|
Hobo Spiders are brown and measure roughly 12 to 18 mm in
length. Their legs show no distinct rings and have short hairs.
Their abdomens have several chevron shaped markings. Males are
distinctively different from females in that they have two large
palps that look like boxing gloves. These palps are often mistaken
for fangs or venom sacs, but they are in fact the male genitalia.
The females also have these palps, but the ends are not 'swollen' as
they are on the males. Females tend to have a larger abdomen when
compared to males. The hobo spider, Tegenaria agrestis, is a moderately large
spider of the family Agelenidae which is indigenous to western
Europe that was introduced into the north western United States (Port
of Seattle) sometime before the 1930's. The means of the spiders'
introduction into the United States was almost certainly commercial
shipping vessels carrying cargo originating from agricultural areas
of Europe. In its native Europe the hobo spider is a resident of
fields, rarely entering human habitations due to the presence of
major competitors, particularly the giant house spider, Tegenaria
gigantea, which is a common resident of houses and other
man-made structures in Europe; thus, human contacts with the hobo
spider are uncommon in Europe. In the United States however, the
hobo spider rapidly adapted to living in urban areas, and without
the widespread presence of a dominant competitor, became abundant
and began to extend its range; by 1968 it had become established as
far east as Spokane, Washington and Moscow, Idaho, and as far south
as Corvallis, Oregon. The reason hobo spiders have a reputation for
being so aggressive is because they have very poor eye sight and
have to aggressively attack their prey to catch it. Their web is not
sticky either which makes it harder for them to catch prey.
Therefore with their poor eye sight, they think humans or anything
that moves probably, are prey and attack. In around 50% of bites, no
venom is injected so their reputation is probable overrated too.
However when it is injected, necrosis occurs and the resulting wound
can take years to heal with much skin being eaten away!
hobospider.org |
| .. |
Reply: I think this is a hobo spider too.
18 August, 2008:
Hi Glen!
Great site!
I've been trying to figure out what kind of spider this is. Any Ideas?
I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (City of Hancock). Found it
under a shoe at night time, and another the same night scurrying across
the floor. They're huge!
The attached photos are ones of a smaller spider than the one we saw
running across the floor.
One photo is of the underside, and is labeled as such.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
There's so much confusion up here about what these spiders actually are,
whether they're wolf spiders, brown recluse, or giant house spiders.
These spiders seem to be very common in houses here, especially old
ones. My house is ~112 years old.
Thanks for your time!
-Ryan Lucas |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
| .. |
Reply: I think this is a hobo spider. Your 2nd spider
is a woodlouse hunter.
15 August, 2008:
Awesome site and you've never let me down. Found a few of these in the traps this weekend. I believe spider1 is a hobo but I have seen SO many funnel weavers and hobo pictures.. it looks like it could be either. I am in Utah, USA. We have small children and I really need to rid the area of hobos if we have them.. Our playroom is in the basement. I sprayed for spiders inside and out yesterday but that spider1 was in the trap this morning.
The second spider I have no idea what it is. Both were in traps.
|
|
 |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply:
It could could be tegenaria gigantea, the
giant house spider which is in the same species.
15 August, 2008:
hello i just caught this spider crawling across my floor
today. i live in Kent, OH USA. and from looking through your
websites photos it looks a lot like one of the pictures of a Hobo
spider.. but this is very confusing to me because Ohio is not in
the hobo spiders range. any help on this would be great. i know
the photo is zoomed out quite a bit but it is very clear once
you zoom in. ~Michael
Click for a larger view.
|
 |
| .. |
|
Reply:
It could could be tegenaria gigantea, the
giant house spider which is in the same species.
10 April, 2008:
hello i just caught this spider crawling across my floor
today. i live in Kent, OH USA. and from looking through your
websites photos it looks a lot like one of the pictures of a Hobo
spider.. but this is very confusing to me because Ohio is not in
the hobo spiders range. any help on this would be great. i know
the photo is zoomed out quite a bit but it is very clear once
you zoom in. ~Michael
Click for a larger view.
|
|
| .. |
|
10 April, 2008:
Hi
I just found this spider in London, UK and I was wondering if it
is a Tegenaria Gigantea. I live in the center(ish) so I guess
it's not a Tegeraria Agreste.
