The brown recluse spider is well-known for its venom. The most common and widespread of the brown spiders is found in the South and Central United States.

People bitten by brown recluse spiders should seek emergency medical treatment as brown recluse bites can cause necrotic (rotting) skin lesions and lead to serious reactions or even death in some people. According to Rick Vetter, a retired research associate of entomology at the University of California, the majority of brown recluse bites aren't medically significant. People with less severe bites will usually see their wounds heal quickly after applying the RICE method, which consists of rest, ice, compression and elevation.

Where do brown recluse spiders live?

The brown recluse spider is native to a region that includes Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and parts of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. If you don't live in those areas, it's very likely that you have a spider. It is possible, but not likely.

Brown recluse spiders live in an area spanning southeastern Nebraska to southwestern Ohio, south to northwestern Georgia and into Texas (red). Occurrences outside this range are very rare. Related species (purple, blue, aqua, green and yellow regions on the map) exist in the southwestern United States.

Brown recluse spiders live in an area spanning southeastern Nebraska to southwestern Ohio, south to northwestern Georgia and into Texas (red). Occurrences outside this range are very rare. Related species (purple, blue, aqua, green and yellow regions on the map) exist in the southwestern United States. (Image credit: University of California, Riverside)

Appearance: How to identify a brown recluse spider

The brown recluse is a species of spider. According to Oklahoma State University, members of this group have violin-shaped markings on the top of their cephalothorax, which may be referred to as fiddleback or violin spider.

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Depending on the age of the spider, the brown recluse's violin markings can vary in intensity, with mature spiders having dark brown violin shapes. The violin's neck points towards the spider's back. The violin shape is easy to misinterpret, so it's a good idea to look at the eyes to determine if a spider is brown recluse.

One of the most distinguishing features of the recluse is its eyes. According to the entomology collections manager at the Natural History Museum of Utah, they have six eyes instead of eight. There are rows of four eyes for other types of spider. There are three pairs of dyads in a semi circle around the front of the cephalothorax incluses.

The brown recluse spider has a uniformly colored abdomen which is covered in fine hairs and gives it a silky appearance. The long, thin legs of the spider are covered in fine hairs. According to the Integrated Pest Management Program at The University of California, Berkeley, the term "slanted legs" is a reference to the fact that recluse spiders hold their legs in a slanting position.

Brown recluse spider bodies (not including their legs) are no more than 0.375 inches (1 centimeter) in length.

Brown recluse spider bodies (not including their legs) are no more than 0.375 inches (1 centimeter) in length. (Image credit: Oxford University)

The brown recluse's body is usually between 0.25 and 0.5 inches in length.

The Integrated Pest Management Program states that brown recluses have all five features.

  1. Six eyes in dyads (pairs)
  2. Uniformly colored abdomen with fine hairs
  3. No spines on the legs
  4. Uniformly colored legs (no patterns, such as stripes or spots)
  5. Body isn't more than 3/8-inch (1 cm) in length

Classification/taxonomy

The Taxonomy of brown recluse spiders is listed in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System.

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Subkingdom: Bilateria
  • Infrakingdom: Protostomia
  • Superphylum: Ecdysozoa
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Chelicerata
  • Class: Euchelicerata
  • Subclass: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Family: Sicariidae
  • Genus & species: Loxosceles reclusa

Brown recluse behavior and mating

The brown recluse is named after its color andshy nature. It makes sense that most spiders go out of their way to avoid humans since we are thousands of times larger than them.

According to the Integrated Pest Management Program, nocturnal spiders build webs that serve as shelters and alert them when prey is nearby so they can hunt it down. They eat insects such as silverfish and crickets. As dawn nears, brown recluses find dark, sheltered hiding places; in nature, they may find refuge in rock cracks and crevices, but if they are near humans, they may camp out in places such as shoes or around human-altered environments. When searching for females, male brown recluse spiders cross humans' paths.

A photo of a brown recluse spider specimen against a light blue background.

The brown recluse spider is primarily nocturnal.  (Image credit: Image courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library)

The Integrated Pest Management Program says brown recluse spiders are considered house spiders.

The Illinois Department of Public Health says that brown recluse spiders get around by hitchhiking on furniture boxes and other items. The long-lived spiders, who live an average of 2 to 4 years in the wild and up to 7 years in laboratories, have remarkable survival skills and can go for up to 12 months without eating. Egg laying season lasts from April to July, but a female brown recluse needs to mate only once in her lifetime, and she can produce 150 or more spiderlings in a year and up to five egg sacs in her lifetime. A single female hitchhiking into a human-made structure is enough to cause an outbreak of the spider.

Examples of brown recluse spiders living with people

Brown recluses are hard to control once established. Hundreds of brown recluses may be present in a house, but they may not be easy to observe. There are more brown recluse spiders nearby if you see one.

In the early 1970s, 52 spiders were found at a dilapidated homesite in Mississippi, and 44 were caught in traps under a couch in Tennessee in 24 hours. A group of children collected 60 brown recluse spiders from a pile of bricks, but none of them were bitten.

