The 12 Most Common Spiders You'll Find Lurking In And Around Your Home

Spiders are the creepy-crawling stuff of nightmares for many homeowners, but in reality many common house spiders aren't as scary was you'd think. With that said, it is helpful to have some understanding of which spiders are harmless visitors and which are actually more dangerous pests and should be carefully removed. With over 3,500 species of spiders in the United States, it may feel like identifying the arachnids you find in your house is a fool's errand, but staying savvy about the most common spiders will help you maintain a safe home for you and your family.

From relatively harmless species like long-legged cellar spiders to the more concerning brown recluse, these creatures can crop up in various places throughout the home. Spots that aren't cleaned very regularly, like garages and sheds, for example, provide dark, secluded areas for spiders to peacefully spin their webs and catch the occasional insect meal. Most common house spiders will live exclusively indoors in dark, damp, and cool places like under bookcases and beds, while other common spiders make themselves at home in gardens and under decks. If the prospect of an eight-legged roommate is unsavory to you, then remember to maintain a clean house, keep outdoor entry points well sealed, and use scents like eucalyptus to get rid of spiders. In the meantime, brush up on your spider identifying skills with this cheat sheet of the most common spiders you'll find lurking in and around your home so you can keep your cool the next time you see one.

Starting our list off strong with a spider that folks are rightfully afraid of, black widows (Latrodectus hesperus) are known for toxic, nerve-attacking venom. Identifiable by its characteristically shiny black body, females bear a red hourglass mark on their abdomen. They get up to 1½ inches in size (including legs) and are often found hiding in outdoor spaces like building eaves and outdoor furniture. Black widow bites, particularly from the female spider, are venomous and can result in many symptoms like muscle spasms, headache, severe pain, and even fever. Consult medical help if you suspect a bite.

The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) is named for its color and habit of seeking out secluded environments. They're unique in that they have six eyes instead of eight, and their legs aren't banded like other spider species. You likely won't want to get close enough to find out, though, so you can also identify them from the brown, violin-shaped spot on their backs. They're the size of a penny, and their bites are akin to a bee sting. If you're finding brown recluses in your yard, though, you may be making some common mistakes, like facilitating other insects that these spiders eat.

The American house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) sure does look scary with its spotted body and striped legs, but the truth is that their bites are nothing more than a nuisance. Often less than ⅓ inch in size, these common house spiders love hanging out in garages, sheds, and inside furniture. While not considered dangerous like black widows or brown recluses, bite spots may result in redness and swelling. Often a bite will heal on its own. Typically, American house spiders will cohabitate with people somewhat peacefully until they feel like they need to defend themselves.

Wolf spider (Lycosidae) is a generic name that refers to several species of spider that move swiftly across the ground and hunt at night. They're incredibly athletic creatures that don't spin webs; rather, they chase prey down. Identifiable from their gray to brown or black markings, wolf spiders are commonly striped on their bodies and heads. Lucky for humans, they only bite if they feel threatened and are largely harmless otherwise. You'll likely find them in your yard, like under leaf piles, though they are known to enter a house from time to time.

Daddy longlegs is actually blanket term that refers to different groups of pests including harvestmen, pholcid spiders, and crane flies that are among the most common household pests. Only pholcid spiders (cellar spiders) (Pholcidae) are really spiders though; harvestmen are a species of eight-legged insect that doesn't have the hallmark segmented body of spiders, and crane flies are a type of large fly with oversized legs and wings. They often get lumped in the same long-legged category, though. None of them are particularly dangerous and pose little threat to humans. Cellar spiders tend to enjoy hanging upside down in their webs, often in basements and garages.

Often mistaken for wolf spiders, jumping spiders range in color from brown to tan to gray with light-colored markings and densely packed hair. They can get up to ¾ inch long. but have noticeably stumpier legs than their wolfy counterparts. Unlike wolf spiders, jumping spiders prefer to hunt during the day and weave webby retreats. As a rare exception to the spider rule, they love sunshine. You'll find them jumping about, both inside the house and in outdoor spots, like decks where it's sunny. Don't worry, they're harmless much like the wolf spider.

A member of the funnelweb spider family, hobo spiders are brown-colored crawlies with long legs, identifiable from yellow markings on the abdomen. They can reach up to ⅝ inch long, and despite their rather intimating web habitats (remarkable tube-shaped retreats), hobo spiders are largely non-threatening to humans and are not known to have toxic venom. They're nonaggressive creatures, contrary to their old name of "aggressive house spider"; it's more likely that said name was a mistranslation of its European name "agrestis" which actually means "of the field," a reference to their preferred habitat.

Closely related to the hobo spider, grass spiders also craft funnel-like web retreats and prefer to hang out in grassy environments with plenty of ground cover. But, when the temperatures drop in regions with colder seasonal climates, grass spiders are known to make their way indoors. Usually almost ¼ inch long, grass spiders are small, brown creatures with a pointed abdomen. While they can bite, leading to an itchy and red bite spot on the skin, it's rare that they do. Instead, they tend to flee quickly to get out of the way of humans.

Orb-weaving spiders (Araneidae) are brightly colored critters that may make you think they're dangerous at first since they're so vibrantly marked, but in reality they're beneficial additions around the house. Known by their black and yellow markings, female orb weavers craft large, suspended webs that trap other garden nuisances, like moths and caterpillars. They are not aggressive towards people though you may want to get rid of their webs in windowsills since they can be quite messy. Otherwise, they're pretty beneficial additions to the garden, stopping other bugs from eating your hard-earned crops.

Jorō Spiders (Trichonephila clavata) are an invasive species now commonly found in the southeastern region of the U.S. Similarly colored to the orb weavers, jorō spiders are found in yards with a high concentration of trees. While Orb Weavers are seen as beneficial contributors to the garden, some consider jorō spiders to be a threat, but while that may be ecologically true, they rarely bite. Their size is quite intimidating, though, with female spiders reaching lengths of 3 inches. They've gotten more prolific since their discovery a decade ago, so expect to see more of these spiders soon enough.

This rather large, skittering spider thankfully is not common nationwide. However, if you live in the deserts of the American Southwest, seeing a desert blond tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes) in your home or yard is more common than one may think. Recognizable for its incredibly hairy body as well as their bigger size — a leg span of almost 5 inches — tarantulas are mostly nocturnal. They do have robust fangs filled with venom, but while these weapons are great for hunting insects, they pose little threat to humans. Don't bother it, it won't bother you!

Sac spiders (Cheiracanthium inclusum and Cheiracanthium mildei) are pale yellow to green in color, which allows them to blend into neutral-colored walls easily (only slightly terrifying). Less than half an inch long, these spiders like to dwell in corners, on ceilings, around windowsills, and on exterior siding. They have a potent bite for its size, so much so, that they're often misdiagnosed as Brown Recluse bites. Like wolf spiders, they hunt prey rather than rely on webs and are incredibly reactive. If they get trapped between your skin and fabric — like sheets or clothing or even shoes — they'll bite.