Summary: Where to Brown Recluse spiders live? Anywhere they want to. Old joke, but true. These spiders want to be left to themselves in cultered, dark corners.
In nature, brown recluse spiders are found under rocks and in crevices. Dense populations are found when a habitat is conducive to recluses. As an example of their abundance we found 50 brown recluses in a commercial storage facility in one hour.
Recluses like hiding in boxes. When they get established it typically is in the basement of a building and there is little expansion beyond the structure unless connected to other structures by underground pipes or passageways. When sorting through boxes or materials, wear long sleeves and gloves to avoid being bitten.
Any dark, undisturbed area can serve as a hiding place for the brown recluse and many such places occur within buildings. You will need a bright flashlight to do a thorough inspection to find the location and extent of infestations. Likely hiding places for brown recluse spiders include crevices, corners, and wall-floor junctures, especially behind clutter and furniture in garages, basements and living areas. A key element to controlling the brown recluse is to reduce clutter.
Brown recluse spiders also live behind walls and may inhabit the voids of hollow block foundations. Infested locations will contain the distinctive shed skins, often found between joists, sills and rafters, as well as under insulation. Brown recluse spiders also reside above suspended ceilings, behind baseboards and woodwork, and within heat ducts and registers.
Brown recluse spiders captured on glue board
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If you want to know if you have an infestation of brown recluse spiders we suggest doing a little pest control sluthing by installing the flat, sticky cards known as glue boards. The best glue traps for capturing brown recluse spiders are flat, like thin pieces of sticky cardboard, without a raised perimeter edge. They can be purchased at grocery or hardware stores or you can buy them from us by the box. The more glue traps the better. Put out dozens throughout your home to find where spiders are most abundant. Place traps in corners and along wall-floor junctures, especially behind furniture and clutter.
In addition to being a great detection tool, glue traps will capture and kill large numbers of spiders, especially the males, which are more likely to wander into places where people are accidentally bitten. If you are going to treat with pesticides be sure to install glue traps before the treatment, as some insecticides will cause spiders to relocate and wander into traps.
Comments
garrett
08 Aug 2009, 18:36
i went conoeing in the ouiski chita its a river in louisiana and my friend
fell out so i grabed on a log in the water that fell from the nearby woods
so he could get back in a spider jumped on me i tried to slap it but i
missed and it crawled in my pants so i got paranoid about brown recluses
cause i live in louisiana and i googled what they looked like and i was for
sure that it wasnt a brown recluse i didnt have any red bumps ... i
rearanged my whole room and didnt find any can you please give me lots of
addvice on how to stay safe from these spiders im freaked out and i need
your help
maggie
10 Aug 2009, 01:10
Do Brown Recluses nest or are inside air ducts, vents, registers, and if
so, how can you remove them, if they are so far away inside these ducks?
J
12 Aug 2009, 00:03
I believe bite severity depends on the individual. I have an
infestation, and one night I woke up late with a mosquito-bite sort of bump
near my belly button that itched and also had what many would consider
severe pain. I went back to sleep. The next day I had no bump or sign of
a bite, but I did have a brown recluse in a glue trap about ten feet
away.
Lori
17 Aug 2009, 19:06
I recently spent the day at the beach. The next day, my feet were covered
with small red bites. I wasn't aware of being bitten while at the beach
but find it odd that the bites are limited to my feet, stopping at the
ankles. What could be responsible for this. They are quite itchy and
annoying.
J
17 Aug 2009, 19:23
Sand flees? Not brow recluses.
Andrew
09 Nov 2009, 21:54
I live in Texas by the Oklahoma border and I just bought a house out here.
Ive seen about 5 or 6 differnt types of spiders so far, big ones. I found a
Tarantula the 1st day here lol. How can I get completely rid of all of
them? Its a lot to ask but there has to be a way. I was thinking maybe
just make a BIG pile of junk in the back of my land and let them live there
and just never touch it.
Ahhhhh
04 Aug 2010, 13:24
Lol they leave big scare looking brown spot after about a day after bitten,
but if one starts, get medical attention SOON!
Sandy
20 Nov 2010, 00:19
When i lived in idaho, there was a lady who was vaccuming and bitten by a
brown recluse, she thought nothing of it and woke up in a hosptal. They had
to amputate her nose, ears, arms, and legs. So yes, everyone does react
differently.
Maggie
26 Nov 2010, 00:38
I am assuming that my friend was in bed or outside one night/day and a
brown recluse spider his bitten him on the leg and it's getting worse with
pulse coming out & i don't know what to do!!! Could you please help me
figure out what to do..
Ask the Exterminator
26 Nov 2010, 08:57
Consult a doctor immediately.
