OH CRAP! Please help!

[jadespider1985]

So yesterday my girlfriend sees a spider crawling along our wall and like usual i go after catching it to discover what it is. For some reason when i looked at it i thought recluse, but it was "yellow" i have NEVER seen a yellow recluse. Anyways i had a gut instinct this guy was bad news, i dont know why, but i took extra precautions catching him. Another thing that screamed im not a recluse is it acted very defensive when i caught it, it was raising front legs and biting. Anyways... i did some research and discovered i have a yellow sac spider. Its pretty large and still alive and in a container. Im usually not real certain about true spiders and IDing them, but this one i know! Anyways... the problem... I have a 5 month old in my house and i do not want her getting bit. What is the chance that there is more of these in my house? If so, is there a way of ridding my house of these without using pesticides? Is there a spider species that is harmless i can introduce and have it take care of my little problem??

I normally am not worried about these types of things, for gods sake i have kept a lot of stuff like widows and the like. But i must admit it makes you more uneasy when it is crawling around your house and could possibly bite your little girl! I must say though, this is a very beautiful species! If anyone is interested in specimens i would be willing to sell them for cheap (the only reason they would not be free is cause i have to catch the darn things and put them in vials!)... any information would be appreciated id like to tackle this little problem ASAP!
Thanks,
Nate

[tarandrew]

IMO, I doubt there would be more lurking around your house if it's a grown specimen. I can't really see it sharing your house without eating the other Yellow Sac Spiders.

But like I said, in my opinion.

I really hope your baby doesn't get bitten if I'm wrong!

Andrew

[jadespider1985]

IMO, I doubt there would be more lurking around your house if it's a grown specimen. I can't really see it sharing your house without eating the other Yellow Sac Spiders.

But like I said, in my opinion.

I really hope your baby doesn't get bitten if I'm wrong!

Andrew

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight..... i just found 2 more in my house. Im really worried, i dont want my daughter to get bit :(. I found one in its web so now i know what the webs look like or have an idea, and i went down in my basement and seen a lot of "cocoon" looking webs that were identical but of different sizes. Is there any spider species that are known to prefer other species of spiders? Preferably one that likes to eat this species????

[loxoscelesfear]

although not impossible, recluse shouldn't be in Michigan. their webs are nothing more than a sloppy piece of matted web. are you sure these are not cellar spiders? main thing to realize is that recluse infest many homes in the south and no persons in the home ever get bit. a pic of the spider would help immensely.

[crpy]

Sounds like sac spider definately. They are very, very common where I live. myself and daughters have been bitten with no ill effects. Selenpids will grab them but i dont know if you have them there. Personally, I would'nt worry

[jadespider1985]

I wasnt worrying at first but they are EVERYWHERE i never noticed them until now when i went through and looked around. They seem to like tight places and higher levels. This one i have i have got to get a pic of, it is 3x the size of the rest of them, its very big. Heres a link to a pic on the web, the spiders i have are 100% these.

http://www.insectimages.org/browse/subthumb.cfm?sub=11518&start=1

The first one that was in my house and very large i guess is actually a female because i was reading only the females get this big in this species. Granted some of ya'll might think im crazy for worrying so much but the bite is nothing to scruff off with a 5 month old.

-Nate

[Pulk]

You already have WAY more of them in your house than you've found; there are yellow sac spiders in thousands of people's houses; and even if you tent the place they are still going to be able to get in. You never hear about people's babies being hospitalized for yellow sac spider bites... don't worry about it.

[MaartenSFS]

When I was 17 I warned my parents of the deadly Yellow Sac Spider, as well. They ignored me and nothing ever happened. Life went on. ;)

(I lived in Michigan at the time)

[Johnnyster]

Theyre everywhere dude. I just threw a big one out of my house yesterday. Theyre pretty creepy, specially the way the descend on their thread and unto your head.

I would just worry about my lil girl to a certain age and just be extra careful just for the "you never know" sake of it. After all, she is daddy's lil sweetheart and not worth a "benefit of the doubt" to the infamous yellow sac spider.

