Anyone who knows me, knows I am not a creepy-crawler fan. In fact, anyone who knows me, knows I reach for my inhaler when one of those creepy-crawlies starts creeping and crawling.
This will be a short and to the point post because the creepy-factor is off the scale. WAY off the scale.
Daughter is cleaning her room today – that fact alone deserves its own post. 
Problem is, that room so rarely gets deep cleaned because of all the ‘stuff’ in there, that today we’ve found a very strange and scary-looking spider.
Okay… to me, they’re all scary looking, but… well… if you’re game, have a gander at these pictures and tell me if they don’t send shivers of disgust scurrying down your spine…
Oh… and if you happen to know what kind of spider this is – and whether it’s one to fear – give me a shout-out, ‘kay? 
Ready?
Yes, that’s the same spider. I can’t believe I did this, but I actually put the camera on macro then used hubby’s photographer’s loop to get an even closer closeup shot. I really need my inhaler now…
<<<EDIT>>>
UPDATE: We didn’t find other spiders in the room, fortunately, and this one’s photo will travel to exterminaters for examination. But, meanwhile, to put fears to rest and to help y’all identify an actual brown recluse spider – from which you want to stay far, far away – here’s a photo of one:
Notice the top portion of the body – I know, I know, you don’t want to look that close. I don’t blame you, but do it here with a picture so the next time you see a brown spider, you’ll know exactly what to look for.
On the top portion of the body, where the legs come from, there is a darker marking. Look closely at it. The dark part is shaped like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing to the spider’s lower body. It’s almost like s/he’s got it slung over his shoulder to be carried on his back.
Cool once you know what to look for. Cool because it means chances are, that’s not what you have. Releif… it’s not what we had.
****
The brown recluse spider image is a work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, taken or made as part of an employee’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.
Oh wow, Debbie, there is something particularly sinister about this one. It’s brown, and I’ve heard of the brown recluse but don’t think the recluse has legs this long. I’m going to google on it.
Debbie, I’m almost positive that you have a brown recluse. Their bites are horrible, so I’m glad your daughter wasn’t bit! Nice job with the photos.
Debbie, those pictures alone are enough to freak out anyone. Hope it’s not dangerous, but don’t ask me. I know nothing about spiders and I’d like to keep it that way!
Linda
Kathleen,
It is a sinister looking thing, isn’t it?! yikes! And Daughter wanted me to kill it. Ha! I screamed the whole time I was trying to cup in with a juice glass, then shrieked while running with it to the front door… only to stop and think maybe I should photograph it… just in case it’s something… unique. Blah. What was I thinking?
Janessa,
A writer friend of mine, who lives in Texas, was bitten by a recluse. The reaction she had to it was unimaginable. I’ve done some more research – disgusting as it was – and I’m pretty sure despite how scary this one looked, it wasn’t a brown recluse. I’m saving the pictures to show an exterminator, though. Not taking any chances in case there are more in the house.
Linda,
I’m with you. I really don’t want to know anything about these buggers, but… after finding it in the child’s room, well, you just gotta do what ya gotta do. Yes? 🙂
~Debbie
My first thought was the brown recluse too – mostly because it’s brown…I’m by no means knowledgeable on the subject. But I’ve heard awful stories about what happens if they bite you.
Hope that was the only one you had – whatever it was. 🙂
Laura,
That was my first panicked thought, too. Fortunately, it was the only one we found. Whew. Cleaning the rest of the room wasn’t easy. I’ve edited my post to show the detail of a brown recluse. It’s a scary looking beast – but then, to me, they’re all scary beasts.
~Debbie
Am I ever glad I didn’t read this blog before going to bed. It is far too graphic. I would have had nightmares. (shouldn’t there have been a warning about it being too graphic for some of us? LOL). I know nothing about spiders except they give me the creeps.
Linda
Those are creepy spiders!! I’ve never seen those before.
The ones I’ve seen are the daddy long legs which are harmless except for other bugs; small fuzzy, fat black house spiders that are relatively harmless; and a type of fuzzy, black spider (larger than the one mentioned before) with a red marking on its back … something related to a black widow, which I found in my barn when I lived in Ajax, Ontario, and was told later to get rid of them. We had numerous ones in the barn, and it took some time to get rid of the majority of them. Must have liked the horse flies.
Barbara,
Creepy indeed!! The kind of spider you had in the barn sounds creepy as well. I’m guessing, since they told you to get rid of them, that they were dangerous. Yikes!. I wonder how many of the creepy things we see are actually harmless to us, though. The ick-factor, of course, is an issue, but if we know they can’t hurt us, we’re somehow okay with them. Well… either way, I wouldn’t be okay with the spider I found. Guess my talk is cheap, huh? LOL.
~Debbie
Looks like you have a hobo spider http://hobospider.org/ or just google hobo spider and look at all the pics you get. I think you’ll agree it looks like yours.
