Kukulcania hibernalis, the Southern House Spider is a large brown spider that can be found throughout the Southern United States, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Southern House Spider Description
The southern house spider has a dark brown body and legs. Due to its size and coloration, the southern house spider is often mistaken for the more dangerous brown recluse spider. However, the southern house spider does not have the iconic violin shaped pattern on its back like the brown recluse does.
Also, the abdomen of the southern house spider is covered with fine hairs.
Size
Both male and female southern house spiders are about the same size. Including their legs, they can grow up to two inches (5 cm).
Web
The southern house spider is part of the family Filistatidae, commonly called crevice weavers. Instead of spinning webs in the open, they build their webs in crevices in the ground. The female southern house spider is hardly ever seen since it spends most of its life inside the crevices.
Bite
The bite of the southern house spider does not have any dangerous effects for humans or larger pets. It may cause some local swelling and minor localized pain.
Kukulcania hibernalis scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Chelicerata
- Class: Arachnida
- Order: Araneae
- Infraorder: Araneomorphae
- Family: Filistatidae
- Genus: Kukulcania
- Species: Kukulcania hibernalis
Kukulcania hibernalis Distribution in the US
As its name suggests, the Southern House Spider occurs in the Southern states of the US as well as in Central and South America. In the US, the Southern House spider can be found in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
I just saw that exact same spider in the side of my house what do I do?
Hi, if you only see one spider, you can just try to catch it with a paper and a glass jar and get it outside. If you have a larger number of spiders inside your house, you can try to get rid of them with a natural peppermint repellent (see information here: Peppermint Oil Spray for Spiders).
Hello, I have two spiders outside my bedroom window that looks like the southern house spider I don’t know, however they have made webs like funnels. They are about 2 inches in size and they are either dark dark brown or black with hair. Any ideas about what they are ?
Hi Stacey, do you have a picture of your spiders? If yes, you can upload it here directly to the comment and we can have a look. It’s more likely some kind of trap-door spider or a funnel weaver since Southern house spiders hardly ever spin their webs in the open.
Thanks
USAspiders
I’m in GA and during late summer, I have several spider species building ostentatious nests in my yard. One, which is probably a giant orb weaver, built a massive web across my front door (the light outside attracts insects). But this was a very considerate giant spider, bc the web was always taken down by morning. They also made another web, presumably for hatching babies, which they took great care to set up in a place that wouldn’t get in the way of my front entrance. I only needed to strum an anchoring string of the web once or twice and later the web would have been re-sewn to avoid the footpath. We have had several others in the yard but none quite that considerate.
My daughter noticed this spider today in between the window panes. Its big and fast. I think that this is southern house spider and will feel better with confirmation if possible. I have never seen this spider before, and i can’t get anyone to go near it to help remove it.
Is this a wolf spider?
Hello Ryan,
Thanks for getting in touch! This is not a wolf spider. Assuming you are somewhere in the Southern U.S., this is a southern house spider: https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
Yes ma’am that is a southern. 🙂
I have found of these spiders in my car after putting 4 bombs in it for roaches. Can you tell me what they are?
Hello Alicia, thanks for getting in touch. These are indeed southern house spiders – they are not medically significant but I wouldn’t want one crawling up on me while driving the car 🙂 Maybe you can try spraying some peppermint oil inside the car. That makes a fresh smell for humans but spiders absolutely hate it.
Keep finding these InThe house
I had one of those yesterday and tried my hand at identifying the species today. Yours and mine seem to be a Black Trapdoor Spider native to Texas and all Southern US. Scientific name is Eucteniza Relata
Saw this interesting spider today near (and later inside) a small hole (about 1/2” diameter) in wall in my garage here in Santa Fe, NM. There’s a messy web on nearby objects. Spider seems to be all dark brown, and entire body appears to be smooth, not hairy. Shape is very similar to Southern House Spider, but no light colored patches where legs meet cephalothorax. Its wrapped-up meal (below spider in photo) is about 1-1/4” long, so I’m guessing the spider is about 2-1/2” long (including legs). Any ideas on ID? Thanks very much!
My mom has the same spider living in her house in Central TX. We can’t identify her either. She has a web that funnels to the back on the upper curtain rod, it faces downwards. Sure would like to identify her. We’ve grown attached to her.
Found in my underwear drawer! He looked common, just a brown spider, but oddly not….
Lafayette, CA
Charlotte
Hello Charlotte, this is most likely a male southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis): https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
It might look a bit like a brown recluse but it is definitely not a recluse spider and not medically significant.
Hi, I have around 5 of these sacs outside in my patio. I’m guessing spider, but not sure. Haven’t seen the spider though. What can I do to get rid of them??
I just found this spider playing on its back playing “dead” on my laundry basket after taking my sweatshirt off. When I went to pick it up with tweezers I then realized that it was still alive which of course scared me have them I killed it. I’m trying to figure what type of spider it is. I live in Beaufort, South Carolina, a far as location goes and we’ve just had a cold spell that had made our process temps in the mid to lower 30 degrees fht. Below is a few pics, please tell me what it is and if it’s poisonous.
I live in Havelock, NC and was wondering what kind of spider this was cause I couldn’t tell if the line on the back was a marking out just he body shape
Hello Brenda, thanks for getting in touch! This is definitely a male southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis). The line on the back is actually the front of the spider. Male southern house spiders have two long and straight pedipalps, unlike most other spiders.
They are often confused with brown recluse spiders as their legs and abdomen (the darker backside) look almost identical to brown recluses.
