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Spider webs and spiders seem to surround us at Halloween, whether it’s spider decorations or real live spiders you’re suddenly noticing around your home! With over 3,000 species of spiders in North America alone, and three species commonly seen on Long Island, you are bound to run into a spider if your home isn’t protected by a regular pest control service.
In addition to being creepy and crawly, spiders come with a few risks. While most spiders we see on Long Island rarely bite, for some people, serious reactions can occur, especially if allergies or a weakened immune system are present.
Need some tips on keeping Long Island’s most common spiders out of your home? Keep reading!
Types of Spiders on Long Island
As mentioned, there are three primary spider types found on Long Island: Wolf Spiders, Daddy Long-Legs, and Sac Spiders. If you see another type of spider in your home besides one of these three, it has most likely hitchhiked on something that you may have brought into your home!
Wolf Spiders 
If you’re not a fan of spiders, wolf spiders are one of the more physically intimidating spiders to come across in your Long Island home. With black and gray coloring and slightly furry bodies, wolf spiders measure in at nearly 2 inches long. They have stout bodies, strong legs, and excellent vision (understandably since they have eight eyes) which comes in handy since they’re active at night. While they don’t build webs like other spider species, wolf spiders are known for running quickly to chase down their prey (typically other insects and small lizards and frogs).
Inside Long Island homes, wolf spiders are most commonly found in areas such as basements, crawl spaces, or garages in areas where other insects are likely to be found. Rumor has it that you can see a wolf spider’s silvery blue-green eyes staring back at you at night. Shine a flashlight held next to your head at the same level as your eyes. Look out onto your backyard. You might see some eyes looking back at you.
Wolf spiders will bite if they feel threatened. Their bites leave behind itchy red bumps that usually go away within a few days for most affected individuals.
Daddy Long Legs 
Even though Daddy Long Legs aren’t considered true spiders by scientists, they are in fact distant cousins. You may also hear them referred to as Harvestmen, Shepherd Spiders, Grandfather Graybeards, or Opiliones. These “spiders” are usually under a half inch long with non-segmented bodies and very long, slender legs that can be about two inches long each.
Around your home in shady, humid places like your basement or crawl space, you’ll likely find many tangled webs in that Daddy Long Legs create to snare their next meal. Aside from lurking in the corners of your home, these pests are pretty harmless.
Sac Spiders 
Sac spiders are another common spider in Long Island homes. These spiders are usually yellow with darker coloring on the tips of their legs, and they max out at around a half an inch long. Sac spiders have silk-spinning organs on their bodies called spinerets, and eight eyes, just like wolf spiders.
Inside homes, sac spiders gravitate toward baseboards, ceilings, windows, door frames, and on furniture, but unlike some spider species, sac spiders don’t make large webs. Their webs are strictly made for sleeping or rearing their young. These tiny yellow spiders can bite. Their bites can leave itchy sores that are slow to heal. They are the only spiders in New York that are moderately poisonous to humans.
While sac spiders don’t have lethal poison in their venom, reactions to a sac spider’s bite may include a slow-healing sore, itchiness, and swelling.
Protect Your Long Island Home From Spiders
For help with spiders in your home, contact us today!
