Spider season is well underway. This is the time of year when spiders, in search of a mate, often find their way indoors before breeding. One such spider is the all-too-common hobo spider.

If you’re not familiar with common spiders in Utah, seeing a hobo spider in your home may be a little frightening. Keep reading to learn how to identify hobo spiders when you see them and how to protect against them by being aware of these important hobo spider facts.

How Can You Tell the Difference Between Hobo and Brown Recluse Spiders?

Many people initially misidentify hobo spiders as brown recluse spiders for their similar brown color. But the brown recluse spider is much more dangerous than a hobo spider.

You’ll be able to tell them apart by the hobo spider’s distinct design down their abdomen which includes a yellowish-tan stripe down the middle and a V- or chevron-like pattern coming out from the stripe. This is as opposed to brown recluse spiders that are known for a shape that looks like a violin on their abdomens.

Hobo spiders’ long legs are also completely brown with no spots or bands to be seen near their joints.

Do Hobo Spiders Climb?

One piece of good news is that you won’t see many if any hobo spiders up on your ceiling or in high places. They are not great climbers and generally tend to stay on the ground.

One key clue that you have hobo spiders in your house instead of another spider species are their funnel-shaped webs that remain close to the ground. Other spiders will spin webs in high nooks and crannies, but hobo spider webs will be found on the lower levels of a house as they keep to corners and hidden spots near the floor.

Do Hobo Spiders Bite, and is it Dangerous?

The big question homeowners have, particularly those with young children, is concerning the hobo spider’s bite. Generally, hobo spiders are not aggressive and will not bite humans unless they feel threatened. Get too close to a hobo spider’s funnel web and they might lash out.

They are more prone to bite during breeding season and if you get too close to one of their egg sacs. It’s a good rule, especially if you have children or pets wandering around, to call a pest control company or spider exterminator as soon as you notice these webs

Whether or not their bite is dangerous to humans currently is up for debate. Recent research shows that hobo spiders are not as venomous as was once believed. They’ve even been removed from the venomous spiders list from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The effects of a hobo spider bite will be more severe in younger children, but usually the result is only minor swelling and redness around the area. Brown recluse spiders, on the other hand, have a dangerous bite that will begin to kill cells until the skin and muscle deteriorates.

Should you experience severe symptoms such as those deteriorating lesions, difficulty breathing, lightheadedness, or nausea, please see a medical professional as soon as possible.

How Do I Keep Hobo Spiders Out of My House?

Is your home prepared to fight off hobo spiders, one of the most common spiders in Utah? If not, it’s not too late to put up spider control measures around your home in Lehi, Eagle Mountain, or another Utah location.

Be sure to clean up clutter, such as discarded clothes or piles of shoes on the floor where hobo spiders love to hide. Also, seal up cracks around doorways, windows, and baseboards where hobo spiders can crawl inside. Spraying natural spider repellent is another good measure to take to put up a barrier around your home.

For the ultimate spider control, contact H2 Pest Control! We’ll do a complete home inspection to address any factors that may be letting spiders indoors. Afterwards, our spider exterminators will seal cracks, lay out spider traps, and use safe spider spray specifically for hobo spiders and other pests you have. Live spider-free this fall with H2 Pest Control!