Need help identifying spider --?

Question

Calling all arachnologists --?
I'll probably post this in lawn and garden, too. It's not a very technical question. I just need help identifying something.

My Mother-In-Law's house has been plagued by large spiders for the last three years. They look similar to an average, brown house spider, but they're usually around the size of a silver dollar.

They don't build nests. They like to hide underneath made bed sheets, in piles of clothes or in other crevices. They can jump up to three feet, and they're very aggressive.

They're brown, with yellow stripes running down their backs, and visible fangs. How can these things be driven out? Would they likely be breeding in an outdoor shed or a woodpile? We've only ever seen them inside, and never around the areas just mentioned.

Thank you for all of your guesses! The correct answer was: the Rabid Wolf Spider.

Answer 1

It sounds llike a wolfe spider and they are aggressive and have a nasty bite and can send someone to the hospital although not deadly they inject a venom that will make the flesh around the bite necrotic and you will be swollen there for quite a while and isextremely painful.Get an exterminating company or go out and buy a lot of bug bombs although bug bombs are not always efficient.Seriously get rid of them before you put your foot in a shoe with one or two in them.

Answer 2

Sounds like a black and yellow Argiope to me. They're very large spiders with what might be considered yellow stripes, but they're web builders and I've never seen one jump three feet, nor have I seen fangs on them. Wolf Spiders jump but don't know if they get that big. And again, never seen any fangs. Hmmm. In what state does your mother-in-law live? That would help identify the buggers. I'd suggest spraying with roach/spider killer around the perimeter of the house - windows and doorways. And if there's an Ag center near you, give them a call. Or even a good nursery with someone knowledgeable who works there. If they're indigenous to the area, someone's bound to know.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I have no idea! If I had something like this around, I'd buy a bunch of those sticky traps and put them in areas where I've seen these spiders before. If one got caught in the trap, I'd bag it and take it to the closest University Extension Service office and see if they could identify it for me! In the meantime, check out the website below to see if you can find a picture that looks like what you've got! Click on the pictures for more details about that photo.

http://images.google.com/images?q=large+brown+spider&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

Click on this link to see a type of glue trap you might want to buy!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pestcontroloutlet.com/pics/SPIDER.JPG&imgrefurl=http://cgi1.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItemWithCategory%26item%3D7754619547&h=640&w=467&sz=60&hl=en&start=83&tbnid=6Mok_3qctsMDaM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlarge%2Bbrown%2Bspider%26start%3D80%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

Answer 4

Try looking through here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider
There is a picture of a "jumping spider" which sounds like possibly your arachnid.

Answer 5

It might be the very dangerous Brown Recluse Spider.
Try this, it might help you to identify your spider:
http://www.cirrusimage.com/spider.htm

This gives you a gallery, of sorts, to Identify those little cuties.

Answer 6

OMG!! Move!! Those sound horrible. Catch one and call the exterminator. They could be poisonous!!

Answer 7

GOOD GRIEF!! I don't have a clue! Call an exterminator RIGHT AWAY!!

Answer 8

It should be @ http://www.whatsthatbug.com/index.html