While the vast majority of spiders in Arizona are actually helpful members of the arachnid family, you don’t necessarily want to see them in your home. There are several species you don’t even want to see in your garden or anywhere near your house as they are poisonous. Following are a few of the most common poisonous spiders in the Phoenix area.

Black Widow
The female Black Widow is the one to avoid. Black with an orange or red hourglass shape on her abdomen, her bite is rarely deadly but can be quite painful. While not deadly, if you are bitten by a black widow you should try to capture the spider for identification and seek medical care. Black widows like to nest in dark areas where they will be left alone, such as wood piles or mailboxes. Indoors they prefer under desks or in a basement corner.

Tarantula
Stumbling across a tarantula can be terrifying because most people have been conditioned to fear them. They can be less than an inch across, all the way up to the size of a small dinner plate. The species most commonly found in the Southwest are generally brown and hairy. Chances are you will find these burrowers in your garden or yard. Unless you experience a severe allergic reaction, a bite from a tarantula can be painful but not especially dangerous. Some more exotic breeds are gaining popularity as pets.

Wolf Spider
Wolf spiders are adaptable to almost any environment and can be found inside your home or out. Their camouflage coloring make them hard to spot. When provoked, wolf spiders will bite and produce a toxin that will leave you uncomfortable with swelling and pain, but rarely anything more serious.

Brown Recluse
The Brown Recluse is the spider that has venom considered to be the most dangerous in the Phoenix area. They generally build irregular webs in woodpiles, sheds, closets, basements, and other dry areas where they will be left alone. Brown Recluse have also been found in shoes, work gloves, piles of clothes, mailboxes, and bed sheets. Their bite contains a potentially deadly hemotoxin which can result in a necrotizing ulcer that destroys the soft tissue around the bite, and can take months to heal.

The Best Defense is a Strong Offense
The best defense against these and other regional spiders is to prevent them in the first place. Spiders are nocturnal, so you might not even know you have a spider problem until someone gets bitten. Atomic Pest Control can treat your property to eliminate any spiders you already have and discourage new ones from moving in.