off of our back porch and we are constantly having to make sure her house is free and clear of spiders as well. Be sure not to leave shoes sitting on your front porch as these are wonderful places for them to hide.
A week ago when pulling the cover of my grill i came in contact with a brown spider with a tan colored abdomen….didn’t find a match to my description when i searched online, then today as I’m taking my trash can out to the curb i notice these sacs about the size of plump pea underneath the trash lid, they were a mix of yellow,tan,white with spikes…looked up the description and it turns out we have brown widow spiders in our backyard…..not happy at all….I HATE ANY KIND OF SPIDER
I AM IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND FOUND THIS SPIDER IN MY BATHROOM AND THERE IS ANOTHER ONE IN MY BACK YARD THAT IS MUCH LARGER. CAN ANYONE HELP ME IDENTIFY IT? FROM MY RESEARCH ONLINE IT SEEMS TO BE A BROWN WIDOW BUT I AM NOT SURE.
I am twelve years old, my sister is ten and we were cleaning our bathroom when I noticed a sock moving around. I picked it up and I saw THE BIGGEST BROWN WIDOW I have ever seen. It’s entire body was at least the size of my palm, and I have big hands for a girl. It is somewhere in our bathroom cabinetry, and I can’t find it. From the research I have been doing, there are more in the house somewhere, and I don’t know where to look. I also don’t know how it got in the house! Help me!!
At about 11:30 my daughters were playing in there playhouse and they called me. So I went to go check what was wrong and I see an egg sack with spikes on it. My son came and took a look and didn’t know what spider made it. we looked around and he found a spider that was like a black widow. we killed it and got the sac in a teaspoon and burned it. I am keeping my eye out!!!
I have been bitten twice by something in my sleep which I believe to be a spider. Bitten in same leg both times a month apart. Both times my leg looked very red, white, black and blue at the bite and swollen. Treated with comfrey salve and Benadriyl. (Hope I spelled that correctly) I live in Indiana and although I have not seen any brown recluse or what is termed in the widow family we do have a big peanut shaped spider here that is very common and we can find no information on. I also found several spiders in my shop this winter that look exactly like the black widow but have no hour glass. Just wondering if anyone has any information on these two spiders. Have kids and want to find out what is doing this before they get bit.
Susan Dennis, your comments are surprising about this spider. Are you sure we are talking about the same type? I normally love spiders too, but not harmful ones. Please post one of your pictures, holding it in your hand.
Lorraine Wright 3/17/11, I think you saw what is known as a “false black widow”, which have similar look and habits, but are not poisonous to humans. I leave those alone, figuring they are competition against widows.
I have been dealing with these little devils in my yard in San Diego for 5 years. I have posted on this board a few times before, and done some research and corresponded with an entomologist at the SD Natural History museum. Here are a few tidbits of info:
> Brown widows originate in S.Africa and first appeared in the US in Florida and the Southeast about 60 years ago. They have been populating the West Coast in the last 10 years, probably riding in shipping containers. They reproduce rapidly. Since they are an invasive species, no one should feel guilty about killing them.
> Brown widows do not crossbreed with black widows. Brown widows grow darker as they age.
> Brown widows are completely unrelated to the brown recluse.
> Although brown widows are not aggressive, they are not as picky as black widows about where they build their web. So you are more likely to encounter one in commonly used areas, like under patio furniture, under rims of pots or trash barrels, and up under awnings or eaves of the roof. The spider’s resting/hiding spot may be 10 feet or more above its main web, connected by a single thick strand.
> A very strong messy web is a sure sign a widow is near. Especially if there are bones under it (JK!).
> Brown widow venom is more potent than black widows’, but their fangs are smaller and they do not inject as much venom per bite, and only full grown ones are capable of piercing human skin. But don’t take chances! The spider will usually play possum at first if knocked down, but will bite if it feels threatened or is protecting its spiky egg sac.
I’m located in Chino, California which is western San Bernardino County and I just located a Brown Widow Spider on my living room chair in plain site. This bastard was trying to take over. I can’t have this so I am calling a pest control company tomorrow!
I found two Brown Widows today…I only got a picture of one, but I don’t see where to post the picture? These were big and beautiful! Too bad they were on my daughters bike, had to kill them. :-(
I life in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and I was bit by a brown widow spider a few years ago. Until that time I didn’t even know there was such a beast. I didn’t feel the bite, but the next morning I had a large bump on my back that hurt and was hot. My legs were sore and I felt sick to my stomach. Since it was a Monday morning I went to work and told a few people that I thought I may have been bit by a spider the night before. A friend at work told me to look around the area (my screed in back porch) to see if there were any egg sacs that had spikes and if I found them I would know that I was bit by a brown widow. Well, I found them and I was still feeling really bad. By the time I went to the doctor my legs were really sore and the bit on my back was huge and red. I got a tetanus shot and a shot of antibiotic along with a prescription. The bite took a few days to come to a head and with slight pressure the pus came out, which made it feel a lot better. Now I check under my outside chairs and tables daily since we spend a lot of time outside. Since I know what they are and what they can do I am very careful to keep our porch sprayed and clean. I still find some, but I kill them right away. Keep an eye out for theses spiders. You do NOT want to be bit.
@Gwen sorry for the late reply, and the picture is a little blurry (or I’m just old), but that spider looks like a brown recluse to me. frankly, I’d rather have this existing brown widow bite than the muscle killing, necrotic bite of that evil beast.
I just moved to my late grandmother’s house in Cocoa, FL. Sometime during the moving process I was bitten by what I thought was a noseeum or house spider, but the next day the area had a hard, excruciatingly itchy swelling and I began experiencing severe leg cramps, then later, stomach cramps. I accidentally nicked the bite while shaving and have since developed a severe rash on my leg that looks just like Franca’s husband’s leg. The pain, cramps, and swelling, however, have gone, thankfully.
Yesterday I decided to clean out the cobwebs around the balcony and lo and behold, a brown widow was living under one of the very chairs I had sat down on. After googling the symptoms, I knew she was the one who got me. She’s in spider heaven now, and after a thorough search, I’ve found no egg sacs (yay!), but I went to the store for spider spray anyway. Moral of the story:
Not all spider sprays are equal! Read the labels carefully, and make sure they specifically say they will kill widows and recluses. Walmart sells a brand called Eliminator Ant, Roach, and Spider Killer that does specify that it targets these nasties. Many of the others will say they don’t in the fine print.
MorningSta,
Consider this: The Native Americans were not receiving shipments of produce and other goods from all over the world. Now we are and the shipments sometimes have bugs!
Just read the following out of California on 5/11/2011 find it near the bottom of their page.
They say the Brown is more toxic than the Black!
The brown widow spider is rapidly expanding in California.
A U.C. Riverside researcher predicts the pest may move into Central California this summer.
Brown widow spiders are native to Africa but were found in Southern California in 2009. Researchers say the agricultural community should be worried. The spiders could pose a problem for farm workers if the pests take up residence in fruit orchards. Brown widows could also congregate in agricultural shipping containers or packaging.
Brown widow spider venom is more toxic than black widow venom, but scientists say brown widows are less likely to bite. Instead, they curl up, and play dead when disturbed.