Black spider in my son's room?

Question

YIKES, it was huge. I thought it was a fake spider (almost picked it up!). It was big, black with long skinny legs, I finally killed it, but not sure if it was poisonous or not. Couldn't find anything on the Net. Oh by the way, I live in Ohio.

Answer 1

Arachnologists like to say that yuo're probably less than 7 feet away from a spider. That's how omnipresent they are. Learn not to panic.

Answer 2

We call them racing spiders because they will race out from under something and run fast across a floor. But they are also known as wolf spiders. This time of year we get several in the house. Last week we had probably five. So I took out the vacuum, and vacuumed the whole house, under cushions, under sofas, in all upper and lower corners. We haven't seen any since, but I'm sure we will get a few more. As far as I know they offer no venom that will harm humans but boy are they scary when you see them whipping across the floor. They are extremely shy but so far so good with the no chemical vacuuming. If you don't care if you live with insecticides they do work on these spiders but I would hesitate to spray everywhere. Children are more susceptible to sprays than adults plus it is rumored that rat generation studies show endocrine disruptors result from exposure to many pesticides. These disruptors can affect the reproductive ability of future generations. (Its still being researched but preliminary data indicates humans are affected). So anyway, old newspapers, if you are quick or a fly swatter and the vacuum cleaner will help get rid of these large fast moving spiders.

Answer 3

A big black spider with long skinny legs describes lots of spiders. I work for a pest control company in Kansas so we probably share many of the same pest problems. My guess, and only a guess, would be that you found a wolf spider. My advice is to call an exterminator and have the house sprayed. The chemicals that are used today usually dry quickly, don't have much (if any) odor, and are very effective. We charge about $100 for such a service. You're not having an infestation of anything so don't let them talk you into regular service. Your bigger chains will most likely require contracts. Try someone local and tell them you'd like just a one-time spraying. If you can, save the spider for identification. It could possibly be a brown recluse spider. They vary in color from lt. brown to very dark brown to black depending on their diet.
P.S. We are getting tons of calls for spiders. It's cooling off outside so they are coming in for warmth.

Answer 4

The only 2 poisoness spiders native to North America are the Brown Recluse and the Black Widow. As long as it wasn't one of those, you should be fine. Although you may want to spray for them. Spiders are good to have in a garden, but not so great in the house.

Answer 5

Don't worry, spiders are creepy but only black widow spiders can kill a person. Unless your family has a allergic reactions with insects, spiders and bees that would be trouble. Spiders has poisons but most can only poison a human locally (if bitten in arms, only arms are affected). by the way, how huge is it? It must be your son's tarantula. hehehe

Answer 6

Solid black/shiny? Did it have an hourglass figure on the underside of the abdomen? If yes to all of these questions, it was a black widow. A single bite to humans can have very serious repercussions, even death. You'll never be totally rid of them but you can control them by using a licensed exterminator and store bought bug sprays yourself.

Answer 7

Fortunately there is only one black spider in the US that is poisonous and that is the Black Widow. Here is a pic for comparison: Can be distinguished by the red hourglass on it's abdomen.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-471&va=black+widow+spider&sz=all

Here is a pic of a huntsman. They are large, dark, but harmless.
http://www.hat.net/album/tech_zone/canon_a20_review/gallery-spider/detail004.htm

Wolf spider:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A9ibyGXsKg1HZTAAm0.JzbkF?p=wolf+spider&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-471&x=wrt&js=1&ni=21
Good Luck

Answer 8

A black widow maybe? If you see any spiders that are colorful, just kill them. Don't touch them. They might be poisonous. The red ones and black, and brown with a huge body are dangerous.

Answer 9

If it was huge, it was not a black widow. There are very few poisonous spiders in the us. Black widow and brown recluse are your tow deadliest that will make you sick.

Answer 10

Look at it's underside. If you see a "red hourglass" shape, then it's a Black Widow, a very venomous spider. They are not common in Ohio, however. Other than that, I wouldn't worry about it.