where they’re likely to live. Teach them CONTROL OF UNWANTED QUESTIONS: to respect all spiders, not to tease them, SPIDERS IN THE HOME If you have any questions about spiders or Living With and to keep their fingers out of dark other wildlife in the East Bay, call or email a Basic Spider Control: To remove a corners without looking first. Park District naturalist at one of the Visitor Spiders spider from your home, vacuum it up Centers listed below. and freeze the bag, trap it in a large jar WHAT TO DO IF BITTEN ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM and carry it outside, or chase it out Fremont 510-544-2797, [email protected] Do your best to capture the spider and the door with a broom if it’s too fast save it for identification. If you have any BLACK DIAMOND MINES or big to catch. concern about infection, allergic reac- Antioch 510-544-2750, [email protected] East Bay Control of Black Widows: As with tion, or the condition of the bite, seek BOTANIC GARDEN Regional Park District any living thing, the key to removal is prompt medical attention. Berkeley 510-544-3169, www.nativeplants.org to eliminate its habitat. Look for black Otherwise take these steps: COYOTE HILLS REGIONAL PARK widows beneath outdoor furniture, Fremont 510-544-3220, [email protected] 1. Stay calm and wash the bite with soap around wood piles, in cracks in foun- CRAB COVE at CROWN BEACH and water to prevent infection. dations, and the corners of outbuild- Alameda 510-544-3187, [email protected] 2. Avoid alcoholic beverages. ings with a flashlight at night, when 3. Reduce local swelling and pain by SUNOL REGIONAL WILDERNESS these spiders move to the center Sunol 510-544-3249, [email protected] applying an ice pack to the bite area of their webs. Make these areas less (for no longer than 15 minutes at a TILDEN NATURE AREA/EEC attractive to black widows by increas- time). and LITTLE FARM ing light and sealing crevices. Protect Berkeley 510-544-2233, [email protected] 4. Contact your local poison control children by teaching them what black center and your doctor if severe widows and their webs look like and Text: Katie Colbert pain, swelling and/or discoloration Design: Nick Cavagnaro results or continues, or if the pain Cover Photo: Jumping Spider, Phidippus sp. (top), spreads to other parts of your body. tarantula, Aphonopelma sp.(bottom), both photos by Nick Cavagnaro SHARING THE WORLD This brochure is provided as a public TOGETHER service of the Interpretive and Recreation Services Department of the East Bay People have been living with spiders Regional Park District. for thousands of years. Protect yourself and family—but take the time to watch East Bay Regional Park District spiders too. They can entertain and teach 2950 Peralta Oaks Court © Joyce Gross © Joyce while they’re trapping and eating the P.O. Box 5381 Oakland, CA 94605-0381 t C western black widow (Latrodectus hesperus) 1-888-EBPARKS www.ebparks.org s on insects in your home and garden. s L Po CH ORIN um ED E S F % S R E E 0 e adult male C E TRS Relay for the Hearing Impaired: 711 0 100% r O 1 R P 6/11 Living With Spiders Spiders are amazing creatures. They Tarantula: These big "hairy" chocolate- The localized reaction to most spider may look alarming, but our common brown to black spiders look much more bites may be a painful, possibly red or house and garden spiders are rarely dangerous than they are. They are usu- purple discolored swelling at the site dangerous to humans. They will avoid ally seen in the late summer and fall in of the bite. These bites can blister or contact with you as much as possible, the warmer parts of the Bay Area when become infected lesions. Reaction to but occasionally bite in self-defense. males are out searching for females. spider bites varies from person to You can avoid dangerous spider bites person. by learning to recognize black widows Violin or Brown Recluse Spider: and their habitat requirements, and A spider of concern in other parts of Be aware that insect bites and stings, by taking simple precautions around Nick Cavagnaro photos by California because of its venomous bite, tick bites, and poison oak reactions other spiders. black widows (Latrodectus sp.) adult females the violin spider has not been found in often exhibit symptoms similar to the Bay Area (as of February 2011.) spider bites. in dark, dry, quiet places. Since female SPIDERS IN THE WILD black widows rarely leave their webs, OTHER SPIDERS FOUND IN THE Black Widow Bites: A black widow Bay Area spiders live in many different a large black spider wandering about HOME bite feels like a painful, sharp pin prick. habitats. They eat insects and other in your house is probably not a black It may appear as small, red puncture spiders and in turn are eaten them- widow. Most Bay Area residents find a variety selves by larger animals like salaman- of generally harmless spiders in their marks surrounded by redness and accompanied by slight local swelling, ders, lizards, and birds. False Widow: These spiders are often homes. Some of these may cause a and a dull or burning sensation. This mistaken for black widows. However, reaction if they bite someone. pain may become intense and long SPIDERS IN THE HOUSE their shiny purplish brown to black lasting and be accompanied by shock, A resident spider in the home usually bodies are marked, if at all, with cream SPIDER BITES weakness, disorientation, abdominal means there is insect food available. colored spots. They are found in similar, Unlike mosquitos, spiders do not seek pain and cramping, nausea, sweating, Spiders can help control the popula- though somewhat damper habitats. out humans as a source of food. When leg cramps, increased blood pressure, tions of insects you don’t want in your spiders bite us, it is in self-defense. and breathing difficulties. The victim of home. For example, if a spider is accidentally such a bite may feel very sick, but the squeezed against the body it may bite. IDENTIFICATION danger of death is highly exaggerated. The risks are greater, however, with What does a spider bite look like? Black Widow: Female black widows children and seniors with heart, blood, The reaction to one of these bites may are shiny black with a red patch on or other related problems. Medical be localized at the site of the bite, or the under-side of the abdomen which attention should be sought immedi- rarely, with sensitive individuals it may sometimes resembles an hour-glass. ately for any black widow bite. be a more systemic reaction, affect- These nonaggressive spiders build Nick Cavagnaro tangled webs usually near the ground false widow (Steatoda grossa) adult female ing the nervous or circulatory systems. .