Identifying Dangerous Texas Spiders

As a resident of the Texas Hill Country you should be familiar with the basic variety of potentially dangerous pests that are native to the area. Here are the 4 most dangerous spiders in the Canyon Lake / Bulverde area:

Brown Recluse

The brown recluse is the most common spider that can cause harm in Texas and the Southern United States.  It is a light tan or brown and identified by the violin-shaped marking on its head and thorax.  They prefer dark, undisturbed areas like closets, attics, basements etc.  They will also hide in piles of clothes and under furniture.

Their venom causes necrosis (tissue death) in severe cases.  The bite will start as a small blister and develop into a painful ulcer.

Black Widow

Black widow spiders have a neurotoxin venom affecting the immune system causing pain, muscle cramps, nausea and sweating. Although dangerous they are rarely fatal with proper medical treatment.  They are shiny black with a red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen.  Seeing one in person is actually fairly rare because they stay in dark, undisturbed areas like garages, wood piles, water main boxes.  As a professional pest control operator I have only seen 2 live black widows in all my years doing pest control.

Wolf Spider

Wolf spiders are generally not dangerous to humans but their bite can cause an allergic reaction and/or swelling and redness.  They are more active hunters and do not spin webs to catch food.  They are usually fairly large, hairy, and brown, gray or black colored.  They will hide in grass, logs, and yard debris like leaves and piles of mulch.

Brown Widow

Brown widows are similar in size and shape to the black widow but usually tan colored with the same red markings on the abdomen.  It will have banded markings on the legs and some of them will be nearly black.  They are known as cobweb spiders with their irregular webs.  They have egg sacs one cm in diameter and known for their spiky appearance.  Their natural predators are mud daubers.  Bites are not as serious as a black widow, causing fever, muscle cramps, abdominal pain, weakness in legs and difficulty walking.

As much attention and fear that spiders invoke, serious reactions are not very common.  Even in one instance where hundreds of brown recluse spiders were found in a home, the residents had no complaints of bites. 

Most spiders do not have strong enough mouthparts to even puncture human skin. Proper identification needs to be made when assessing skin irritation or possible bites.

As always, contact us if you have questions or when you’re ready to schedule pest control service!