Can you confirm it please?
Ciao,
Alessandra
Click for a larger view.
|
 |
| .. |
|
10 April, 2008:
Hi Glen, Found this one walking down my driveway yesterday,
haven't sent anything for a while so thought you might like it and
also to say hello. Cheers, Eddie |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: It's a bit hard to tell
from these photos but this could be a hobo spider.
Hobo spiders don't have very hairy legs like other tegenaria
species and have no banding on them. It could also could be tegenaria gigantea, the
giant house spider which is in the same species.
27 December, 2007:
I found this very scary looking Spider in my
bedroom by my bed. I
think it looks an awful lot like a Hobo Spider but wanted
another
opinion and would appreciate if you would give me a bit of
input. I
have included two large pics, and you are most welcome to use
them if
you so desire.
Paul
|
|
 |
Click for a larger view. |
| .. |
|
2 December, 2007:
Hey Glen -
Here are a few spider pics from recently caught critters. The last three images are of a small example of the spiders we
routinely catch and release; have seen these guys with a body
the size of a large wasp and leg spans reaching 2.5" to 3",
pretty sure its a wolf spider of some sort...but it does have a
set of 'spinners' or some such on its butt, so maybe a grass
spider variation?? I only recently got a decent digital cam; and finally started
playing with the macro mode, so have been clicking as I catch.
All of these are crops of the originals to clip away wasted
surround; so quality may be slightly reduced as a result, if the
original ~4mb file would help with the ID, I still have it
kicking around the drive here somewhere... Catch ya Later, Mac.
|
Reply: As you are in
Abbotsford, BC, Canada, it is not
likely to be a hobo spider but could be tegenaria gigantea, the
giant house spider which is in the same species.
Click for a larger view. |
 |
 |
| .. |
|
10 November, 2007:
I think this might be a hobo spider – can
you please confirm? My son had 3 bites recently, one on his
finger that caused his whole hand to swell up. We treated it
with cortizone cream and homeopathic pills (Apis Mallifica,
and all of the swelling has gone away in ~3 days. But I want
to be careful to understand if this is the hobo spider,
since I understand that if the bite were venomous, it could
be far more serious. Please let me know what you think. Thanks,
Andy |
Click for a larger view. |
| .. |
|
Reply: You have 2 funnel
weavers, that's the stripey ones and the other with the big "bum",
looks like tegenaria gigantea - the giant house spider, a
relation of the hobo spiders which actually kills hobos if you
have them in your area
1 October, 2007:
I caught all
these in a cup after finding them on some boards in my backyard.
I live in Utah, USA. The one on the top and bottom look similar
but the one of the right had a HUGE "bum". Thanks!
Dustin
Click for a larger view. |
 |
| .. |
Reply:
It looks like a species of Tegenaria to which the hobo spiders
belong. But not sure if it is Tegenaria
agrestis or
maybe Tegenaria
gigantea.
8 September, 2007:
I recently found your site. I dig the content due to my strong
curiosity for all things eight legged.
I took these photos about a year ago, and have been passed one
answer or
another
the whole time as to the species of the spider. After browsing
your
site
I am led to believe that the two spiders photographed are a type
of
common
house/grass spider, but I want to be for sure. If you could take
a
gander and try your hand at I.D.ing the spiders (Which appear to
be a
male/female of the same species) I would be grateful!
Again, awesome site and keep up the good work! Spiders are
misunderstood!-Jeff
|
|
|
 |
| .. |
8 September, 2007:
Hi glen, I was just wondering if you could help me
identify a couple of spiders I found in or around my
house. Thanks in advance for any information you can
give me.