Brett Moyer
03 Mar 2011, 19:08
Do the brown recluse spider live in oneida
Ask the Exterminator
09 Mar 2011, 12:40
Which Oneida? New York (Yes). Wisconsin (Not often found there) Oneida
county Florida? (Yes)
Keeping My Shoes On in the Bathroom
06 May 2011, 09:31
I am staying at an extended stay hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma and have killed
four already in just over a month. I think they are nesting under the
bathroom sink fixture/cabinets b/c 3 out of the 4 we've killed has been
right close to that. We are from Louisiana, so I have seen brown
recluses...no doubt the four I have killed are these 8 legged demons! I am
afraid to tell the hotel people for fear they will just come spray and the
spiders will relocate causing my kids to get bit! We have about 3 more
weeks here and I can't risk those babies running a muck! We already had one
in the kids toy box. Now we are super cautious!
Danny Robertson
23 May 2011, 01:05
Are brown recluse spiders know to live in north western to western
washington?
Ask the Exterminator
23 May 2011, 15:39
They are usually found in more southernly states, but they do occasionally
hitch rides into northern states.
Heather G.
25 May 2011, 04:54
Me and my husband just moved into a new apartment in National City, CA and
have noticed that the spider population is extremely more active then the
last place we lived. Since we have moved here we have killed about 10+
spiders there are really getting out of control. Tonight my husband killed
one that just so happened to be making itself comfortable on our bed, the
size of this spider was between the size of a quarter and a half dollar.
Which is pretty big for a recluse, compared to the ones I'm use to seeing.
My main concern is that we have a 6 month old son who sleeps in the room
just next to ours and with this spider infestation getting out of control
we are both scared for his safety. We have an exterminator coming next
Tuesday but from former experience with spiders at my old place in Georgia
I have known the spray doesn't work all to well to take care of them. Also
with us having cats we can't use the glue strips to take care of them, so
what else is there for us to do?? PLEASE HELP.
Ask the Exterminator
27 May 2011, 10:48
Spider control starts with eliminating clutter. If you see spiders in
specific areas you need to remove places where they love to hide.
Next, you or your exterminator need to treat with the right products.
Female spiders are nearly impossible to catch in glue traps because they
remain in hiding until they have laid their eggs. So, treatments must be
introducted into locations where they are nesting. Treating cracks,
crevices and voids will help the problem. Treating along and under
baseboards and along the edges of drop ceilings and sill plates will help.
I recommend using Drione or Tri-Die aerosol for cracks and crevices. I like
DeltaDust for treating inside wall voids such as behind electrical outlets
and in crawl spaces. I recommend Suspend SC or Talstar Pro for treatments
along floor/wall junctures in the basement.
Don't forget to keep tall grass and weeds cut down along exterior
foundation walls. You can use Talstar granular treatments outside.
You can look all of these products up by clicking on the "Pest Control
Products" link at the top of this page. All of these products can be used
safely by following the label instructions.
Holly
07 Jun 2011, 10:58
are these things poisones
Ask the Exterminator
07 Jun 2011, 11:07
Their poison can't kill you, but it can cause a serious, unhealing lesion
on the skin.
Matt
03 Jul 2011, 19:45
i live in goshen ny do brown reclucses live near me?
Ask the Exterminator
05 Jul 2011, 13:54
Different species of recluse spiders can be found in most states.
Poblo J.
25 Jul 2011, 00:10
Ok people all these comments on questions about these3 brown recluses will
be answered. The spider is very poisinious as yall know but what yall dont
know is that they are just trying too keep yall out what they think is
their territory its kind of funny though because yall are thinking omg!!!!!
someone needs to kill these spiders there trying to kill us but they are
not.and i will not be speaking again!!!
eek!
21 Aug 2011, 06:00
m so freaked out now..
Shellido
21 Aug 2011, 18:26
Do brown recluse spider die in tje winter
Ask the Exterminator
22 Aug 2011, 15:23
They have an average life span of 1.5 years. So, they don't always die in
the winter.
Joseph
12 Sep 2011, 15:48
Hey everyone, The Brown Recluse Spider is a dangerous one; its venom eats
away at your tissue. I met women down in Florida at a party where I have a
home. She was pretty wasted from drinking and extremely angry. She was
bitten (Brown Recluse) in the elbow and the venom started to eat away (or
dissolve) her flesh, all the way to the bone! The Doctors tried everything
but in the end decided to (amputate her arm). She had a friend who lives in
Texas; he called a man who works with rattlesnake bites, and explained the
problem and the end result. The man flew to Florida that night. He used a
“Taser Gun” zapped her arm all around the elbow, while her husband held
her. He did this several times over the course of three days. She showed
me her elbow, which at that time was almost healed, but you could still see
a hole the size of a dime all the way to the bone. The Taser killed the
bacterium that was devouring her arm. Her anger was that the Doctors said
it wouldn’t work, amputation was the only way. Bottom line, never give
up…..
