Spider in my house, what type?

Question

I just killed the second spider that I've never seen before (I've seen two of them this past week, killing both, one inside the other outside). I'm in the midwest (Chicagoland) and the spider, with legs outstretched was between 1/2 inch to and inch in diameter. I have never seen such a huge spider in the open before and was wondering if anyone had an idea of what type of spider this may be. It was brown but that's all I can remember from the time of freaking out until I quickly grabbed my shoe and killed it.

Answer 1

Little Mama's right. Brown recluse are small spiders. They have long thin legs, but their bodies are really small. As for deadly for humans, they are not, but they can cause a necrotizing wound that is very painful and disfiguring if not treated in time. Brown recluse are also very shy and your not likely to encounter one unless you are digging around in dark unused corners. Like Little Mama, I too believe that what you are seeing are either huntsman spiders or wolf spiders. Both get quite large and are completely harmless. They are just ordinary garden spiders who like to come inside from time to time. This summer alone I've captured at least 7 and put them back outside where they can eat the buggies I'd rather not have around.

Here are some pics that you can use to help you identify your spider.

Brown recluse: (unlikely, but possible)
This one shows size of the brown recluse:
http://brown-recluse-spider.ascendedhealth.com/img/img_Brown-Recluse-Spider-Picture_quarter.jpg
This pic clearly shows the fiddle marking on it's back:
http://www.teachersparadise.com/ency/en/media/9/99/brown_recluse_spider__loxosceles_reclusa.jpg

Huntsman:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A9iby4f4awBHZSAAjTKJzbkF?p=huntsman+spider&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-471&x=wrt&js=1&ni=20

Wolf:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A9iby4WUbABHJckAZBiJzbkF?p=wolf+spider&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-471&x=wrt&js=1&ni=20

Answer 2

Could be a wolf spider; they eat other bugs.
Brown Recluse spiders are not all that huge, but wolf spiders are they are also harmless to humans.
Go to Google and Images and type in the search engine both types and see which one your spiders looked like.

Answer 3

Don't agree with little mama. Brown Recluse spiders get at least 2 inches across ,leg tip to leg tip, as I squash them weekly in our area of mid-west. I do agree with little mama to check it out. Lots of spiders are harmless, several are not.

Answer 4

All you will possibly desire to do is to get an exterminator and you will no longer might desire to hassle approximately looking spiders. i do unlike spiders the two by way of the way. i attempt to stay faraway from them. there are a number of spiders are everywhere. they are truly sturdy to be in a house. They capture smaller bugs. additionally they attempt to avert being seen. undergo in innovations, you are the better individual. they are the smallest.

Answer 5

Could be a violin spider, aka the brown recluse.
Deadly to humans.
Good job in killing it.