Pest Control: Spider Control Made Simple For Connecticut Residents

The Types Of Spiders You May Find In Connecticut

While spiders might be beneficial outside the walls of your home, once they make their way inside or if their numbers grow out of proportion on your property, they can become a major issue to contend with.

In order to develop an effective treatment plan for the spider infestation, it's paramount to correctly identify the spider species you're dealing with. There are hundreds of spider species in our state, but in your home, you're likely to run into the following suspects:

• Black widow spiders are one of the largest spiders in Connecticut and the only species that carry venom toxic enough to endanger human beings. They are usually between 1 and 1 3/8 inches big, with a glossy black body and a telltale red hourglass mark on the abdomen. Black widow spiders commonly hang in their irregularly shaped webs which are usually close to the ground. Black widow spiders are not aggressive but will bite if threatened. Their venom attacks the nervous system. You will experience severe pain, burning, and swelling at the bite site, then experience abdominal pain and high blood pressure with stiffening muscles as time goes by. Most adults will be able to recover from a black widow bite without much difficulty, but it can be terminal to a child or our four-legged friends, so it's best to seek immediate medical attention after a bite.
• Cellar spiders are between 1/4 and 3/8 of an inch in size with fragile, small bodies and long skinny legs. Cellar spiders can be any shade between yellow and grey, and they prefer dark, damp environments. They weave loose, tangled webs and spend most of their time close by, waiting for an insect to become trapped in them.
•  Yellow garden spiders can grow up to 1 inch in size with black and yellow abdomens and black legs with orange stripes. They are rarely seen inside the house and are mostly outside, in large circular webs that they weave and vibrate if disturbed.
•  Harvestmen (daddy longlegs) spiders are technically not spiders. They lack venom and silk glands and so cannot spin webs. Harvestmen are around 1/2 an inch in size but appear much larger thanks to their long, skinny legs. They are harmless, with a mouth that's too small to bite.
•  House spiders are the most common spider to encounter in your home, with a name that reflects that. They are 3/16 to 5/16 of an inch big with yellowish-brown bodies and striped abdomen. House spiders weave irregularly shaped, tangled webs that you'll usually find in the upper corners of rooms or rarely accessed areas like crawl spaces, garages, etc.
•  Jumping spiders are 1/8 to 3/4 of an inch with thick bodies and short legs. They are most often black or brown. Jumping spiders don't weave webs but instead jump to catch their prey. Like most other active hunting spider species, they will weave silken retreats.
• Orb weaver spiders are a spider species that include multiple subspecies, often wildly different in color and shape. Uniting them is their habit of spinning large circular webs. They usually average between 1/2 and 1 inch in size.
• Wolf spiders are the big, hairy, "assumably" aggressive spiders that we see featured in horror movies. They average between 3/8 and 1 3/8 inches in size and are typically dark brown. They are one of the few species of spiders covered with tactile hairs and are active hunters that chase down their prey instead of catching them in webs. Wolf spiders might look scary enough to fit the tv monster part, but they are usually not aggressive in real life.
•  Yellow sac spiders are on the smaller side, growing up to 3/8 of an inch, and are easy to identify by their light yellow bodies. Just like wolf spiders, yellow sac spiders are active predators and don't bother with weaving webs to capture prey.

Most Connecticut spiders are harmless, with the majority not even able to pierce human skin if they do decide to bite. Black widow spiders, however, can be a serious threat, but thankfully, they are easy to identify and stay away from. If you spot black widow spiders on your property or in your home, don't try to handle them yourself; contact a pest control professional immediately.