Hobo Spider, a.k.a. Aggressive House Spider
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/homehort/pest/hobo.html
It is that time of year, spiders are busy building webs, off the web and into those shrubs and flowers you will soon be cutting back, or crawling about your house walls, floors or yikes! under your sheets (how do they get inside and upstairs and under your sheets?). Watch it as you brush up against those flowers and turn down the bedding once in awhile at night (doesn’t that just make your ankle twitch?) and search for the buggers.
http://pep.wsu.edu/pdf/PLS116_1.pdf (re Hobo Spider ID)
http://www.ent.orst.edu/urban/spiders.html (OSU info re dangerous NW Spiders)
An excellent Spider Site…SPIDERZ RULE provides valuable info re these seemingly everywhere crawlies….good pics and accurate information on risk.
I’ve just identified the Hobo spider which was on the floor board of my dining room. So I’ve decided that I’d contain it rather then kill it because I feel every insect serves a purpose here. What I find interesting is that you don’t have Pennsylvania on your list for the Hobo Spider. I really only came upon your website after I wanted to find out if this spider was poisonous. Last night I seen my cat eating a spider similar to this one so I have a feeling if there’s one there’s more of them. I don’t want to spray chemicals around the house because we have pets so I’m hoping I can find out what’s best to do and prevent us from being bitten and getting sick. I’m looking forward to your reply. Thanks!
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Lori, I appreciate your visit. I am no expert re spiders. I provided links to various spider sites during several posts on SwittersB because I found what I took to be Hobo Spiders. http://www.hobospider.org Still with what I have read they are mostly a NW spider with some SW/midwest range developing. I would positively identify the spider (I had a ‘hobo’ spider which turned out to be a wolf spider) and if it’s indeed a Hobo that has some how been transported (produce/food/goods) then let an expert in a university that does such studies know.
Re extermination: If I were in your shoes, imagining how unsettling that is, I would research safe extermination methods or call an expert in to spray. Freaky I can only imagine. We have had some unwanted spider guests and I well sympathize (as do my daughter and wife)!
Sorry I could not be of more help
Gary
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We have scorpions, centipedes, milpedes and black widows. I got stung by a bee a few days ago and the reaction is ridiculously bad. I can’t even imagine being bitten by one of these…….
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Please HELP! I am trying to get these hobo’s out!!! I have kept the banjo spiders (the ones that bounce when breathed apon) the orb weavers, the hunting and even wolf spiders as much as possible to kill the little ones but they must have hatched IN MY ROOM!!! Ive killed at least 30 whitish hunting spiders of some sort (the abdomen is bigger than a banjo’s would be) that are just babies. I dont want them to grow up you know? Ive been bit once and had the nuerological effects felt full force, I didnt even know it was a hobo, i thought it was a recluse until i started hallucinating. Splitting headaches, aches and pains and alot of nasty nasty feelings. I cant sleep at night now, with the lights off since i know they are nocturnal. I shake my sheets, have one pillow and feel trapped since im disabled and have to be IN BED. The babies seem to come on one thin strand of web to drop, they dont make webs of their own except single lines. we keep having to get them out of hair or out of clothes. How much of a danger are these babies. I KNOW they are hobo’s so now i need to know how to get rid of them. HELP!!!(JUST KILLED ANOTHER BABY ON MY COMPUTER!!!!!!) this is out of hand.
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Found what I think is hobo spider! Looks just like pic ! How can I know for sure ? Have spider trapped under glass ! Need to know what to do w it or where I can send to .to be idenified???
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Take a good photograph and post here and/or contact a nearby university science dept or a local pest control company…either of which profess to know their spiders. Try the photo (macro if you have it) and I would be happy to display for comments. Here is an example of a Calif. Univ. that studies spiders: http://spiders.ucr.edu/
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THE DALLES,OR\
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Did you forget the rest of the comment Cathy?
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WHEN U R READING THIS DONT STOP OR SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN! {SORRYABOUT THIS} THIS GIRL’S NAME IS SUMMER SHE’S 15 YEARS OLD & hasBLONDE HAIR ,MANY SCARS no NOSE OR EARS.. SHE IS DEAD. IF U DONT COPYTHIS JUST LIKE FROM THE RING, COPY N POST THIS ON 5 MORE SITES.. OR..SUMMER WILL APPEAR ONE DARK QUIET NIGHT WHEN UR NOT…… See More… See More… See More………………………………… ExPECTING IT BYYOUR BED WITH A KNIFE AND KILL U. THIS IS NO JOKE SOMETHING GOOD WILLHAPPEN TO U IF YOU POST THIS ON 5 MORE PAGES
scary huhSee More
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fuckyou and summer lol….
