We just found a large spider on my back porch. It was brown, had fairly short but thick legs, and was about an inch across. It also had a cross on its back. I just want to know what type it is and if it's deadly. I live in Northwestern PA, if that helps. I don't think it was a brown recluse.
2007-10-08 06:45:40 · 1 answers · asked by kingtut_579 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
No, it's just a garden spider. The only two harmful spiders in the US are the black widow and the brown recluse. The Black widow can be deadly if a small child were bitten, however, adults don't usually die from their bite. The brown recluse is not deadly, but it has a bite that can cause a narcotizing wound if not treated promptly. Fortunately, these two spiders are very shy and you'd pretty much have to be digging around in dark unused corners or under things that see much human activity to find them. Here are pics of those for comparison:
Black Widow: (has a red hourglass shape on abdomen)
http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/IPM/SH%20Graphics/Black%20Widow.jpg
Brown Recluse: notice the fiddle shape on it's back.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dbrown%2Brecluse%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dks-ans%26x%3Dwrt%26js%3D1%26ni%3D21&w=370&h=540&imgurl=extension.missouri.edu%2Fexplore%2Fwildthing%2Fimages%2Fbrownrecluse02.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fextension.missouri.edu%2Fexplore%2Fwildthing%2Fbrownrecluse.htm&size=53.9kB&name=brownrecluse02.jpg&p=brown+recluse&type=jpeg&no=12&tt=6,262&oid=c003017dc6fdfa04&ei=UTF-8
Common garden spiders for comparison: Harmless, but not so shy.
Huntsman:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A9gnMiaLcApHXokATjGJzbkF?p=huntsman+spider&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&x=wrt&js=1&ni=21
Wolf spider:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A9gnMiYDcQpHXokA9WuJzbkF?p=wolf+spider&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&x=wrt&js=1&ni=21
Orb weaver: Is this your spider?
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dspider%2Bwith%2Bcross%2Bon%2Bback%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-471%26x%3Dwrt%26js%3D1%26ni%3D21&w=466&h=500&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F1404%2F967300385_445d8044e1_m.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fdougalug2005%2F967300385%2F&size=139.6kB&name=967300385_445d8044e1.jpg&p=spider+with+cross+on+back&type=jpeg&no=17&tt=115&oid=9ee975f9b3fa885e&fusr=dougalug&tit=Cross+spider+%28backlit%29&hurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fdougalug2005%2F&ei=UTF-8&src=p
Or this one: also an orb weaver
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dspider%2Bwith%2Bcross%2Bon%2Bback%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-471%26x%3Dwrt%26js%3D1%26ni%3D21&w=333&h=500&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F61%2F189919087_1a4fbd11a1_m.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fstansich%2F189919087%2F&size=109.9kB&name=189919087_1a4fbd11a1.jpg&p=spider+with+cross+on+back&type=jpeg&no=5&tt=115&oid=d6c7f5696154b25e&fusr=Reini68&tit=European+Garden+Spider+%28Araneus+diadematus%29&hurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fstansich%2F&ei=UTF-8&src=p
2007-10-08 07:02:59 · answer #1 · answered by Sptfyr 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