I have been bitten by a brown lacruse and I will tell you what you have found is identical to what has betten me.I have lived with the pain in my leg and issues with the muscles in my legs since I was bitten. These spiders are no joke and if I was you I would have professionals come in and do a clean sweep of your house if you already haven’t. It is a horrible thing to live with and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.
Amanda,
It does indeed look like the hobo spider except that mine seemed to have a longer, slimmer body. The ‘tail’ of it was sharp and tapered. I’d never seen a spider like that in my life.
~Debbie
Fire eyes,
You’ve been bitten!? How awful! I’ve seen photos of what their bites can cause and it’s simply devastating. Thank you for the warning. I did indeed have a pro come in an spray. In fact, I have a contract with the company so now they come every three months. Can’t be too careful, can you?
~Debbie
i looked it up and a hobo spider ? i guess it is.
Brown recluse spiders are common here. I have found and killed four only this week. Normally I do not go about killing spiders but they were in my house and I have small kids. I live in Kempton Park, South Africa.
Oh my, Adriaan. To see that many of those dangerous things in one week is just astounding! I would be terrified that more of them were lurking somewhere unseen in my home. I’m glad you were able to rid you house of the ones you found. Hopefully that’s all there were.
~Debbie
I agree, I think it could be a variety of Hobo spider, I didn’t thinkso at first, but the front “feelers” are quite alike on the two pictures, and depending on what picture you see, they can look more pointy. Yours would probably be a male. But, they are shown on a map to be indigenous to the Northwestern states.
Also, a Hobo spider does have a necrotic bit like a recluse, so good you found it and it not you.
I found your blog when looking for a photo of a Recluse for my husband who had seen a brown spider in our travel trailor! Got to get out the bombs. He said it looked like a recluse.
Kitty,
Those ‘feelers’ are nasty looking, aren’t they? I hope what your husband found in the trailer wasn’t a brown recluse! But I’m glad you got out the bombs just in case.
Thanks for commenting! And for sharing how you found my blog.
~Debbie
Yes very poisenous–My brother’s singing coach die from a bite 2 weeks latter.
Wow! didn’t have my glasses on and made some serious spelling errors.
My brother’s singing coach died from a bite from a brown recluse. Took two weeks. They are in 70% of Midwestern homes. They usually reside in attic boxes.
lol. No worries about the typos, musicrowe.
I can’t believe how dangerous these spiders are… and how common. It’s terrifying.
~Debbie
this is the same freaking thing that bite me in my sleep on my temple.i woke up with a know the size of a golfball so i went to the doc.they thought it was a cist till it got worse and sent me to a surgeon.he had to cut out all hte dead tissue and said i was really lucky i got to the doc as soon as i did and at that not a noticebly scar.still sleep with the light on for now.
Brown Recluse are fairly common around here. In fact, I just killed one a few minutes ago. Their bites are necrotic, yes.. but more often the not, they’re not fatal. People with weakened immune systems, the elderly, and young children are the ones at the most risk.
Luckily, these types of spiders aren’t particularly aggressive.. they’d rather live in peace, undisturbed, then actively seek you out.
Anyway, I’m glad what you had wasn’t a Brownie.. but that Hobo spider was creepy in its own right ^_^;
that is a brown recluse girlfreind,i know i have been biten by one,still seeing doctors,and sorry to say usaully where there one there hundreds,chjeck in basement crawl space attic,according to all data there not even suppose to be in my state,but they r and so far this summer 4 people have been biten in wisco,the bites r god aweful,hurt like hell,look like hell,spray that house downn good hun,mary
Please take no advice from the uninformed masses. While you’re being genuinely kind in your responses, don’t encourage the further spreading of ignorance and paranoia. Brown recluses don’t have spines on their legs, among many other misapplied characteristics here.
When i was in the military i have seen brown-recluse-spider in hawaii. How deadly are they if bitten
the dumbass that typed up this article needs some serious brain therapy
Keep in mind that there are numerous species of Loxosceles reclusa (Brown Recluse). While all share some characteristics (IE: six eyes, rather than eight, fiddle on back, spin webs out of venom, nasty necrotic bites,etc), they are not identical. Some are light tan, others dark brown, some shiny, others dull, some long, slender legs, others shorter, stubbier legs. MOST are hairless. There are also many spiders that only resemble the Brown Recluse. Hobo spiders are pretty dangerous too btw.
Wish I could post some pics I have, so you could see some of the major differences.
I would like to know if a black widow poops? This is a question that my son asked for school. does any one know?
ooh – i killed a big brown spider last night in my bathroom…then googled to see if it was a brown recluse – not sure, but it’s a pretty scary resemblance…plus, yesterday i was on a major cleaning tear… yikes! thanks for your post!
I killed6 spiders in my daughters house she lives in tallahassee florida I was scarred because my grandson was about to grab it I dont know what type it was but i dont care, I hate spiders and reptiles. I guess I better go back to texas .
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