Amen

[jadespider1985]

Im still gonna worry about it but i guess ill just be more cautious. I threw down some contact poison around the house along the ceiling and doors where i see them. The garage is plagued by the things. However, i probably over reacted. I love arachnids but this one in particular creeps me the hell out. Its pretty but its creepy as hell. I guess i just found one species that gets me a bit :P. I used to live down in SC and there was black widows everywhere where i lived, they didn't bother me nearly as bad as these do, even though i know black widow bites are a bit worse. Ive read about people saying this species is not defensive unless you corner it or whatever, and my observation is this is correct when its daylight, but at night when they are active they are very defensive and quick to bite almost anything it seems, even plastic when they are in a deli cup. I have never seen this type of defensiveness before. I had a brown recluse before and it was not very defensive at all. And any black widows i have ever had were not defensive at all unless they were guarding a sac and still they were not this defensive. This species gains something in my household that no other spider species has ever gained... and thats when i see one it gets smashed on sight! The big female i had died so ill take her out and get some pics and post the spider next to a ruler, she is VERY large for this species it seems... and the offer is still up for anyone who would like to have some, i can catch all of them you want in my garage.

-Nate
-Nate

[Kagmi]

I've been doing a lot of research on yellow sacs recently, having just caught a fairly large specimen myself. I would say you probably don't have anything to worry about; apparently they're actually one of the most common house spiders, they just usually go unnoticed. They are much less aggressive and their venom much milder than recluses, despite the similar appearance. It wouldn't hurt to keep them away from your daughter, of course, but the likelihood of a bite occurring seems pretty low. Like I said, apparently most of us share our houses with these things and don't even notice them.

[Scott C.]

I recommend driving them out by populating your house with harmless house spiders local to your area.... Works over here on widows.

[buthus]

I recommend driving them out by populating your house with harmless house spiders local to your area.... Works over here on widows.
S.grossa would be a great candidate ...but not sure if they are found there.

Overall not much to worry about. The danger of sac spiders have been greatly exaggerated. Ladies and gentlemen, scary spiders have taken over our imaginations!

[Scott C.]

Speaking of Steatoda, what sp. we got around here?.... The ones I was using look somewhat like grossa, but were pumping out sacs with legspans around .25".... Never saw one get bigger than .5", if that....

Isn't Steatoda trianga-somethin' common round where Nate's at? Those are cool lookin' too.... Go with them if they are dude.

[Brianhogs]

Get some praying mantids. Great exterminators :D

[Pulk]

Get some preying mantids. Great exterminators :D

or some praying mantids :P

[Scott C.]

Those might work but they don't live so long, and they aren't very good free-roamers IME, tending to stick to windows for the most part..... Also, they'll ruin a couch when they attach their ooth to it.

[Bill S]

Im still gonna worry about it but i guess ill just be more cautious. I threw down some contact poison around the house ...
The poison is probably a greater threat to your baby than the spiders are. Spiders are not out there hunting people - even babies. But if it makes you feel better - get a piece of mosquito netting to drape over the baby's crib or bed. That will minimize her chances of an encounter while she sleeps.

We live in southern Arizona - in the desert southeast of Tucson. Not sure how many species of spiders we have living in the house. Loxosceles (recluse types) are one of the more common. Plenty of pholcids and selenopids. There's a black widow who's lived on the front porch for a couple years now, but we don't see them indoors. And we've found three species of scorpions indoors - Centruroides, Vaejovis and Seradigitus. (Centruroides being by far the most common.) But we don't get bit or stung. Just pay attention to the obvious risk points, watch where you put your hands or feet. We do transfer the scorpions outdoors when we find them - but the spiders can usually stay. They're not out to get you - they'll just defend themselves when cornered, pinched or stepped on.

[tom]

Just had to comment, I have loved this group for years, now no longer in Clubionidae, it is now in Miturgidae.I don't find them particularly aggressive,but can bite pretty defensively if caught. Please email me at tomssul@yahoo.com if you have some to sell. Cheers, Tom

[JColt]

Inspect for sac spiders by looking for sacs in upper corners of rooms, ceilings, behind pictures, on window molding, blinds or curtains. During the day, sac spiders may be inside these sacs so vacuuming is an excellent method of control. Remove and discard vacuum cleaner bags to prevent reinfestation.

http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/SacSpiders.shtml