Brown Recluse Spider

Loxosceles reclusa

Color: Medium Brown

Size: 0.25 – 0.5 inch (6 – 12 mm)

Shape: Long, thin legs, 6 eyes

Diet: Insects, cockroaches, crickets, ants, etc.

Habitat: Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas

Andrew J. Brooks, CDC - This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Image Library (PHIL), with identification number #20486.

General Behavior

They actively hunt at night, incapacitating with their poisonous bites.

They prefer dark and quiet areas. Basements, roofs and warehouses in dwellings.

Outdoors, they prefer places such as woodpiles, sheds, etc. They avoid cold and precipitation.

They weave spider webs to catch their prey.

They bite for defense, their bites are strong and poisonous.

Threats

Their populations are declining because they are being destroyed after being seen in their habitats.

They pose no direct threat to humans.

How Do We Recognize Infestation?

Live spider sightings in dark and quiet areas.

Non-sticky webs in corners and behind furniture.

Sightings of dead insects.