Help with spider identification- is it harmful?

Question

A few days ago I first saw this spider, but it disappeared under the bed. I flipped it up and sprayed extensively, but there was no sign of it. Today I saw another one in the same room. (my bedroom)

Including it's legs it's about the size of a quarter, black with tan or light yellow markings on the back of it's abdomen. I only glimpsed it each time, and couldn't tell if it was hairy or anything.

I live in upstate New York.

I'm very allergic to insects and other things, just a mosquito bite is enough to make my whole arm swell up, so I'm worried about this spider. I'm also worried about my pet rats- I don't want them getting bitten.

So, any ideas? Or know of a website that could help me? I looked quite a bit but can't find anything that could help with identification.

Answer 1

It could be a common Wolf Spider. their about that size and are quite the quick little bastards. they arent poisonous to humans, but their bite hurts like hell!!! (experience)



Heres a pic of one.

http://www.badspiderbites.com/images/wolf-spider-2.jpg

Answer 2

As a native western new yorker i can say that although others in this site claim that it may be a black widow or a brown recluse i can say with relative certainty that neither of them are native to this area.Chances are it was what we call a sewer spider if it was that size and fast. They do bite but are not toxic like their southern cousins. We in this state have very few truly poisonous insects at all. Our winters are very cold and inhospitable to these kind of insects. If however you have recently traveled to a warmer climate you may have inadvertently brought one home. The best thing to do is kill one and take it to your local college for identification.

Answer 3

This spider is not going to be harmful, and your pets will be just fine.

With allergies, you should be more concerned with other biting

insects, than a spider that is not likely to bite.

Pesticides are not a good idea either.

No doubt the spider is after some of these other insects.

Your description is too vague to ID the spider.

Answer 4

Not really sure about the spider, but I do know that spraying insecticides is BAD for pet rats!



Allegedly, the only poisonous spider in NYS are black widows (and this definitely wasn't that!)



http://www.venombyte.com/venom/spiders/venomous_spiders_by_state.asp





Also, this says the brown recluse doesn't even live in the region.

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/DOJvol5num2/special/recluse.html

I've read this in several other places as well (I'm in NY too)

Answer 5

Google brown recluse spiders to work out pictures of them. i've got been thinking plenty approximately brown recluse spiders myself in the present day and have desperate to reserve some glue traps to place around my domicile to capture any spiders that is latest. Then i can the two reassure myself that i've got not got the brown recluse or i could have the advice i could attempt to rid my domicile of a unfavourable pest. And even with being a bio instructor, i'm petrified of spiders, too. i could rather see a snake or a mouse in my room any day.

Answer 6

http://spiders.ucr.edu/recluseid.html



it could be a Brown Recluse spider.