All About Spiders in America

By Jerry Schleicher
Published on February 8, 2011
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The Black Widow is the most common poisonous spider in the United States.
The Black Widow is the most common poisonous spider in the United States.
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Although  considered a spider, daddy long-legs are not a spider at all
Although considered a spider, daddy long-legs are not a spider at all
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The Brown Recluse has a tiny violin-shaped marking on its mid-section and is often referred to as a Violin Spider.
The Brown Recluse has a tiny violin-shaped marking on its mid-section and is often referred to as a Violin Spider.
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Sac Spiders are poisonous, and symptoms of a bite include stinging, redness, mild swelling and occasional blisters.
Sac Spiders are poisonous, and symptoms of a bite include stinging, redness, mild swelling and occasional blisters.
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The daddy long-legs, or Harvestman, is a harmless second cousin to the spider family.
The daddy long-legs, or Harvestman, is a harmless second cousin to the spider family.
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The female Wolf spider is known to kill and eat her mate.
The female Wolf spider is known to kill and eat her mate.

They’re everywhere! Lurking in your house and garden. Crawling about your garage and toolshed. Hiding in your woodpile. Spinning their webs in the corrals, the barn and the henhouse. Fearsome-looking creatures with eight legs, six or eight eyes, and fangs! What are they? SPIDERS! Read on to learn all about spiders in America.

If the very sight of a spider sends you fleeing in terror, you’re not alone. Some researchers claim the fear of spiders – also known as arachnophobia – is one of the most common phobias, and that half of all women and 10 percent of all men suffer from it. If spiders give you the willies, then the very idea that there are 2,500 species in North America alone (and 38,000 known species of spiders worldwide) probably sends chills down your spine.

While you might not want to share your home with them, some species of spiders seem to find their way indoors. There’s a good chance you’ve found web-builders like cobweb spiders and cellar spiders in your closets, attic or basement. And it’s not uncommon to find a daddy long-legs ambling around the living room floor (although the daddy long-legs, or Harvestman, is not a spider at all, but a harmless second cousin to the spider family). My wife and I readily dispatch most spiders we find in the house, but are careful to pick up and deposit outside any daddy long-legs we discover.

Spiders eat what?

Nearly all spiders are carnivores, which means they won’t harm your flowers or vegetables. In fact, most species of spiders are considered a beneficial addition to gardens, orchards and crop fields. They feed on mosquitoes, flies, mites, crickets, grasshoppers, beetle larvae and other destructive insects. Lacking teeth, spiders cannot eat solid food. Instead, they use venom to kill or paralyze their prey. The venom is transported through a duct in their fangs, and digestive enzymes are regurgitated to liquefy the prey. The spider then sucks in the pre-digested liquid food as sort of a bug-juice milkshake.

Some of the most common garden spiders include Grass spiders, Orb Web Weavers, Long-jawed spiders, Cobweb Weavers, Wolf spiders, Sac spiders, Crab spiders and Jumping spiders (now there’s a name guaranteed to grab an arachnophobe’s attention!).

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