Pest Expert Overview: Brown Recluse Spiders in Bryan & College Station
Brown Recluse Spiders, Loxosceles reclusa, are usually tan to dark brown and 0.5 inches in size. However, both size and color can vary greatly. Brown Recluse Spiders resemble many other types of spiders, including Wolf Spiders. While they are famously known to have a fiddle shaped marking on the top of their cephalothorax (unlike insects, spiders have a fused head and thorax known as a cephalothorax), this marking should not be used in identification since many other types of spiders have the same marking. The best way to identify Brown Recluse is by looking them in the eyes. They have 6 eyes arranged as 3 pairs in a semicircle around the front of their cephalothorax. Most other spiders have 8 eyes arranged in all sorts of configurations.
Brown Recluse Spiders are found throughout the Central Midwestern United States from Ohio to Nebraska south through Texas and Georgia. Unlike some other spiders, the spiderlings do not disperse through “ballooning” so their populations tend to be very patchy, with large numbers in single locations like buildings and none in nearby areas.
Life Cycle
Undisturbed areas like wood piles, storage sheds, garages, attics, crawl spaces, closets, seldom used boxes or even clothing are the favorite habitats for Brown Recluse Spiders. They build irregular, sloppy webs that are mainly used as shelter. They leave their webs at night to hunt for soft bodied insects and spiders for food.
Development from immature to adult takes about 1 year. Adults typically live 1 to 2 years, but can live as long as 6 years. Females produce around 5 eggs sacs per year that contain 50 eggs each. Brown Recluse Spiders are very timid and non-aggressive.
Why are they Pests?
Since they are predators, Brown Recluse Spiders are beneficial in stopping other pests from becoming a problem. However, people just don’t like spiders and the Brown Recluse bite can be very dangerous. Brown Recluse bites are usually painless at first. In about 35% of cases, the bite results in a skin lesion at the bite area. About 14% of bite victims can develop more severe systemic effects of nausea, vomiting, fever, rash, muscle pain and joint pain. Fortunately, nearly 50% of bites have no effect and the skin lesions are typically self-healing. Those that develop more severe symptoms are usually very young, very old, or have a compromised immune system.
Perhaps more frightening is the misdiagnosis of spider bites. One study showed that 80% of skin lesions were mis-diagnosed as spider bites. This is a huge problem since the actual cause of the lesion could be life-threating. Antibiotic resistant staph infections (MRSA), Lyme Disease and Cancer are among the maladies that are misdiagnosed, which could result in catastrophic delays in effective treatment.
Bites from spiders are actually quite rare. Similar to other spiders, Brown Recluse Spiders will only bite if they are smashed or roughly handled. This means nearly every spider bite victim should see a smashed spider. Brown Recluse bites can be ruled out if the skin lesion is red, elevated, or is chronic (persisting longer than 3 months). If a lesion develops from a Brown Recluse bite, it will be whitish-blue to purple, flat, and never chronic.
Brown Recluse Spider Prevention
- Reduce clutter like stored wood and boxes in garages, storage sheds, and near your house
- Wear work gloves when moving items that have been stored for long periods of time
- Keep wood and other storage at least 20 feet from your house and at least 5 inches off the ground
- Store seldom used clothing, gloves, and shoes in sealed containers
- Shake off clothes and check shoes if they haven’t been worn in a while
- Seal cracks and crevices outside your house to prevent entry
- Use sticky traps to monitor and identify spiders
- Keep beds from touching walls
- Keep sheets and bed skirts from touching the floor
Professional Brown Recluse Spider Control
If you are dealing with an infestation of brown recluse spiders, Venus Pest Company can help. Founded by Aggie Entomologist Dr. Scott Lingren, we provide expert, eco-friendly Integrated Pest Management solutions in Bryan and College Station. To get started, fill out the contact form, call/text 979.774.0486 or email [email protected]. Don’t let nuisance pests take over your home!
