Spiders are not welcomed visitors in our homes! (Well, maybe not for some of
you–but if that’s you, you’re probably not visiting a pest control site!) The
presence of spiders makes living spaces seem dirty, unkept, and dangerous.
Because spiders can present a year-round problem, their desire to keep
residence in your home can be troublesome. Whether it is Winter, Spring,
Summer, or Fall, spiders are not deterred from finding a way into your home
or camping out in your yard! We’ll detail below some of the most common
spiders found in the Pacific Northwest, and what kind of problems they can
present.

Western Black Widow
The western black widow spider (western widow), is a venomous spider
species found in western regions of North America. The female's body is 1/2
inch in length and is shiny black, often with an hourglass-shaped red mark on
the lower abdomen. This "hourglass" mark can be yellow, and on rare
occasions, white. The male of the species is around half the length of the
female, and most often a tan color with lighter striping on the abdomen. They
tend to live in areas that are dark, dry, and protective– beneath rocks, decks,
firewood heaps, sheds, and electric or water meter boxes. If you come across a
black widow, you should distance yourself safely, and try to kill it. Black widow
webs are very messy and inconsistent in their pattern. Make note of such
webs and contact a professional to mediate the problem.
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Wolf Spiders
Wolf Spiders are quite larger than a typical house spider with most having a
body size ranging from one-quarter of an inch to more than 1 1⁄2 inches in
length. Most wolf spiders are brown. They move very fast and chase down
prey. The combination of their speed and size can cause alarm, especially ifyou see one sprint across your kitchen or bathroom floor! Wolf Spiders prefer
cold, dark habitats, so especially in the warmer months they like to find a
place to hide in your home. They enter through exterior cracks and
underneath doors. Outdoors, wolf spiders occupy a variety of habitats,and are
common in heavy ground covers, and can be found beneath stones and other
items, as well as within cracks between landscape timbers.

Hobo Spiders
The Hobo Spider measures up to three-quarters of an inch in length and has
a leg span measuring more than 11⁄2 inches. They are brownish-gray with a
number of various markings. Hobo spiders are funnel-web spiders, which
means they construct flat webs that have a funnel-shaped retreat at one end.
Females spend most of their lives in the webs, while the males and immature
spiders may wander about in search of females or better nesting sites. If a
Hobo should wander into clothing, shoes or bed covers, it puts itself into
potential contact with people. If a person accidentally traps the spider against
their skin, the spider bites out of defensive reflex. Hobo spiders are only found
in the Pacific Northwest, which includes Idaho. This species prefers to build its
webs where a hole or crack exists so that it can locate its funnel retreat.These
webs are usually found in basements, garages, crawl spaces and outdoors in
vegetation.

While this is not a complete list of every spider you’ll find, these are some that should catch your attention. Taking the preventative measures we’ve shared above can be somewhat helpful, BUT your best option is to seek professional services like ours.