Wilmington NC
Not sure what type of spider this is? Looks like it has white on legs where they connect at the body.
Hello Kevin, thanks for getting in touch! This is a female southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis): https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
It’s not a medically significant spider.
Found him in my room and have never seen one of these before, when I went to grab it and take it outside it like “fainted” idk if that’s the right way to describe that but it like leaned over completely acting like it was dying. Kinda freaked me out ngl…
Hi JohnMichael, thanks for getting in touch! This is a male crevice weaver (Kukulcania sp.). The exact species would depend on your location in the U.S. It might be a southern house spider: https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
Found 2 in the last week in my house .. this one has been dead a few hours after I sprayed it. What kind of spider is it?
sorry the picture is a little blurry. i can’t find any thing on google that looks like this at all. found inside in western north carolina
Hello Brooke, thanks for getting in touch! This is a female southern house spider (Kukulcania sp.): https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
Found this in a box of shells with a messy web all over and also inside an unused bike helmet. House spider or other?
Thank you
Found several in a home located in North Carolina. Nearly the size of tarantula and doesn’t match the coloration of a wolf spider. Picture doesn’t give much in the way of size but body was larger than pack of cigarettes. Was bigger than a man’s hand with fully extended legs.
Hello Rod, thanks for getting in touch! This is a female southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis): https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
This was found in South Texas in a building with open spaces that come inside. It was walking across the floor with no worries lol. I caught it in a bin. Body approx size of a quarter. Length from back leg to front approximately 3 1/2- 4 inches, and about 2 1/2 inches wide. I couldn’t get a face shot as it was scared and trying to run away. We are very flat land grassy cattle country here. Lots of oaks and I let it go on the firewood stack. It would have filled up my palm. Can’t seem to find this guy in any identifying sites so far.
Hello Keisha, thanks for sharing this shot! This is a male southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis). It’s not a medically significant spider – they are often confused with brown recluses. The two long and parallel pedipalps (the leg-like things in front of the eyes) are an identification feature for male Kukulcania species.
https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
We found this huge spider in our yard while digging up some rocks. We live in middle Tennessee. Does anyone know what kind of spider it is? I can’t seem to locate a picture of a spider with that stripe on its thorax.
Hi Amanda, this is a wolf spider: https://usaspiders.com/lycosidae-wolf-spider/
I began volunteering at a do key sanctuary recently and found what I think are the remains of a huge southern house spider. What caught my attention, was that in the center of what was the body there is something that was super reflective like a rhinestone.
I took a wobbly video and pictures as I was leaning over a burro. This is a picture
Hi Angela, thanks for sharing your find! This is the exoskeleton of a southern house spider. As they mature, spiders shed their skin several times before reaching adulthood. So the spider in your case may still be alive.
Have this guy running around the living room. From answering your questions I’m pretty sure it’s a Southern House Spider. We live in Florida! This is probably #3. Scooted the others outside. Not fun when they sneak up on you but I do t like to kill them.
Hi Peggy, this is a male wolf spider (Lycosidae):
https://usaspiders.com/lycosidae-wolf-spider/
They are not medically significant and hesitant to bite.
What is this?
Hi Tracy, this is a male southern house spider (Kukulcania sp.): https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
Your location in the U.S. would help determine the species.
This spider is on a windowsill but there are several others of the same in the barn. Would like to know what spider I’m dealing with. Low country, South Carolina. Just north of Charleston.
Hi Wes, this is a female southern house spider (Kukulcania hibernalis): https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
Found this spider in a house I was doing an inspection at. It appears to be molting. Was living in a funnel web in the window track of a house in Bakersfield, California. What kind of spider is this??
Found this in our garage, in the crevasse between the cement slabs, some kind of funnel spider ? Live in Sacramento Ca
Hi Anthony, this is a crevice weaver in the genus Kukulcania. These spiders are not medically significant. You can read more about them here:
https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
(In California, the species would be Kukulcania arizonica, K. geophila or K. utahana)
If you are interested in learning more about spiders in California, check out our California spider identification and information book – available as an ebook here or as a printed paperback on Amazon.
Any ideas? I thought southern house spider but is larger, coloration is different, looks more like a wolf spider but again the color isn’t right. Inside my house in a crevice of my old fire place.
Hello Holly, you were right with your first guess. This is definitely a female southern house spider in the genus Kukulcania. The exact species depends from your location: https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
Edit: I just saw the other post stating you are located in South Carolina – then this is fairly certainly Kukulcania hibernalis.
This big spider is in my house in a crevice of my fireplace. Black body, legs black with 2 to 3 tan colored bands, white back end and white legs in the back as well. Fairly large 2 inches or so. Found in South Carolina. I’m caught between southern house spider and wolf spider. Web is very thin and spread out. Fine thin silk strands. Not aggressive but not afraid of my presence or shining a light on it.
Found this beauty (which I can’t identify) attached to a strand of its own web on my hallway floor…my ‘rescue’ procedure is using a shot glass with a small piece of paper to capture ‘small’ critters and relocate to the garden.
Hi Armand, this is a female southern house spider (Kukulcania sp.). The exact species depends on your location. If you are located in the Southeast, it’s most likely Kukulcania hibernalis: https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/
Hi,
Is this dangerous?
Thanks
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October 26,2022 Found this spider in the tub. Crawled in the drain. Very large in dark color.
Found this in my sink this morning and have never seen one like this before. Looks scary.
Hi Robbie, this is a southern house spider (Kukulcania sp.): https://usaspiders.com/kukulcania-hibernalis-southern-house-spider/