How to Get Rid of Hobo Spiders

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Do arachnids put you on the crazy train? Nervous that one might come tramping about in your shoes at night waiting for you to stick your foot in? Then having a hobo spider take up residence in your house is definitely not on your list of things to do.

These arachnids have been touted as one of the three most venomous in the US (the other two being black widows and brown recluse spiders). In reality, these spiders get a bum rap, but that doesn’t mean you want them squatting in your home.

Let’s get to know these little vagrants and their habits, as well as ways to get rid of hobo spiders and their little egg bindles.

Getting to Know Hobo Spiders

Hobo spiders (or Tegenaria agrestis, if you want to get technical) won’t kill you, but they can still have an effect on people with spider allergies.

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They’re found exclusively in the Pacific northwest and Europe. However, they are slowly inching their way towards the central United States, displacing many native species in the process.

Identifying Hobo Spiders

what does a hobo spider look like

These little guys can be difficult to identify without the aid of a microscope, as they closely resemble hundreds of other brown spider species. While this might sound scary, treating a hobo spider infestation is actually fairly low-risk, even if you can’t be sure what you have is actually a hobo.

More importantly, hobos are a type of funnel spider, measuring about 1/2 inches long with a leg span of up to two inches. They’re terrible climbers, and could probably outrun a cockroach when startled.

As mentioned before, their habitat is restricted to the northwestern United States and Europe. Thus, the vast majority of Americans will never encounter one.

Habitat

Hobo spiders have great difficulty climbing any surface that’s not incredibly porous. Even then, they can achieve a maximum climbing height of about four feet (half of what you’d expect of an arachnid). Instead, they prefer to keep at or near ground level.

They look for cracks and crevices in which to build a funnel-like web, the darker the better. Gardens, foundations, wood piles, rock piles, and retaining walls are all potential homes.

Indoors, they’ll hide behind baseboards or in piles of boxes or clutter. These little sundowners are nocturnal, so the dark dampness of basements are particularly attractive.

Common Hobo Spider Myths

hobo spider infestation

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of science to understand our world (and the ongoing tendency for typos and mistaken identities to color our perceptions in the meantime), hobo spiders get the same amount of negative press as their human namesakes, if not more.

Here are some of the most common myths out there and the actual facts:

Myth: Hobo spiders are wanderers.

Fact: These critters are funnel-web spiders, meaning they build a nest and venture out mainly to hunt prey. Their name actually refers to the fact that they’re frequently found along railroad tracks and the theory that they arrived from Europe (where they’re one of five members in their genus) by hitching a ride.

Myth: These are aggressive spiders.

Fact: Hobo spiders prefer dark, sheltered areas outside, especially in the garden where there’s plenty of food. They’re also incredibly shy and will scurry away at the sight of large critters.

Myth: They have brown bodies with yellow herringbone (AKA zig-zag shape) markings along the abdomen.

Fact: While some hobo spiders indeed have chevrons, so do many other species. To make matters worse, hobo spiders vary in coloration. Identification based solely on this or the pedipalp size was a major contributor to the next myth.

Myth: Hobo Spiders are deadly.

Fact:

As is the case with many venomous species, research has debunked the notion that hobo spiders can kill. In fact, studies in which the venom was injected into animals and observed found no evidence of necrosis or any other form of tissue damage.

While it is possible an allergic reaction may occur, decades of reports have failed to confirm any damage to a single human or pet at the hands (fangs?) of a hobo spider. As a result of these findings, both the CDC and Mayo Clinic have removed the spider from their list of venomous spiders.

Effects of Hobo Spider Bites

You’re most likely to get bitten during the mating season (July through September) when males are out seeking potential mates. The sole reason for this spike in bites is the fact that the males are roaming around instead of staying near their funnel homes.

Symptoms are typical of most spiders, including itchiness, redness, or some other mild dermatitis around the wound. Those with an allergy to spider venom will show more severe symptoms in keeping with any other spider bite they’ve incurred.

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However, as we mentioned before, this species of spider won’t create necrotic lesions when biting.

Getting Rid of Hobo Spiders (and Keeping Them Away)

hobo spider

Just because they’re no longer deemed dangerous doesn’t mean you want a hobo spider squatting on your property. Here are some quick and easy ways to get rid of them. Best of all, unlike most spiders, hobos will often leave on their own if they feel unwelcome.

Remove the Attraction

As with every other pest, the key to getting hobo spiders to stop thinking your home is a hotel is to remove the amenities. Keep your home clean and free of clutter and remove any debris in the yard. Check for leaks or standing water which could attract insects.

Lock the Doors

Check for any cracks in walls, floors, doors, or window frames and seal them up. Caulk is your best friend in keeping little critters like spiders out of your home and keep them from building webs. Checking for any such breaches is an excellent seasonal DIY project, as it also reduces your heating and air conditioning bills.

Build a Wall

This type of spider is a terrible climber. Try building a short barrier using smooth surfaces. It doesn’t need to be more than a few inches high to work.

Of course, short, smooth walls won’t stop a wolf spider or other giant house spider. However, it CAN stop bed bugs and many other tiny nasties. Just make sure there isn’t any texturing to the material you use.

Make Them Stick Around

Using glue traps (like these) near a hobo’s funnel-shaped webs is a good way to catch these critters and is fairly cost effective. These can be glue boards, sticky traps, or any other variety, depending upon your personal preference.

Just be sure to place them where smaller members of your household won’t get stuck.

If Spiders Suck, You Should Too

Using the edge attachment on your vacuum is a great way to remove these pets and their homes all at once. Just be sure to seal the bag tightly and dispose of it so they can’t escape.

Better yet, get a BugZooka and use it to suck up hobo spiders from a safe distance. You can use it on most other spiders as well as stink bugs, cockroaches, ants, and other small critters.

Use a Down-to-Earth Remedy

The benefits of diatomaceous earth can never be stressed enough. Sprinkle some of this wonderful product where you believe hobo spiders (or other tiny critters) to be living and wait for the corpses to pile up.

See Also: Does Diatomaceous Earth Kill Black Widow Spiders?

Other Methods

Depending on the degree of infestation, there are a few other pest control options available for spiders as well as getting rid of their eggs. These include spider traps, contact aerosol sprays (Terro Spider Killer works great), insecticides (such as Demon Max), and attracting natural predators to your yard or garden.

Hobo spider control should never be bad enough to warrant hiring a specialist. Infestations will only grow out of control if there’s also a major insect problem.

But What About the Garden?

Now that we have verified hobo spider bites to prove these spiders aren’t a threat to your family or pets they’re hardly considered troublesome pests. However, they do kill lots of insects that ARE a threat to your garden.

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Someone with arachnophobia may have issues with keeping hobo spiders around. But just like their human counterparts, hobo spiders will migrate in search of work. In this case, that work is keeping your garden healthy.

Keeping this in mind, we strongly suggest you allow hobo spiders to live peacefully in your yard or garden . Only remove them with arachnicides if you have a phobia or allergy.

Morgan
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2 thoughts on “How to Get Rid of Hobo Spiders”

    • Basically, a pest relates to any insect or other animal that can cause harm or be a nuisance to people, property, agriculture, or the ecosystem. Insects can be pests but they alternatively might not be if they’re harmless and even beneficial. Ladybugs and honeybees are insects that might not be considered pests by many.

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