The Brown Recluse Spider, The legend of…       Wenatchee Home and Pest Inspections

Well being a structural pest inspectors I have gotten several calls over the years on spiders, and especially the Brown Recluse Spider. I even grew up thinking there was Brown Recluse spiders in Washington state because my Dad said there was. You always believe what your Dad said, Right?

First off I am structural pest inspector so my main concern is those bugs and organisms that can cause structural damage to homes (wood destroying insects) ; termites, carpenter ants, anobiid beetles, moisture ants and so on.

But since I am a “Bug Guy” people think I must know about all of the bugs, well no and not even close. But I do happen to be interested in bugs so I do know some information about “Some” bugs that fall outside these structural pests and one of them is the Brown Recluse.

There are many myths or legends of the Brown Recluse in Washington State, but most of all they are myths and legends. The Brown Recluse does not inhabit the NW region. It has been proven that Brown Recluse spiders are extremely rare in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. They have most likely have been brought in with something like furniture or boxes that came from a different part of the country where they do inhabit. Often what people are seeing and even may been bitten by are Hobo Spiders or Yellow Sac Spiders. Both of these are not aggressive and usually only bite if they are trapped against you.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) list the Hobo Spider as one of the three venomous spiders, but this is highly debateable if their venom is really that dangerous to humans. Now remember almost all spiders are venomous, only two small families of spiders lack venom glands.

CDC Link- http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/spiders/

The question with the Hobo Spider is their venom really dangerous to humans? From my research I would say it is probably not. Now with that said a specific person may have a toxic reaction to a specific spider bite but it most likely will not be life threatening and will be localized.

Washington Dept. of Health- Spiders

Now if you want to talk Black Widow Spiders, those I see a ton of. But I like to tell everyone these are very shy creatures and I carry a much bigger hammer.

Homeowners Guide to Spiders around the Yard (Idaho)