Trishia from Fenton, MissouriClick for a larger view.
|
 |
| .. |
3
September, 2007:
Hi Glen, I just found your site, it's so great,
congratulations and keep it up! I have recently got
interested in my spiders -- they thrive around my house
(Seattle, WA) at this time of year -- I used to be scared to
death of spiders but I started to photograph them and
starting to see the beauty in them I'm less scared! I was
wondering if you could tell me if this is a Hobo spider, it
dared to walk across my living room while I was playing the
piano... (2 pictures) Also I was wondering which
spider is the one photographed outside on the rail of my
balcony. It had really, really long legs. (1 picture) Thanks
a lot for your help! Françoise
Click for a larger view.
|
|
 |
 |
| .. |
|
5 August, 2007:
Hi Glen, My husband found this spider in our garage while
cleaning it. We live in Albany, Oregon. I'm not sure what it is
but it was very fast and the biggest spider I've ever seen in
real life. I would guess it to be almost three inches including
legs of course. Please help us identify it, I got the best
picture I could, it was on the move, and cropped it in hopes of
seeing the markings better. I will send you the originals and
the cropped.
Thank you, Larissa
Click for a larger view. |
|
| .. |
|
5 August, 2007:
A few nights ago, I found an unusually
large spider in my bathroom. Iʼve been looking around, doing
some research, and happened upon your website. My spider has the
appearance of a Hobo Spider. That would make sense, seeing as I
live in a city just outside of Seattle. I would estimate about 4
to 5 inches from leg to leg. I tried my hardest to get a closer
picture, but this sucker moved very quickly. I was lucky to get
even on shot.If you could try to ID this little bugger,
and let me know what you think, thatʼd be great. Thanks,
Zach
Click for a larger view. |
 |
| .. |
|
Another observation:
Hi,
Just wanted to chime in on your posting in your Hobo Spider
section of a specimen dated 30 July, 2007 and identified as Tegenaria
Domestica. The size is about right, but the coloration isn't. It
seems to me that he's a little too yellow for Domestica, but not
for Agrestis or Gigantea. I could be wrong, but I think this is a
small Agrestis. The legs are absent of the black bands that are a
singular feature with Domestica. That's my main reason for questioning
the ID.
Lower down, you have a picture dated 3 February 2006 which is a
good example of Domestica. The bands can be seen clearly (though
upstate NY seems quite a ways from home for Tegenaria. Stowaway
perhaps?). Anyway, just an observation which I thought might be useful. I'm
but an armchair expert. Love the site. Refer to it all the time,
just because I love to look at spiders. My youthful fear
of spiders has grown to respect, and finally to love.
Fascinating creatures. Jake in Portland Oregon
|
|
More:
Upon further investigation I have
narrowed it to a male Tegenaria
domestica. Thanks for the help in narrowing it down. Keep up
the good
work. Josh
30 July, 2007:
Hi,
I am a university student in Victoria, BC, Canada. I was
working in
a forest in the area when I found this little spider. It
was about the
size of a quarter to my best guess. I think it may be a
type of wolf
spider but the markings kind of threw me off a bit. It
certainly has 8 eyes though. Beautiful whatever it is. Thanks
for any help! Josh
Victoria, BC
|
|
 |
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This looks to be from the
tegenaria family which includes the hobo spider, not a wolf
spider so be careful!!
25 July, 2006:
I am pretty sure its a wolf spider, but they seem to vary is
look so much its hard to tell. Please let me know.
Thanks Kevin
|
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: It looks like one of the
tegenaria family which includes the hobo spider.
22 July, 2007:
Hello Glen, I have another spider that I thought you
could put up to see if anyone could ID it. I live
in Northern California near Santa Rosa. I found it in my
front yard in an old tree stump. Thanks, -Brennan
|
 |
| .. |
Reply: It looks like one of the
tegenaria family which includes the hobo spider so be careful with
it. You don't say where you are from and that would be a help in
identifying if it was or not.
26 March, 2007:
Hi Glenn, can you identify this spider, dangerous?
Click for a larger view. |
|
 |
 |
| .. |
19 November, 2006:
hi there....
I came upon your site after doing a search on house
spiders.......
I live in Scotland and found this beauty in my house....