According to a study in the Journal of Medical Entomology, a family living in a 19th-century home in Kansas collected over two thousand brown recluse spiders in six months. When the family lived in the house for about 10 years, they only had one instance of getting bitten by a brown recluse spider, when one of their fingers turned red and healed. According to the Integrated Pest Management Program, this family collected more brown recluse spiders in their home than the entire California population has ever been able to find.

A brown recluse spider is trapped in a clear container.

When cold weather arrives, so do brown recluse spiders looking for a warm place to stay indoors. (Image credit: Richard Houseman/University of Missouri)

Brown recluse bites and symptoms

Unlike most spiders, the brown recluse only bites when disturbed. If a spider is caught in bedding or clothing, this could happen.

Some people remember feeling a sharp sting if they were bitten by the brown recluse. Sometimes bites become painful in a few hours. The bite can cause mild to severe reactions.

Bills said people respond differently to bites. Moderate or greater tissue damage and scarring can be caused by 10% of brown recluse bites. Most bites result in inflammation and can heal on their own.

Bitten by Brown Recluse Spider_The New England Journal of Medicine ©2013

After being bitten by a brown recluse spider, a 10-year-old girl in Mexico required two medical procedures to remove blackened, dead tissue from her leg. About 10% of brown recluse bites are serious. (Image credit: The New England Journal of Medicine ©2013)

Michael F. Potter is an extension entomologist at the University of Kentucky The bites can develop a blisters. The wound may expand over the next few days or weeks if the venom starts to destroy the surrounding tissue. A necrotic ulcer can leave a deep scar.

There are a number of symptoms of a brown recluse bite. There are more severe symptoms like coma, blood in urine, yellow skin and the whites of the eyes.

In rare cases, the bite can cause systemic loxoscelism, a severe illness that involves a blood clot disorder and destruction of red blood cells. The author of the study said that children are more likely to develop the syndrome. He said that in severe cases, treatment requires hospitalization.

Brown recluse bite treatment

There is no approved antivenom for the US. To get to an emergency room if you're bitten, you should call the poison control number.

You should wash the bite with soap and water, then put ice on it for 10 minutes, according to the National Institute of Health. If you want to repeat the process, you need to remove the washcloth.

If possible, take the spider to the emergency room to be identified.

Brown recluse management

A close-up photo of a brown recluse spider against a gray background.

Venomous brown recluses exist within a smaller range than many realize, and their existence may be threatened by climate change. (Image credit: Nick626 via Shutterstock)

According to the Integrated Pest Management Program, to decrease your chances of becoming a host to these six-eyed spiders, remove or reduce unneeded outdoor structures, such as wood piles or boxes. caulk, foam, weather stripping, and other materials can be used to seal cracks around doors, electrical conduits, and plumbing fixture.

If you're in brown recluse territory, you should move your bed away from the wall and remove bed skirts. There is a chance that you will be bitten by a brown recluse during the night. Make sure to shake the clothes and shoes out before putting them on. In tightly sealed bags or bins you can store outdoor equipment.

There are sticky traps on floor boards that can be used to catch spiders. Spiders can be difficult to find during the day and chemical control can be hard. Potter wrote for the UK entomology department that cracks and other places where spiders might be hiding should be sprayed with liquid, aerosol and dust-based pesticides. The brown recluse spider has long hairs on its feet that allow it to walk on treated surfaces without getting a lethal dose of bug spray.

When working outdoors, wearing long sleeves, pants and gloves can help protect you from brown recluse fangs, which are short and cannot bite through clothing.

The original article was published on Live Science on Nov. 14, 2014).

Additional resources

The University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program produced a video about catching a spider.

You can learn more about brown recluse spiders on the website.

There are ways to protect yourself from brown recluse spider bites from the occupational safety and health administration.

Bibliography

There's a Medline Plus. There is a national library of medicine. There is a brown recluse spider in this picture. The review was done on June 30, 2019.

A man named Rick Vetter. How to identify and confuse a brown recluse spider January 2005 update

A man named Rick Vetter. The brown recluse spider map is open in a new tab.

Oklahoma State is a university. The brown recluse or fiddleback spider is open in a new tab.

A man named Rick Vetter. The University of California, Berkeley has an integrated pest management program. There are brown Recluse and Other Recluse Spiders. There was a revision of November.

The integrated taxonomic information system is a report. There is a new tab on the left side of the screen. It was generated on February 16, 2022.

The department of public health in Illinois. There are two Spiders that open in a new tab.

Potter is a person. The University of Kentucky has a college of agriculture. There is a brown recluse spider. July 12th was revised.

Texas A&M has an agriculture extension. The field guide to common Texas insects is called brown recluse.

J.R. Robinson and his colleagues published a paper in the journal PLOS One. A large electronic health record cohort was used to define the complex phenotype of loxoscelism.