# Need a spider identified **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843 "2010-06-28T21:16:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/1 "2010-06-28T21:16:11Z")
Hey, so I’m getting ready for work, and I drop my bag next to the front door, and look up to see HOLYCRAPGIANTMANEATINGSHELOBSPIDERHEEEEEELLP! So, this thins’a bout as big as my thumbnail, most of his (her?) legs included. Looks black and fuzzy, with some kind of white mark on the abdomen. So, am I right in assuming that this thing will eat my face Alien style? I mean, either way, I’m probably calling the landlord so they can figure out what to do about it, but I figured I’d ask. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/2 "2010-06-28T21:24:54Z")
Could be a black widow. Need more info as to the white markings, or Google black widow spider for confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/3 "2010-06-28T21:25:09Z")
So, quick update, I ended up catching and killing the guy with a combination of guile, cunning, a spatula, duck tape, and a combat boot. Fun fact: Duck tape sticks to everything. Evidently EXCEPT for spiders. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/4 "2010-06-28T21:26:52Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Could be a black widow. Need more info as to the white markings, or Google black widow spider for confirmation. Geeze, I didn’t consider that it might actually be venomous to humans. Just really really reptile-part-of-my-brain-get-away freaky. Now I’m looking around the room for other spiders. Now I also wish that I didn’t know Camel Spiders live in the United States as well as the Mid east. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/5 "2010-06-28T22:12:17Z")
Oh, that was Jim. He’s a hoot. Or used to be a hoot, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/6 "2010-06-28T22:25:31Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Oh, that was Jim. He’s a hoot. Or used to be a hoot, I guess. _sigh_ I was going to make a similar joke. Pulling the little cooler drawer out… raising the sheet… ‘Yes, that’s him.’ ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/7 "2010-06-29T00:07:43Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > _sigh_ > > I was going to make a similar joke. > > Pulling the little cooler drawer out… raising the sheet… ‘Yes, that’s him.’ ☹ I’m picturing such a drawer being about the size of a matchbox, of course. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/8 "2010-06-29T00:15:27Z")
Actually, that was his brother Larry. Jim is in Decatur. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/9 "2010-06-29T00:31:29Z")
Yeah, you’re right…it might have been Larry. All I know is that it wasn’t Boris. [He got smashed back in '82](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWpz2OYf1QU#t=2m33s). ---
**Author:** ![MsChilePepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MsChilePepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsChilePepper)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/10 "2010-06-29T01:06:15Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Geeze, I didn’t consider that it might actually be venomous to humans. All spiders have venom; it’s how they kill their prey. Many spiders have venom that will harm humans. Some have venom that would be tremendously harmful to humans if the spiders didn’t have fangs/jaws too tiny to actually bite us. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/11 "2010-06-29T01:08:44Z")
> [@MsChilePepper](#): > > All spiders have venom; it’s how they kill their prey. Many spiders have venom that will harm humans. Some have venom that would be tremendously harmful to humans if the spiders didn’t have fangs/jaws too tiny to actually bite us. Yeah, I mean I never considered the possibility that this spider might have been one of the ones that could seriously hurt me, rather than just give me a nasty bite mark. I don’t like spiders for reasons entirely unrelated to the fact that some of them can actually kill me. They’re just icky. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/12 "2010-06-29T02:01:41Z")
What a bunch of sissies. It’s just s _spider_ - it’s not a Black Window or a Brown Recluse or a Bird-eating Tarantula. Black Widows aren’t fuzzy. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/13 "2010-06-29T18:56:20Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > What a bunch of sissies. > > It’s just s _spider_ - it’s not a Black Window or a Brown Recluse or a Bird-eating Tarantula. > Black Widows aren’t fuzzy. They are before they become widows. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/14 "2010-06-29T19:36:19Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Oh, that was Jim. He’s a hoot. Or used to be a hoot, I guess. Our tiny spiders are always “Gus”. Any bigger than “tiny”, we shoot first and ask questions later. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/15 "2010-06-29T23:44:46Z")
