You walk into the garage, flip on the light and something large and black darts behind the shelving unit faster than you expected anything that size to move. Your first thought is black widow. Your second thought is how long has that been in there.
Big black spiders in garages throughout Wesley Chapel are extremely common and the good news is that most of them are not black widows. The bad news is that some of them are and telling the difference matters.
The Most Common Big Black Spider in Wesley Chapel Garages
The spider most homeowners in Wesley Chapel are seeing when they panic is almost always one of two species. The first is the Southern house spider which is large, dark brown to black and moves very fast. Female Southern house spiders can have a body close to an inch long and their legs make them look significantly bigger. They build messy irregular webs in corners, along the ceiling and behind stored items. They are completely harmless to humans and actually help control other insects in the garage.
The second common culprit is the wolf spider. Wolf spiders are large, dark and hairy and they do not build webs at all. They hunt on the ground and they move fast when disturbed which is usually what catches people off guard. Wolf spiders look intimidating but their bite is no worse than a bee sting for most people and they rarely bite at all unless they are trapped against skin.
Neither of these spiders is something to panic about. But identifying them correctly matters because the next spider on the list is a very different situation.
When It Actually Is a Black Widow
Black widows are present throughout Pasco County and Wesley Chapel garages are one of their favorite places to live. They are not rare here. They prefer dark undisturbed spaces close to the ground which is exactly what most garages provide. Under workbenches, behind stored equipment, in the corners near the floor, inside boxes that have been sitting for a long time. These are the spots black widows set up.
The identifying feature is the red hourglass marking on the underside of the abdomen. The body is shiny black and relatively small. The web is irregular and messy, built low to the ground, and it has a distinctly sticky rough texture compared to the cleaner webs of other species. If you disturb the web the spider will often retreat rather than come toward you.
If you see a shiny black spider with a red marking anywhere on the underside of the body do not try to kill it yourself by reaching in with your hand or a shoe. A black widow bite causes muscle cramps, severe pain that spreads through the body and in serious cases requires medical attention. If you have small children or elderly people in your home call us the same day.
How to Tell the Difference Without Getting Too Close
The easiest way to distinguish a black widow from the other large dark spiders in your garage is the web location and style. Black widows build low, irregular, sticky webs close to the ground in sheltered spots. Southern house spiders build messier webs higher up along walls and ceilings. Wolf spiders do not build webs at all and you will find them running across the floor rather than sitting in a web.
The red hourglass is the definitive identifier for a black widow but you need to see the underside to spot it which means getting close to something you probably do not want to get close to. If you are not sure what you are looking at take a photo from a safe distance and call us. We will identify it immediately.
Why Garages in Wesley Chapel Are Such a Problem
Garages throughout Wesley Chapel provide almost everything spiders need. Warmth, darkness, clutter, low foot traffic and a steady supply of insects that come in through gaps under the door and around the perimeter. The more cluttered and undisturbed a garage is the more attractive it becomes. Cardboard boxes sitting on the floor for months are particularly popular with black widows because they provide shelter and tend to attract the small insects black widows feed on.
If you have not gone through your garage in a while and you start finding large dark spiders regularly it is worth having it inspected. Our spider control program includes a full assessment of the garage and exterior areas where spiders are active and treats both the spiders and the underlying insect activity drawing them in.