(I'm assuming it's
Tegenaria gigantea and not a hobo )
well at least i hope it was because i picked it up
gorgeous
looking spider anyway...
thought maybe you'd like to use the shots on your site (I'm
a keen macro photographer)
Click for a larger view. |
 |
and to give it a sense of scale here's a shot of it next to my
index finger |
and a shot of its spinnerettes
|
| .. |
13 July, 2006:
Hello, I'm adrian from Scotland, found your site after checking
Tegenaria agrestis on google. The picture i include is a
massive spider who walked under a stone i was bashing off the
ground and it died, err anyway hope you can use the picture,
fantastic site comrade! Adrian |
|
|
 |
| .. |
|
Reply: This looks to be from the
tegenaria family which includes the hobo spider.
11 June, 2006:
Hey its David here,
(The same David who sent the Daddy long legs photos) I'm
pretty fascinated by spiders still, not so scared but still if
theres one thats walking around on my wall I don't like to leave
it there. If they are staying still just living I don't usually
mind. Anyhow yesterday there was this rather big one on my wall
(Big for the UK I think anyway), I caught it and got a nice
photo of it. I'm really curious if you can identify it because
i'd really like to be able to identify any spiders that venture
into my room. I'm kinda turning into a spider enthusiast!
Hope you enjoy the photo! Many thanks!
David Bowery
|
Click for a larger view. |
| .. |
|
Reply: This looks to be from the
tegenaria family which includes the hobo spider so be careful.
28 February, 2006:
Hi Could you mabye give me a idea what kind of spider this is! I
live in Oregon! Josiah p.s. I love your site! p.s. My e-mail is
loziers@peoplepc.com
|
 |
| .. |
|
3 February, 2006:
Hello, I found this spider in
our bathtub this morning. I checked on your website to see
what kind it might be but I could not figure it out. Could you
possibly help? I'm sure it's probably very common and not poisonous
but we just moved in to this house and I am curious who we are
sharing it with! Thanks so much and I apologize for the photo. I did
not want to get too close. We live in Upstate New York- if
that helps. |
 |
| . |
31 January, 2006:
Hi Glen, My name is Aimee and
I am from Portland Oregon. I was wondering if you knew what
kind of spiders these are. I found the one in the cup in a
piece of wood in my garage. I found the one in the dirt in
the actual wood shed so I am guessing that they are both
wood spiders. If you have any idea what kind these are then
please let me know by E-mailing me back. I have checked your
spider site to see if they were there but I couldn't find
them. thanks, Aimee |
|
 |
 |
| .. |
7 October, 2005:
Hi ! Hope you can help me, I’m Hélène, I’m French and
I’ve found these spiders in an old castle this summer. The 1st one
was 15cm long, and I don’t find what it is, I know the 2nd one I
just wanted to send you this picture, in French it’s called “tégénaire”.
Besides, recently I saw a pink one crossing a road! It was not my
imagination!!! I didn’t have enough time to see it closer, and I
can’t take any picture…Please tell me it was the reality…
Thank you in advance.
(Fantastic site!) |
 |
|
 |
 |
| .... |
|
Reply: Tegenaria
agrestis is commonly known as the hobo spiders and their bites
can be quite bad become very infected with the skin necrotizing.
However not all bites have poison injected, many are dry and this
does then not occur.
5 October, 2005:
Dear Glen
Some close friends said they found this spider on their stairs and
weren't so comfortable with it in there house. strait away i new it
was A Tegenaria agrestis I was wondering how bad the bite was
although i've been bitten by many venomous spider and spiders that
cause a blister such as the Argiope bruennichi so please tell me how
venomous it is. |
 |
| . |
|
1 September, 2005:
Dear Glen, Thanks for posting my photos on your website!
Today I discovered a Tegenaria spider lurking in the garage. It was
very happy to be released from the photo-session in my bug-viewer.
Here are the pictures:
Kind regards,
Rita |
 |
|
 |
 |
| .... |
Reply: This looks like a
hobo spider, so
be careful.
5
August, 2005:
I don't believe I've seen this one on your spider
pages....and I'm not sure what it is. It was darn fast though. |
|
|
 |
| ... |
|
Reply:
Looks like
a
House Spider
- Tegenaria
gigantea.
27 June, 2005:
hi, i found this
spider in the garden shed in the UK could you please take a look and
identify it for me please. thanks..... |
 |
 |
| .. |
|
