Of all the calls we get, spiders produce some of the most disproportionate reactions relative to actual risk. The overwhelming majority of spiders found in and around Tampa Bay homes are harmless, and many are actively beneficial — they eat the insects you’d otherwise be calling us about. But a small handful of species do warrant real caution, and knowing which is which takes the guesswork out of a spider sighting.
The Spiders You Can Leave Alone
Most spiders you’ll find around a Tampa Bay home fall into this category: wolf spiders, banana spiders (golden silk orb-weavers), jumping spiders, and common house spiders. Wolf spiders are large, fast-moving, and ground-dwelling — they look alarming but don’t build webs and aren’t aggressive toward people. Banana spiders build the large, striking webs you’ll see strung between trees or porch corners in late summer and fall; they’re harmless to humans and help control flying insect populations. Jumping spiders are small, curious, and often mistaken for something more dangerous simply because they move quickly and face you directly.
None of these require treatment on their own. If anything, a healthy population of web-building spiders around the exterior of a home is a sign that flying insect pressure is being kept in check naturally.
The Two That Actually Matter
Florida is home to two spiders of genuine medical concern: the southern black widow and the brown widow, both increasingly common throughout the Tampa Bay area.
The southern black widow is glossy black with the well-known red hourglass marking on the underside of its abdomen. The brown widow — now more common in Florida than the black widow in many areas — is mottled tan to dark brown with an orange or yellow hourglass marking, and its egg sacs have a distinctive spiky, tufted appearance that’s a strong identification clue on their own. Both prefer dark, undisturbed spaces: garages, sheds, under eaves, inside stacked planters, storage boxes, and gaps in outdoor furniture.
A bite from either species can cause significant pain, muscle cramping, and other systemic symptoms, and warrants medical attention — particularly for children, older adults, or anyone with underlying health conditions. That said, widow spiders are not aggressive. They don’t chase or attack; bites almost always happen when a hand or foot makes direct contact with a web or the spider itself, usually while reaching into an undisturbed space without looking first.
Where Widows Tend to Hide
- Garages and sheds, especially in corners, along shelving, and inside stored boxes
- Under eaves and in exterior light fixtures
- Stacked plant pots, especially the drainage holes underneath
- Gaps in outdoor furniture, grills, and rarely-used equipment
- Woodpiles and debris piles left against the structure
Simple Precautions Worth Taking
Wear gloves when reaching into storage boxes, woodpiles, or stacked outdoor items you haven’t disturbed recently. Shake out shoes, gloves, or tools that have been sitting in a garage or shed. Keep storage areas decluttered, since widow spiders favor undisturbed, cluttered spaces over open ones. And if you spot a web with the telltale tangled, irregular structure widows are known for — rather than the neat, symmetrical webs of an orb-weaver — treat it as worth a closer, careful look before reaching past it.
When to Call a Professional
An occasional wolf spider or house spider isn’t something that needs a service call. But a confirmed widow spider population, especially around an entryway, garage, or area with regular foot traffic, is worth addressing directly rather than managing one spider at a time. A perimeter treatment combined with reducing harborage — clearing clutter, sealing gaps, managing woodpiles — is far more effective long-term than repeated spot treatment of individual webs.
Pestex Services Inc. is a family-owned pest control company based in Tampa, serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties for over 40 years. Contact us at 813-960-PEST or visit pestexweb.com.