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
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!
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 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.