Black Widows are notoriously shiny-bodied, almost glossy. They don’t appear fuzzy unless your prescription is out of date. Brown Recluses are notoriously…reclusive, hiding in out-of-the-way places, and very unlikely to be in a high-traffic area by a doorway. It’s pretty likely that this creature poses no threat to you unless you panic and inhale a can of Raid or something. If you want to disturb the web with a broom, you can get the spider clinging to the broom, take him or her outside, and brush him/her off onto a bush, where said spider will continue to be no threat to people and an unholy terror to insects. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/16 "2010-06-29T23:50:49Z")
I have a population of giant house spiders here. When I see them in the house, the get taken outside. They probably die, but they have a chance to get under the house or natural habitat. I’ve heard that GHSs prey on hobo spiders (to which they are closely related). I’ve caught two false black widows and let them outside. There’s another one, but I haven’t taken it out yet. It’s doing a good job on the woodlice. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/17 "2010-06-30T04:17:44Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Hey, so I’m getting ready for work, and I drop my bag next to the front door, and look up to see HOLYCRAPGIANTMANEATINGSHELOBSPIDERHEEEEEELLP! > So, this thins’a bout as big as my thumbnail, most of his (her?) legs included. Looks black and fuzzy, with some kind of white mark on the abdomen. So, am I right in assuming that this thing will eat my face Alien style? > > I mean, either way, I’m probably calling the landlord so they can figure out what to do about it, but I figured I’d ask. Well if you had a picture we’d have a better chance of identifying it. That being said at least here in Massachusetts if you tell me it’s a fuzzy black spider with white spots I’m going to immediately think you’re describing a jumping spider. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/18 "2010-06-30T04:18:55Z")
> [@MsChilePepper](#): > > All spiders have venom; it’s how they kill their prey. Many spiders have venom that will harm humans. Some have venom that would be tremendously harmful to humans if the spiders didn’t have fangs/jaws too tiny to actually bite us. Actually I learned a few years ago not all spiders are venomous. (Surprised the hell out of me since I too thought all of them were venomous.) > **[Uloboridae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackled_orb-weaver)** > > Uloboridae is a family of non-venomous spiders, known as cribellate orb weavers or hackled orb weavers. Their lack of venom glands is a secondarily evolved trait. Instead, they wrap their prey thoroughly in silk, cover it in regurgitated digestive enzymes, and then ingest the liquified body. > They are medium to large spiders, with three claws, which lack venomous glands. They build a spiral web using cribellate silk, which is quite fuzzy. They are usually dull in color and are able to camouflag... ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/19 "2010-06-30T05:26:14Z")
> [@notsoheavyd3](#): > > Well if you had a picture we’d have a better chance of identifying it. That being said at least here in Massachusetts if you tell me it’s a fuzzy black spider with white spots I’m going to immediately think you’re describing a jumping spider. Jumping spider was my thought, too. Or possibly a wolf spider (which can be scary little bastards as they’ll actually charge at you). Both are pretty harmless (well, their venom is harmless, their presence often causes full grown men to lose their dignity ;)) Definitely not a black widow. Anyone who’s ever seen a pic of a black widow will instantly recognize the little buggers. ---
**Author:** ![moldybread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@moldybread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moldybread)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843/20 "2010-06-30T14:05:26Z")
While walking in the woods here in southern Louisiana, I noticed a giant web about 4 inches from my face. It spanned the distance between two trees and over a little used trail. I thought to myself, “Self, That would of sucked if I walked into that”. That when I noticed [this guy](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hhaTg03kiU0/SrwvRX6yciI/AAAAAAAAIMk/uSEZZ9bPVrI/s1600-h/heather-banana-spider.jpg) (one similar). Now I’m not afraid of too many spiders (they fascinate me) but this guy made me wanna run home to mommy!!:eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-spider-identified/544843.md?page=2)