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lady, i got bit by one of these things and I dont need to hear how summers gonna come, well it will, right after spring and right before fall. Please go spam some other page, some of us need this page for important things. Shame girl.
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The white powder that Joe is referring to may be Diatomaceous earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
It is a harmless substance used to control crawling insects.
It works by penetrating the bodies of insects when they crawl over the powder and then by dehydrating them.
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Can they kill a ten year old or harm them bad? are they found in dallas texas??? i have never seen one or heard of one. is it likely to get under my bed??
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My daughter found a HUGE (size of a silver dollar) spider in the kitchen last night, with front legs up, right next to her cat. She immediately put a glass over it, and a paper plate under it, then took pix. Sure does look like one, and it was HUGE! She put it outside (we don’t deliberately kill spiders), and this AM, I saw it on the post of our deck, so I took more pix of it. I went to get a jar, intending to take it into town to an entomologist or extension service, but when I went back out, it had vanished. I hunted around the area for it, but it was gone. Got good pix of it, and it does look like a male Hobo. We live in a manufactured home, outside Eugene. This is the first time we’ve ever seen one! We live in the woods, so I imagine there are a lot there that we never come in contact with. We’re originally from S. Ca., land of their cousin, the Brown Recluse…never saw one of those in all my life! We always had Black Widows, tho.
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Genie I wouldn’t mind posting your pic(s) of the spider if you would like to share….given this site originates in Oregon…would be interesting to share as this is a popular site right now re spiders at this time of year. s3023b@yahoo.com
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I have a question. How big can these get? I just killed what i think was one of these not 5 minutes ago. I measured from its head to back of abdomen. It was 1/2 an inch. HUGE!!! And that’s not including its legs. Scared the life out of me so i hit it with a shoe. i usually don’t have arachnophobia but since i got bit by one last year i tend to get creeped out when i find them crawling across my bedroom floor.
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I added this comprehensive site to the original post…it may provide the visuals and documentation you require….good luck….shake the sheets too! http://www.spiderzrule.com
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http://www.spiderzrule.com
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I saw one crawl across my kitchen floor,undr my clothes,on the wall,hiding in corners,and even one on my bedspread.Are they poisonous or just scary looking???!!!
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Well, Tess, my non-scientific assessment is if it is scary….it is going to cause discomfort (more or less) if it nails you. I have suffered the worst bites at night while in bed. I would shake the sheets at night before getting in, especially down at the bottom and beneath the pillows.
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I was bitten a couple years ago by one of these buggers and let me tell you it was no walk in the park…about 10 months of pure hell…nothing less. It’s kinda funny; I see them all the time now around the house (outside of course) and all I can say to myself is “should I go and get the .22″…lol…of course this ISN’T and option but just the fact that this lil critter can make a man 6’04” and 275lbs. even think something like this should make anyone wonder.
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Our On sight manager needs an education on these spiders.
Dominick GOT BIT and still the on-sight manager refuses to send notices out to parents instead she said she contacted some pest control guy and she says there is no reason to worry .
I am here to say other wise, She is apt to get sued if she doesn’t warn the residents that these spiders can harm a small child or worse yet it could kill them depending on there reaction to the venom.
It is fall and spiders are out in full force wanting to capture there food and mate. (Males usually become a snack if he ticks of the female).
I see em I suck em up in the vacuum.
I wonder if the manager is interested in paying for hospital bills?
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this is an extremely bad year for hobo spiders. They are flourishing. Here’s some tips:
Do NOT bug bomb the house. It will NOT kill hobo spiders, but it WILL kill the hobos natural predators (other spiders).
The most common point of entry into the house is via basement windows. Seal them up tight.
There is a powder (name eludes me) you can buy that you put around the base of your doors and around window sills. This will help out as well.
Keep the house clean. They seek shelter under clothes and anything laying around on the floor.
This should help out alot.
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Thank you Joe for the tips on prevention!!!
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We are in Oregon…we have killed several of these in the last few days…they are coming out for some reason….must be mating season. They are all huge! I need to get rid of them!
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Work with a gal from Eugene…she and daughter received painful spider bites last week and had to summon exterminator to house. Bedrooms and closets heavily infested with spiders. Could not determine how they came in….freaky reactions to bites
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I killed lots of these lil bastards in Tacoma, WA. Hard to rid them!!! Finally moved out of that city, it seems to have lots of them.
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